# Oliver's behavior scared me yesterday. Please help.



## nfedyk (Jan 13, 2012)

Oliver loves to go outside and gets very excited at the prospect of it as soon as you put his leash on. Yesterday a very strange thing happened. I put his leash on in the foyer and then stepped outside onto the porch with him. When I turned to close the door behind me Oliver grabbed the lower part of the leash in his mouth and started to pull really hard. He also looked quite angry and made a very intense growling sound that went on for at least a minute or longer. He would not let go of the leash no matter what I said and the look on his face along with the intense growling scared me a little. It was so out of character for him. Eventually I dropped the leash all together and said that we were not going for a walk. He then let go and was totally fine. Does anyone have any insight as to why he would do this and what it means? Thanks so much.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Seems normal to me

He must have gotten a little too stimulated and expressed his excitement that way. 

Sprocket sometimes does the same thing, maybe not with such intensity, however.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

My Min Pin growls to show excitement too. She'd never bite and it's not an aggressive thing at all but she has been known to scare people that don't know her. I had her at the vet the other day and she was holding the leash in her mouth while I was making her next appt and growling the whole time. I looked down and said stop it and of course she did but the people in the waiting room were looking at her like she was gonna attack me.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I wouldn't be too worried unless he starts showing aggression in other areas too. I agree with Sprocket. I think maybe he got a bit too excited and was taking it out on the leash and trying to hurry things along. 

Did you maybe miss a day of exercise or not give him as much as normal over the past few days? I know that Buck gets pretty wound up if he doesn't get a ton of exercise on a regular basis. He doesn't do THAT but he doesn't bite his leash. He never did. He just can't seem to focus and gets all obnoxious. That's HIS way of showing his lack of exercise. Maybe this was Oliver's?

Keep a casual eye on him for the next few weeks. See if he does it again WITH his normal amount of exercise and see if he shows signs of aggression in other situations around the house or on leash. If he doesn't, then I would just assume he got a little too overexcited. If he does, then maybe there is an underlying medical issue that is causing the aggression. The reason I say a "casual eye" is because if you watch him and act nervous, he could pick up on it. Try not to do anything different than normal and act calm around him. 

Has there been unusual activity in the house lately? Guests? You leaving on a trip (the packing winds my dogs up)? You coming home from one? Adding a new member to the family (animal or human)? ANYTHING at all? Dogs often get thrown off by the silliest little things. REALLY reflect on the past week and see if there was anything abnormal that happened.

Keep us updated!


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## nfedyk (Jan 13, 2012)

Thank you for your replys. I don't think it is due to lack of exercise as he goes for walks numerous times a day since my mom is retired and is home with him all day. My mom mentioned he did the same thing with the leash a few days ago. I think that he might be showing some aggression as I have noticed other things too. If you come close to him when he has a bone or something he will often growl. He also loves to sit on the window sill and bark at everything that goes by. After a while the constant barking can get annoying. If you go to pick him up and remove him from the window sill he will also growl or bite though not really hard. If it is an aggression issue what is the best way to deal with it? He is currently 10 months old.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

I've played tug of war with many dogs and almost all of them do a play type growl. I'm not a behaviorist so I can't say for certain but I'd bet there's a good chance you don't have much to worry about.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Were his hackles raised or anything? I too have a dog that vocalises a lot. People are always misreading her, she seems very intense but it's just her way of showing pleasure, or trying to play.
I would have a pocketful of nice treats. If he does it again, tell him to sit and offer a treat and see what he does. To be honest, it does sound to me like it is a form of him trying to play, or, on the other hand, it could just be a teenage pup trying to push his boundaries. 
I wouldn't show that you are scared or shocked at all, just carry on as normal, don't yell or anything, stay calm and in control, offer a treat and see if that interrupts his behavior. Then make him work for his treats and go on your walk like nothing has happened.
Don't forget, he's entering his dreaded teen years, you know what that's like, they push their boundaries and sometimes seem to forget everything they've ever been taught. The good news is that as long as you show them you aren't upset, are in control, keep up your routines, they come out the other side as mature, well adjusted, happy dogs.
I am looking after a 14 month old pug who has refused to walk on a leash her whole life. Tonight I spent 30 minutes going about 50yards, but she's not going to win, I am, if it takes me all day. This is what the teen years are like, don't get upset or mad, stay calm, but make sure you win. Good luck, I'm sure it will be ok in the end.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I wouldn't be so worried about the leash, but the food guarding should probably be addressed. Do you have a trainer?

