Please could anyone give me some advice? My 5 year old speyed Border Terrier bitch has suddenly turned very aggressive towards my son,who is 21, not a child ,thank goodness. We have had Poppy from a few weeks old and my son and her have always been very close and played tugging games and ball throwing etc.We got a Cavalier bitch puppy 8 months ago and the 2 dogs get on really well.Poppy is quite submissive towards Rosie,the puppy,and will give her anything of hers she wants,including chews and toys.Poppy is fine with my daughter and myself but just recently she has become nasty towards my son if he goes to take a bone from her that's becoming a bit sharp or a toy to have a game with her.Up until today she has only growled and snarled at him but today when he went to get her ball from her to throw she bit him,luckily not breaking the skin and went on growling at him.He put her outside for a few minutes and we ignored her for a while when she came back in but it has really shocked us all. Could you help please? I'm just very worried that it will happen again and maybe be more serious or even worse she'll do it to a child.

Could you explain when you say "up until today she has only growled and snarled" has that been going on for 5 years or is that sudden too?

Yes, is this a long-running thing or has she not shown any aggression at all before?

From the way you describe it, it sounds as if she has been warning your son - the snarls and growls - for quite some time and he has not heeded those warnings, so she has finally been driven to step things up a gear in an effort to communicate with him that she is not happy with something.  But it's hard to say that for sure until you can elaborate on exactly what has happened both today and in the past.

Esit to say: Forgot to ask, how do you and your son respond to her snarls and growls, assuming this ia  long-running issue?

From what you have said, and from your concerns, until you have had her checked out by a vet/seen a behavourist, if I were you, I would ensure that she is safely locked away if you have small children visiting - far better to be safe than sorry.

I can't offer any other suggestions, I'm afraid, apart from getting her vet checked - see if there is a physical reason for her change of behaviour - or talk to a behaviourist for guidance.   But do be sure, if you go down this avenue, that you consult a professional behaviourist.

Regards

Margot

Hi Sue,
Im so sorry to hear you've all had a nasty shock, take heart Im quite sure this is easily remedied and her behaviour can be brought back round from the negative to the positive :)
   You (all of you in the house) must however make a start ASAP, I have some tips but I would say get some help too and this is *the* place to start http://www.apbc.org.uk/

Some 'tips' to think about and do meanwhile..  we need to look to building positive association around people (is it just your son?) approaching Poppy's guarded objects. We want the dog to understand that approaching people and the removal of objects means more fun, excitement or a special treat. :)

A good place to start is by approaching your dog whilst near an unguarded 'low value' object (not her fave toy). Pick up the object with one hand then produce a treat from behind your back with the other. Then give the object back and walk away. Repeat this, but change the angle of approach and intervals between approaches. Work on this over a number of sessions, then change the exercise so that as you offer the object back to the dog, as soon as they touch it, withdraw it then praise and treat, then give the object back.(get your son to do this)

Over time, start to carry out the exercise with higher value objects (fave toys/bones etc). Then move onto carrying out the exercise when Poppy is more engrossed with the object. But always remember to keep it positive and that the removal of resources results in even more positive experience.

Another useful exercise to help against object guarding is to introduce the concept of sharing. This works particularly well with chew toys and the exercise involves you offering a chew toy to your dog, but keeping a hold of the other end yourself. Allow your dog to enjoy the chew, but after a period, take it away for a spell then offer it back. Your dog soon understands that the resource is not hers, but she is allowed to share it. Practice this with different people and objects.

Hope this helps! feel free to PM me if I havent bored you rigid ;)
But do please get to work on turning this around worst case scenario could be devastating for you and Poppy.
Good Luck
Liv :)

Forgot to say...
Sue I dont believe any dog "suddenly becomes aggressive" its more likely Poppy and your Son have just not communicated in the same language, she's probably been trying to warn him for a long while. (Grumbles and growls are not always 'aggression' but Doggy diplomacy their way of saying "your worrying me, you've ignored all the body language signals Ive thrown out at you so now Im trying to pretend I mean business and hopefully that'll scare you off me and leave me alone!")

