Please Help with 2.5yr Male

[Guest Michelle Mampuys]

Hello Everyone,

I have just spent the last hour or so reading through this forum and have learned a lot more about my little Maxwell. Max is a 2.5 yr old male that has not been neutered and my husband has been and still is dead set again it. I am worried, confused and sad about his sudden aggression. Up until about 3 months ago he was a smart, sweet, loving, affectionate dog but in the last few months he has bitten one of our close friends and my sister. Although neither of them visit often, Maxwell has been in contact with them before. The situation was the same in both incidences - Max came up to them very close like "pet me" and then very quickly and suddenly he growled and bit them in the time it takes to snap your fingers. One he bit in the face on the lip and the other managed to get a hand up just in time - but both cases blood was drawn.

We have never hit Max and have only used loud angry voice to correct him or in the worst case take a rolled up magazine and slap it in our hand to make a loud noise. After the two biting incidences I yelled "No" and we put him in time out. Also, in the past 3 months our neice has experienced Max suddenly growling at her and she has been visiting us and playing with him since he was 4 months old.

This in addition to a sudden need to challenge, growl, bark and go after every single dog in our neighborhood very aggressively. My husband and I love this little guy so much but now we are very worried about having people over and we sure aren't popular on our daily walks.

I will continue to read and learn more from your excellent site. Any information/advice or shared experiences with would be so greatly appreciated, especially in regard to the biting. It is scary to think that Max is the one who approaches like his old loving self and then suddenly its like he is a total stranger.

Kind regards,

Michelle Mampuys

Antwerpen, Belgium

[kayharley]

Michelle, I wish I knew the answer to your problem. My only suggestion would be to contact your vet and make sure Max isn't having any medical problems that would cause this aggression. I think neutering him would help but that may not be the only solution.

Give your vet a call and see what he/she suggests. Until then I agree that Max shouldn't be around strangers especially children. Please keep us posted on your situation...we care.

[bradl]

Definitely start with the vet, and be persistent. I'm not qualified to dispense myself aspirin, but I've read that, for instance, Lyme disease sometimes causes dogs to become uncharacteristically snappy. Article on Lyme and aggression. That article also recommends a thyroid check. As already suggested, terriers tend to stoically mask their pain, and as a consequence it sometimes 'leaks out' in cranky behavior. Knees, hips, back, internal tumor -- many things can cause pain that we can't see and they can't tell us about.

I'd rather neuter a dog now than have to kill him later, so that would be a 'no-brainer' decision for me. Neutering is not a cure-all, but it can remove a barrier to successfully applying additional behavioral methods.

If no medical cause is found, you may want to look into an evaluation of the dog by a genuine behavorist. Preferably one who is comfortable with the differences between working terriers and softer dogs - and will not automatically condemn a terrier for being a terrier - we've encountered owners who've had behaviorists suggest their terrier be put down for pretty normal terrier stuff.

If your dog is not in active obedience training, consider that. A dog with a job who knows his place in pack order (not the top) is usually more relaxed, much happier and an easier dog to live with.

As has been said, it's imperative to control your dog until you've reestablished normal behavior. Keep him on leash, etc. He can only surprise you or others if he's allowed to.

I'd recommend an amusing-but-helpful book called 'Dog Problems' by Carol Lea Benjamin for additional support with all sorts of things in addition to a good chapter on aggression. Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson provides a less cheery but eye-opening perspective including the plight of a biting dog in the context of our (frequently) unrealistic expectations.

Good luck.

[Guest abbycairn]

Hi Michelle,

Please do take your dog to a vet as soon as possible. A radical change in behaviour for no known reason usually is the result of an underlying medical problem. Not to alarm you, but brain tumours are often the source of unpredictable behaviour.

Stacey

[CarCarDawn]

Hi! I agree with all of you - - - -a trip to the vet is in order. Riley was very aggressive and unusually nippy when he was a pup - - - found out that he was also in extreme pain and very uncomfortable. He was born with liver shunts and had terrible digestive problems - - made him very ornery. Hope all is well with your little guy - - - good luck!!