We used to have neighbors who had a Boston Terrier who got out multiple times per week and always ended up at our house. To get him home, we just dangled a leash and the dog would attack it all the way back to his house.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

nfedyk said:


> Thank you for your replys. I don't think it is due to lack of exercise as he goes for walks numerous times a day since my mom is retired and is home with him all day. My mom mentioned he did the same thing with the leash a few days ago. I think that he might be showing some aggression as I have noticed other things too. If you come close to him when he has a bone or something he will often growl. He also loves to sit on the window sill and bark at everything that goes by. After a while the constant barking can get annoying. If you go to pick him up and remove him from the window sill he will also growl or bite though not really hard. If it is an aggression issue what is the best way to deal with it? He is currently 10 months old.


Patricia McConnell (behaviourist) had something on this (dog at window barking) in her book that I just read 'The Other End Of The Leash'. I've got to go out now but will check it out later and post on here in case it's relevant.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I'm with MollyWoppy and xellil. Sozzle might be able to give you something to work with as well from the book.


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

you deff need to address this behavior ASAP he should not be biteing you period not even gently to make you stop him from doing anything.

personally if i were you i would begin a whole new way of life with him NOW.
he needs to know whos boss in a firm but gentle and consistant way.
he sounds like his hyperness or energy gets the better of him and hes not sure how to control it.

this little boy needs some rules.
personally if he were mine this is what our day would be like:
he would get out of his crate when i say when i open the door he cant come zooming out he cant come out period untill i welcome him out. if he tried stepping over the barrier i would use my hand and put him back in or use my arm to just block him once he relaxed and lied back down THEn i would ask him to come out.

i would let him out to go potty but if i open the door he cant go thru it he has to sit patiently and wait. safe for coming back into the house he would have to sit at the open door and wait for me to invite him indoors even if i walked 5 feet away from the open door he couldnt let himself indoors. he only comes inside when hes sat calmly for a while.

then we would get ready to go for a walk where he would be kept on a heel untill i said he cant sniff,cant zig or zag he has to keep walking with me at a heel for atleast 30 minutes then if he does well he can be let off lead to run then we practice coming when called,sitting,down,focus,ect then back on lead to go home at a heel.

after we get home i offer water then prepare the food NO begging NO excitment or anxiety no whineing,paceing,barking i would expect him to lie down or sit down and wait atleast 6 feet away from me. if he is anxious or excited i just wait in the beginign it could take a good hour of waiting for them to be calm.
he would HAVE to be calm thru the whole process if im walking with the bowl he HAS to be calm if hes excited i stop and dont move and just wait.

before i set the food down he cannot look at the bowl he has to give me direct eye contact and be calm. i set the food bowl between my feet and hold it there with my feet and stand there thru hte entire meal if he growls i take the food away and wait for him to be calm again and gives me eye contact.

i would NEVER allow him free access to the furniture or beds or window sill if he gets up on them i would make him get off
i would NEVER allow free access to toys or food give one toy then take it away after an amount of time before he gets bored of it.
i would NEVER allow free access to the kitchen
i would NEVER allow begging if he beggs i would send him out of the room.

no excitment BEFORE being put on the leash if while you get the lead around and he begins to get excited i would stop and stand there and wait once he relaxes begin again if he becomes excited i would stop and wait again.

this is a tough approach espeicelly becuase its all about being consistant with it EVERYDAY EVERYTIME it happens dont get mad if hes begging at the table it could take you 2 hours of sending him out of the room before he finally gets the message but he will get it you cant give up and give in and say "oh alright fine! you can sit there"

and the thing about doing this is the more and more conditioned he becomes the better his behavior becomes the more privliges he can have. like getting in the window sill once he begins behaving and following you you can invite him in the window sill BUT if he barks you tell him to get out of the window but dont thinnk after he complys after a day or two hes listening well enough to give privlegas back it takes time.

