We have a 2 year old Malamute male, Nanook, who has had obediance training and lots of socialisation as a pup. Anyway, his behaviour changed slightly about 6 months ago with respect to barely audible growling and occasional barking. He was neutered about 4 months ago.

He has barked at my stepdad Peter for a number of months, but, possibly a slightly positive note, we did have some success in reducing the barking several months ago. Nanook was in his cage/run but Peter and myself had to put some floor tiles down in the doorway of his room. Initially I had to put some towels on the front of his run to stop him seeing Peter as he was barking like an idiot. I then got Nanook to sit, and armed with a handful of training treats I got Nanook to concentrate more on me than Peter so while he was quiet he got a treat. Meanwhile Peter could walk past his cage without getting barked at. After a while I managed to remove the towels and Nanook went into the down position and watched carefully, every now again I gave him a treat for being quiet. There was a couple of barks during the process but it seemed a lot better than it had been.

Another concerning occasion was My partner's dad, George, came to visit a few days ago. Nanook has never had any problems with George and has never barked/growled, in fact he used to enjoy George visiting so it was odd how Nanook reacted. George knocked on the door and Nanook barked like he does when someone knocks. My partner answered the door, both ignored Nanook, Nanook was visibly very excited and barked a couple of excited barks. George further ignored him but Nanook was still excited. Later on George called Nanook who came, tail wagging, George told him to sit, which he did. George then lent forward (George was on the sofa at the time), Nanook's ears went flat and turned his head to look at George out of the corner of his eyes. George touched his chest and Nanook growled. My partner removed Nanook to his room. Five minutes later we tried again with the same result. Nanook got put in his room again.

We brought him back out and George ignored him, Nanook was about 2 metres from him when George leaned forward whereupon Nanook started barking and backing away. I am presuming that this is fear barking rather than aggression barking? We then summised that maybe Nanook was having a problem with George leaning forward so I came up with a little game.

The game was that Nanook would sit in his room, George would then call him, get him to sit and then get a treat. George would not lean forward as much as he did before to see what would happen. Nanook was fine, we did this several times and Nanook was having a fun time. My partner and me then hid round the corner and still Nanook was fine. When George leaned forward he then reacted again, even slightly raising the side of his lip for a brief second.

Whether this is coincidence or linked I don't know but it does appear the action of leaning forward is a problem. I don't know about people outside who pet him and the reason for that but is the growling an aggressive warning or is it a fear response?

There have been two occasions where Nanook has growled at a passerby who wanted to stop and talk, never met them before and before I could warn them, their kids had started to pet Nanook. His ears went flat and he gave a slightly audible growl noise. One occasion was at Skiddaw in the Lakes where he had never been before.

Additionally Nanook is fine with a handful of people that he knew when he was a pup but who also have a dog. So David with his spaniel, Tanya with her Estrela, Rita with her Labrador, Nanook acts like a complete loony, like he did as a pup. Jumping up on them etc. David and Tanya do speak to him as if he's still a little puppy with whoops of joy etc.

I still don't fully understand what it is. He definitely seems to have a problem with my stepdad, and my stepdad is convinced that he has curled his lip several times but we have never seen that. He seemed happy to be around George but the touching was a problem. He growls at people he has never met before out in the public even in unknown territory. He has had "the op" so his hormone levels should be less. Is it fear related? Is it dominance related? If it was aggression surely he'd be trying to have a go before the person even touched him? It is really concerning the pair of us and we feel we are clutching at straws to understand the problem and we don't want someone to get bitten by him.

I look forward to the responses (please, no "he should be put to sleep posts").

> please, no "he should be put to sleep posts").

i doubt you'll find anyone that reactionary on here, he's not been vicious as yet (touch wood won't be!)

it sounds like fear to me since he;s fine unless a certain movement is made- has anyone behaved aggresively to him that you know of when that movement is made? since he seems unhappy with older men it might have been someone like that.

maybe see a vet in case he's in pain/ill- he could be behaving for you because he knows you won't hurt him, and if he's hiding an injury he'll be feeling vulnerable.

sure other more experienced folk will be along soon to give you tips

It definitely seems to be a fear of being dominated/challenged, so perhaps neutering was not the best option as this removes a male dogs testosterone based confidence.

Have things got worse since neutering, or was the neutering a reaction to his behaviour.

What age was he when you got him a nd what sort of socialisation had he before you had him?  What were his parents temperaments like?

Is he insured, and does this cover behaviour consultations?  If so get your vet to refer you to someone who can see what is happening

Hi,

Thanks for the responses. He showed this behaviour before getting neutered and it's still the same. He did see a pet behaviouralist that was a referral from the vet and she said that she rarely sees such a well behaved dog.

He was well socialised as a pup, went to busy places, countryside, met different dogs, adult and puppies, met children, pushchairs, motorbikes, lots of different scenarios. He allowed anyone to pet him and he loved the attention. He's never been dominant in our house although he tried every few months in his early years as most Mals do.

His parents were absolutely fine, they lived in a pack and were quite docile, he is very similar to his Mum.

In a way I am happy that you think it's fear but is it a fear of dominance/challenged by someone outside the pack or what? It does seem odd. What we find strange is that he never does it with us.

Is it just a case of he doesn't like most people? In which case I find it difficult to accept. How do we sort it, is the game we played good, could it be enhanced? Any ideas?

Does he react negatively to men outside the home, as in those leaning over him?  Certainly most dominant and also fearful dogs will not like being challenged or dominated, but for different reasons.  with socialisation most dogs learn that our boy language is very different to theirs and do not react the same as when another canine uses similar behaviour. 

Dogs brought up with people for example understand a humans smile which in canine terms, showing all the teeth would have a different meaning.  Certainly Mals can be dog dominant.

I really think you need referral to another behaviourist and ensure they see this behaviour.

Have you contacted the Malamute breed clubs or the breeder for advice.  I woudl try the club as well as the breeder as the level of expereince may vary.