To see what I mean have a read of this article..and make your son read it too!
Calming Signals...The art of survival. by Turid Rugaas

Thank you all so much for your replies and advice.I'm feeling much more positive now.Poppy has always had a special bond with my son.He was the one to play the boisterous games with her as she was growing up and it has only been the last couple of weeks that she started growling at him.Before that she was quite happy for any of us to take things off her which is why it has come as such a shock.He doesn't see as much of Poppy now as he's working all day and hasn't been able to spend as much time with her so I wondered if that might be the problem and also having the puppy,although we have never made her feel that she's less important than the pup.We'll try some of the ideas and hopefully she'll get back to the way she used to be with him.

it has only been the last couple of weeks that she started growling at him.Before that she was quite happy for any of us to take things off her which is why it has come as such a shock.He doesn't see as much of Poppy now as he's working all day and hasn't been able to spend as much time with her so I wondered if that might be the problem and also having the puppy,

Everything you say is valid, and could cause the problem - however, in behavioural work, if an adult dog "suddenly" changes behaviour (ie with no warning) then the advice is always to have  a vet check. Ideally this would mean more than a quick once over, the vet should perhaps take blood tests and if the problem continues, it is not a bad idea to double check with an animal chiropractor (as a vet may not be able to find what a chiropracotor might).

I'd also agree with getting a reputable behaviourist on board :)

Good luck

LIndsay
x

Could be something physical like arthritis or back problem, and with their history of roughhousing may account for her reaction to just him.  Thyroid dysfunction may also cause unexplained aggression n some dogs.

Is it only your son she has ever growled at and gone to bite?? It may be the way that he plays with her, I've often seen a dog love one child /adult but not another it is all down to the way that some people play with dogs, and basically eye ball them and get in their faces I've seen it many times your son may give out wrong signals and act in such a way that a dog gets defensive, some people just have no knack of how to act around a dog and that dog will give no respect back!

I agree with everyone else about a behaviourist to help the situation, a behaviourist will see how your dog ticks, (for a better word) and why she reacts to your son.  Hopefully the links you have been given here will help, but for the time being as long as it is only your son she reacts to just keep him away from her, until you can sort out what is causing the problem.

As already said I too don't believe that dogs just turn aggressive there is usually a build up, for what it is worth a vet check would not go amiss too.

Sorry to bring this topic forward but my friend needs help!

Her Staffie who is 14 months old male, is a lovely tempered dog and has calmed down over the last couple of months from his puppy hood.
Yesterday the Staffie seemed unwell, would not eat much and did not want to go for his normal walk, which he normally enjoys. He just sat down half way on his walk and refused to move until they headed back home.
Today he has eaten more and seems much better, but at about 7.30pm tonight my friend had her account come round, the dog has met her before about 6 months ago, and the dog just went mad!
He barked at her as she came into the house and seemed to show signs of wanting to bite her, my friend had to shut the dog in another room while the accountant was there.  After she had left the dog was shaking.

My friend is really upset at the behaviour of her dog that normally loves meeting everyone that comes round, as he normally gets one of his toys to great the visitor and then wants to play with them, she was embarrassed about the situation too.

I have said to her maybe the dog is still feeling unwell and that is why he acted the way he did, but would love some more advice I can pass on to her as she is now worried that he may do this again.

Not sure what advice to give here... sure he might not be well, first thing's first - get the dog better.. then see.
He could be acting this way due to pain of some kind....?

definitely needs to be sorted though... not good for the breed

If he's out of sorts and behaving differently then really he needs a vet check.  And as he's actually behaving very differently I'd get him to a vet sooner rather than later ;)   

Id definately go and have him checked over at the vet.

There are any number of things that can cause the problems
you are describing and some of those are medical.
For example thyroid disfunction & brain tumour (but this is not to say that these are what your
friend is dealing with - you need vet diagnosis etc)