this approach is not harsh and its not going to hurt your dog your jsut showing him in a consistant and firm way to pay attention to you and that you are the provider and your not going to put up with his crap. it also in NO WAY will ahrm your relationship with your dog you can still love up your pup, play with him and cuddle him your just not going to let annoying behaviors escalate into dangerous or unmanagable ones.

he is still a puppy he still gets excited buth es also matureing and that excitment is escalating becuase he isnt quite sure HOW to control it no one has taught him how when its ok to be excited and when its not so he lets himself become excited when he wants so he turns it on and cant figure out how ot turn it off thats your job to teach him how to turn it off by NOT rewarding it and ignoreing it
he learns "hey this is not working my begging,my barking,my excitment is not getting me what i want"
im not saying he cant become excited he just has to learn when its ok to be excited
you dont want him to become excited at the windows becuase its annoying and its becoming dangerous to you
you dont want him to become excited about bones or food becuase its becoming dangerous to you
you dont want him becoming excited while going out for a walk becuase it frightend you.
do you want him to get excited about playing with you? YES
do you want him to become excited about being off lead and following you? YES
do you want him to become excited about climbing into your lap for kisses? YES

so let him get excited about those things love him up for that but dont encourage excitment excitment in the other areas.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

I agree, I do not tolerate anything like this because behavior tends to escalate. It is much easier to work on these couple of issues than ignore and then have set patterns of bad behavior to deal with. Leashes are mine - they Do Not put their mouths on my leashes. I don't like dogs growling a people either - they can growl at each other but not humans. Food is another area where any aggression is not allowed. We have too many people adults and children in and out of the house to allow this kind of behavior. Anyway, I am mean and have very low tolerance for this stuff so take what you can use and leave the rest.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

The leash wouldn't worry me in the least, Tucker ALWAYS grabs the leash when he gets over excited. He likes playing tug so when he gets excited and want sot release that energy he looks for the closest thing to a toy. It's not a behavior I would allow simply because it makes it hard to get anywhere and is slowly destroys the leash. Maybe work on a drop it command or use bitter apple on the area of the leash he grabs onto. It is not a sign of aggression.

The growling/snapping when you remove him from the sill is aggression, likely a combo of resource guarding (he doesn't like you removing him from where he's sitting and what he's doing) along with him being very frustrated/nervous so not thinking completely clearly/having low self control during that time. The hard part will be dealing with both the aggression and the barking. The things I'd do for the aggression (pick up dog, give treat, put down. Shove dog or move dog over, give treat, etc.) would reward the barking so you can't do them at those times. Your best bet is using the dog's leash or buying a leash tab and taking the dog to a time out when she barks and after being given a quiet command. That way you're not picking them up at this time and the barking can be dealt with separately from the dislike of being physically manipulated. But getting a trainer/behaviorist would be your best bet.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

nfedyk said:


> Oliver loves to go outside and gets very excited at the prospect of it as soon as you put his leash on. Yesterday a very strange thing happened. I put his leash on in the foyer and then stepped outside onto the porch with him. When I turned to close the door behind me Oliver grabbed the lower part of the leash in his mouth and started to pull really hard. He also looked quite angry and made a very intense growling sound that went on for at least a minute or longer. He would not let go of the leash no matter what I said and the look on his face along with the intense growling scared me a little. It was so out of character for him. Eventually I dropped the leash all together and said that we were not going for a walk. He then let go and was totally fine. Does anyone have any insight as to why he would do this and what it means? Thanks so much.


Sounds to me like he got excited and wanted to play tug of war. How old is Oliver? Growling during tug of war is normal, depends what the dog believe he can get away with (read; what he is comfortable doing to/in front of you without getting negative feedback) Playing tug of war is an important part of a puppy's life growing up. You can train social skills that sets the tone of the dog <--> parent relationship. Tug of war is for a puppy prep for adult life, it's play fight over resources. A puppy expects to be trained just make sure there is never any doubt who top dog is. Tug of war is also a challenge. Tug of war should be initiated and ended by the owner. Did you let him know this was unacceptable behavior? When something like this happens you should immediately bring out the "bold war time fonts" so to speak in your way of addressing what just happened.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

Maxy24 said:


> The leash wouldn't worry me in the least, Tucker ALWAYS grabs the leash when he gets over excited. He likes playing tug so when he gets excited and want sot release that energy he looks for the closest thing to a toy. It's not a behavior I would allow simply because it makes it hard to get anywhere and is slowly destroys the leash. Maybe work on a drop it command or use bitter apple on the area of the leash he grabs onto. It is not a sign of aggression.


