My 10 year old Westie has bitten four people in the last few months. In July we moved to a new house in a new town.  Poeple want to pet him because he's "so cute". He growls and then snaps and catches them on the fore arm or hand. The last bite was today when I took him to a new groomer. I explained that he had been cranky and had bitten some people. She tried to pet him and calm him and nothing worked and he bit her finger. Wally will have to be kept from people altogether and will have to be groomed under sedation I guess.  Any thoughts?
Thanks, Tom Tidyman

yes, muzzle him at groomers and if he is out warn people not to touch him, surely a growl is enough warning? if he continues then he will have to wear a muzzle all times he is out or if someone complains he could be pts. it sounds as if moving upset him

maybe get a vet check incase hes painful, he is an older dog and may have some underlying condition such as arthritis making him a bit grumpy?

I agree with Suz
If he has just started biting he might well be in pain and therefor cant be bothered with people patting him or being groomed.

As long as people tell me their dog might be a bit grumpy when they take their dog to me to be groomed, I tell them its ok and I will take care and tell them that I might need to use a muzzle ( I try not to if I can ) so let the groomer know about his wee change in personality before resorting to sedation.Any way if you have him checked out you might find out that he has been acting up because he has not been feeling too good.

I would get him checked over by a vet. He could have an eye problem and being touched without him "seeing" a hand approaching could well be frightening for him. Such a change in behaviour is a cue for a health check IMHO.

Ditto Harley. Eye problems in older dogs often cause grumpiness and sudden bursts of aggression. His eyesight could have been going for some time but he was in an environment he knew and could use other senses, as well as his memory of the area to get around with reasonable confidence. Now he's in somewhere he doesn't know, with no memory to rely on. This might knock his confidence anyway, but if he has something wrong with him too, then he'll feel incredibly vulnerable and on the back foot.