Help Needed! Growled and Lunged

[EmmittPylate]

Hey y'all I've had Emmitt since he was 8 wks old and he is a little over a yr. He has shown any signs of aggression. He had a squeaky toy and had taken the squeaker out, he was chewing on it and my husband told our son who is 6 to go see what he was doing. As he walked towards him he turned and jumped up and lunged at him and growled. We immediately grabbed him and put him in his kennel. Does anyone have any suggestions? We are getting him fixed on Thursday and are going to look into obedience class. Any help is appreciated.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Well..I'm not the best with this but let me get you some with more experience
[MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION]. [MENTION=2014]JeannieCO[/MENTION]. [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION]. [MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION]

 

[EmmittPylate]

Thx.. I meant he hasn't shown any signs of aggression before. Just saw my typo.

 

[Sherry]

I'm hoping this was a one time thing, and he was just startled. You may need to start with the basics of being pack leaders. the last thing you want is him to dominate your son. Perhaps make him wait until you finish eating and then feed him. enter doorways first. take him for lots of walks and have your son hold the leash and walk beside him, not in front of him. many times the dog thinks hes leader by thinking hes equal. I know we all think they are our baby's but when aggression is evident, back to basics must come first
please keep us posted on his behavior

 

[Davidh]

[MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION] had given you some good advise, plus I would let you son feed him also and have your son make him sit and stay before he puts his food down. Make him earn everything and let him know your son is a member of the pack too and is higher in the pack as he is.

 

[JeannieCO]

You have some good advice above and not much more I could really add in this situation. Bullys do lunge in general but with a growling that's a bit more alarming.

 

[2BullyMama]

Sherry and David have on the right track.... back to basics and include your son in all the training. Also, look upo Nothing In Life Is Free on the web.... it is a great training process that you can do in addition to the obedience classes. Neutering, classes, NILIF and overall consistency will all work together.

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Good stuff here! Not much I can add!

I love the suggestion about leadership exercises with your boy -- if you believe that he's the target of this reaction and it was not just a one time occurrence. Remember, aggression is the outcome of a behavior -- not the problem itself. If this happened just once, it could be that the boy startled the dog.

His adult pack leaders should practice giving and then taking away toys - patiently and without sound. Ultimately, you want your dog to "give up" - that means paws off, back away from -- any item you show you want with just your presence alone. This takes patience and consistency. When "trained" in puppyhood it just becomes a "habit" because the pup understands who the leader is.

Emmitt is a doll boy. Please let us know how it's going!