Advice Please

[Elisa]

Hi folks!

Bailey is now just over 16 months.  He's an absolute darling, affectionate, loyal, fairly well behaved! lol.  However a couple of incidents have worried me.

Over the past couple of months he has started barking at people randomly.  People that have had a bit too much to drink, and "loud" people seem to make him bark, and only sometimes when someone puts their hand out to stroke him or talk to him, he starts barking.

Last week, we went into Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival.  It was very busy.  A young man came up and put his hand out to let Bailey sniff his hand, but Bailey went absolutely ballistic, really aggressive!  The guy was a bit of a pain, and wouldnt let up, so ended up walking away dragging a snarling, barking dog with me.

It happened again today, we were watching a wedding outside a church.  A young girl was stroking him, and he was ok.  However, a man ran past us, and Bailey again went ballistic, even trying to have a go at my hand when I tried to calm him down, although I have to say, he wasnt interested in hurting me, just getting me to get off his collar.  Obviously the young girl got a fright.  He even knows the man that ran past.

I took him for a long walk, he was fine.  My sons friends came to the door, one of them put his hand out to let Bailey sniff and it happened again, snarling and barking.  I hate seeing him like this, its totally out of character.  We have never had a dominence problem with him, in fact we've always thought he was a bit soft.  He loves other dogs, is fine with people he knows (except this 1 man today, but was ok the other day when we saw him!).  We have two cats, and he is fine with them.  Hubby thinks he might need neutering, but Im reluctant unless its really necessary, but dont want to wait until he hurts someone.  Its very random and Im struggling to think of any common denominator with these people that Bailey has a dislike to.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.  Other than that we couldnt ask for a better dog but this is now starting to worry me alot.

Thanks

Elisa & Bailey    

[Luvly]

x

[Jane S]

I have to agree - this sounds like fear aggression to me too but as with all cases of aggression, it's best to get some face to face advice from an experienced trainer/behaviourist who can see what's happening first hand & advise you. You can get a referral to a behaviourist via your vet or if you look here, you might be able to find a local trainer who can offer one-2-one advice. If this is fear aggression, then neutering will have absolutely no affect - castration will generally only help in cases of dog-to-dog aggression & is unfortunately not a cure for other behavioural problems.

Jane

[dillydolly]

Our basset hound was the same and only with men when one approached me he would growl and warn them to stay away and it happened with my friends basset to with men again. Its strange but it can be frightening i would seek some help or maybe keep some treats on you and when it happens again try to distract your dog with treats.

[Hel]

This is a just a random thought, so please don't panic - but as he is reacting to hands appearing, people darting past and presumably sudden loud sounds from drunk and/or loud people, is his eyesight 100%?  The behaviour you describe would fit with a dog that was developing limited vision, i.e. unable to see the full eye range (there is a technical term for it which escapes me).  It would, of course, fit many other scenarios, but it might be worth checking out his sight to eliminate it as a cause.

[lynseyloo]

sounds logical for sure, I kno that Candy, my old yorkie (passed now bless her) had hardly any sight in one eye due to a severed catteract late in life, so i you made her jump by approachin that side it would startle her and she would sometimes yap.   So we were always very carefull not to get on her wrong side    

[Luvly]

 

[padfoot]

I would definitely suggest you get a behaviourist to see him, even if only for one session....you will find it easier to deal with this behaviour if you tackle it now than if it's left untreated.
 

[Elisa]

Thank you all for your replies.  He has barked at women who sometimes want to stroke him, but not all woman.  There doesnt seem to be any common factor at all.  I worked so hard to socialise him when he was a pup.  I let everybody stop and pet him, so Im at a loss to understand just what is going on with him.  As far as Im aware he's never been given a fright, but he does seem generally worried at the time.  I reassure him, but it doesnt seem to help.  Am a bit concerned that a behaviourist or even the vet might want to put it down to rage, with him being gold, but from what I have read about it, I am fairly sure this isnt it, because something (although Im not sure what yet!) seems to trigger him off.  

He doesnt mind people coming to the door.  We live in a very busy city, so he's used to seeing lots of poeple, but for some reason, at certain times, he can just get very unsociable.

Thanks again for all your help.  Will keep you posted.  Think it might have to be a behaviourist to nip things in the bud!.

Elisa & Bailey
 

[sportsmonki]

Luvly, would you remember where you saw a discussion on dogs reacting badly to black labs and gsd's?  I'd be interested in reading it as I am having real trouble with Storm grumbling at those breeds, though seems only to be the boys, she is happy to play with a girl gsd at her training class.    

Good Luck Elisa and Bailey, hope the behaviourist can offer a solution.  

sportsmonki  

[Luvly]