Very agressive behavioral...help me big time!

[Elias]

my dog is becoming agressive,barely likes to play and feel sad!(i think its becoz of the new dog) i dont know why or what happened for him, if i touch him while he is resting he growls at me, while eating he growls at me! he only do it at home, when he is out he is very obedient and everything.
when he growls at me i tell him NO! and give him an order like sit or down .... and he imediatly do it! but this is getin scary and i stated in another post that he bited a family member 2days ago!
he was diagonised with gengevitis dunno if thats the problem or the other dog is the problem!

[mountaindogs]

personally a dog threatening me or my family is sadly just not tolerable. My advice is not advise you'll want.

So if you want to keep him and work through it you need to find a reliable family dog trainer who has experience in aggression and comes to your home to consult and work with you, the family and the dog. It may or may not help. Hopefully the trainer will see the behavior and help you understand the triggers and find ways to re-train the dog how to act. I would caution you not to take quick advice here if you have a true aggressive issue. The behavior needs to be witnessed by an experienced behavioristand solutions direct to your situation are required.

[Sharon]

How old is the dog? When did the problem start. I would bet it is a medical problem.An infection of the gums is very painful. What are you doing about that medical problem?

[mountaindogs]

if i touch him while he is resting he growls at me, while eating he growls at me! he only do it at home, when he is out he is very obedient and everything.

There is so much that has to be witnessed to read a dog, but my gut with this statement is a territorial/dominance issue. If it were medical it would have to be related to hormones or the brain. A dog that is all around aggressive when it hurts is still over aggressive. I will forgive them for a "yip, snip" if I am actually hurting the sore area, but I expect my dogs to let me touch them, even when they hurt. My cats. well... we try
Double check with a vet or get a second opinion, and have them refer you to a Board Certified behaviorist to help you. If it is medical they can offer behavioral drugs to help too. If not, then they'll know better than your regular vet.

[Elias]

the dog is 1year and 6months old, the medical condition is being taken care of. the problem started when i got a new dog to my home! the dog was staying alone all the time, not runing a lot and being agressive but not all the time. he always growls if he is sleeping and someone come to cuddle him! we dont have behavioral experts in my country:) so no one could take care of this exept me! he is very friendly with all the people, never bited any stranger or anything, just a family member when he was moving him from the couch, he growled 5 times at her and bited her.
one more thing: sometimes he comes runing to me and start licking me and growling and then licking me and growling and then he sleeps in my lap! strange eh?!
am thinking i should put my new dog where it was so that i can get back my older dog's attitude and happiness! its either this or i dunno! really frustrating!

[mountaindogs]

I know you don't intend to, but you are giving slightly different stories with each post. I could give you some advice if I knew exactly what was going on but what if you forget to mention a body posture or something else happening nearby that you maybe haven't even noticed. That could be the key to the problem, and I would be giving you the wrong advice because I didn't know.
Look up Temple Grandin and read some of her books. "Animals in Translation" is one. It gives you an idea of how something that seems trivial to us becomes immensely important to certain animals.
I am sure that there is some relation to the new dog, but I doubt it will go away if you get rid of the new dog. Or it might but it will come back with the next change that the dog doesn't like. If you want to PM me or post where you are located, I can see if I know of anyone at all near there that could help.

[ezzy333]

They are not in the USA.

Ezzy

[Elias]

guys in short terms i want this to go away!
i wish i was in the states! i live in the middle east, in a country called Lebanon.
i will check to see if i can get the book u mentioned, if not i will try and c wut i can do.
i hope we dont get him euthenised.

[momen80]

what kinda of dog is that?

[mountaindogs]

Well that is true, the middle east being a very difficult area to find veterinary specialists. There was a veterinary conference in Dubai a while ago.
Asking around, I hear a Animal Behavior Practictionar named Colin Tennant visited Lebanon. I believe he is located permantly in Britain, though. When he visited the country, he worked through a veterinary practice with Dr. Kassab. Perhaps if you are anywhere near Dr. Kasaab he may be able to put you in touch with Mr. Tennant and perhaps with video or webcam he can help

[Elias]

english pointer.
am retraining him now, its like he is a pup again.
the thing that is making me mad and weird is that sometimes i call him, he comes running to me i pat him and hug him so he start growling!
i think he have mental problems.

[Kiki's Mom]

Then growling/talking is the disturbing issue. For whatever reason he is not feeling well over all and feels threatened by yournew dog. You said he bit a family member when he was being moved from the couch? He has resource guarding issues, jealousy issues and in general is trying to establsih HIS dominence over his pack (you and your family) If there are no other health issues tht could be causing him pain he needs to get to a trainer ASAP.....

[Elias]

talked to a trainer, he is gona come next week to start his new training. i did blood tests for the dog and everything went normal, physical exam was normal exept for gengivitis that i am treating at the moment.
the thing that changed in my dog:
he is lazy,agressive,barely wag his tail, looks sad, want to stay alone. i dont know wut to do, i hope the trainer will help me big time coz i really need that help!
but i dont get the lazy part! why is he becoming lazy and not intrested in playing!
we say its the new dog but sometimes they are together sleeping on each other and playing... am really confused.

[mountaindogs]

sounds like depression/anxiety in people. Some people handle it by getting jittery and jumpy but many progress past that and just feel tired. Did you're vet run thyriod tests do you know? Have you noticed any dry skin, itching or weight gain?
I am glad you have a trainer coming to help. You might consider talking with your vet about anxiety medication for a while too. I know a lot of people will shrug that off, but together with training it could help.

Best luck

[Elias]

yes i know dr Kassab, this is where i take my dogs. the trainer came today and told me the only way to get back ur old dog is by rehoming ur new dog!
and in the blood tests we did there was nothing wrong and no weight gain was noticed in fact i noticed more muscles being built coz i take them for a 3 or 4 hours playing and running or we go hiking where sometimes we shoot chukar:)

[mountaindogs]

Well if you should ever get the priveledge to meet Colin Tennant, I would enjoy speaking with him personally.
Glad things look better with a trainer to help. Hope it works out for you. Do you have birds to hunt in Lebanon?

[Elias]

ill talk to dr kassab maybe he can gimme his mail or phone number if he is still in leb.
well yes we have birds to hunt of course:
using pointing dogs we have: chukar, bartavell(like the chukar but bigger), woodcock,quails.
other birds i shoot are song thrush. we have ducks also but those are the main species i hunt.
wut about u?
one more question: any idea why he is not chasing the cats in the garden anymore! he seems lazy!! this is all due to depression??:S

[k2k]

As well as Temple Grandin's book, I would also read "The Other End of the Leash" and "For the Love of a Dog" both by Patricia McConnell. Ms. McConnell explains why dogs do not like to be hugged.

All three are great books. I highly recommend them to anyone who is interested in dog behavior and how it relates to our behavior, and vice versa.