For Bridget grabbing the leash was a sign of an aggression. It was as if she was saying "Your not going where I want you to go. I want to go here and your not going there. You turn around when I pull so I'm going take the leash away from you!"

That was so hard to deal with. Bitter apple or hot peppers didn't work because it was a struggle for power. Taking the leash away from here turned her aggression toward me. We couldn't take long walks when this problem started to get bad. A trainer didn't fix it, neither did two or three. People always offer that as a solution and either my trainers just sucked badly or it just wasn't the right solution for Bridget. 

I did not make nearly as many rules as others posted here. I decided to work on Bridget's aggression with her. We developed a "give me what I want and I will give you what you want" type of relationship. Once she started to understand what I wanted and I understood what she wanted things got more pleasing for the both of us. I used way more rewards than I used restrictions and punishments. Restrictions didn't allow her to get in trouble. I provided her with all kinds of chances to get in trouble on purpose. "Opps! I just left the kibble(back then she ate kibble) on the floor that she can't have. I'll just go to the bathroom for a minute and feed her when I return." If I returned to food in the bowl she would be rewarded with her normal serving of kibble. The bowl was only about 5% of her normal meal, I'd pick up to empty bowl and put it away for about 30 minutes to a hour. I broke up each and every issue apart and worked on them one at a time. It was long process but it left me with a dog that could be fully trusted as I kept reinforcing it. 

I made a awful mistake 2 weeks ago. Didn't lock the door. It was windy. The door was blown open while I was out. My dog was on the couch waiting for me with the door wide open. She didn't go outside because I created that barrier there. I now triple check that I keep that door locked. I'm also going to install a screen this summer. But that is one of the many reasons why it is important to have your dog get invited out. 

I do use a lot of the same stuff casey does like the watch me to eat. Bridget does sometimes slip on that. When we changed her diet I learned she liked some food way more than she ever did with kibble. Last night she was angry at me for making her wait and managed to steal the food away. "Alright, that is fine, don't think that is going to be the norm." This morning she wondered why she was in a very long sit stay before the food was brought down to her. "Oh, remember last night? I'm now going to wait till your completely calm before I feed you anything". And that is what I did. She kept her eyes on me and waited for my command to began eating even after I brought it down to her. After I cleaned her up she dashed for the treats I was in the process of making for them. Left them on command but she still attempted to grab them. 

For me, it might be the new dog causing stress. But the solution is still the same. You have to let the dog know who is going to be the boss and that is the only way to keep things safe for the both of you.


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## nfedyk (Jan 13, 2012)

Thank you everyone for all your great suggestions. I really appreciate them. One of the big challenges here is that Oliver is my mother's dog not mine. I go to this forum to read and get advice and pass it on to my mom. I do spend alot of time at my mom's and do my best to take a firm approach with Oliver when I am there. Unfortunately she often does not follow through on my suggestions. Oliver is her baby and he is big time spoiled. He no doubt rules the roost. In addition to working with Oliver on these behaviors I need to work with my mom to be sure she sets limits and lets him know whose boss. Not an easy task for sure.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I can understand your mom's feeling that Oliver is her baby. I'm the same with my boys and they are beyond spoiled and well on their way to being catered to (within reason, mind you). A way to explain it that might get your mom to be more "supportive" is to explain that Oliver is acting like a 2year old throwing tempertantrums. And just like a 2 yr old if you don't stop the behavior then it will get worse. But if you do stop the behavior and instill good manners then everyone will be cooing and aweing over how cute, sweet and adorable Oliver is and not muttering about how horrible, mean, and noisy he is.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

bridget246 said:


> That was so hard to deal with. Bitter apple or hot peppers didn't work because it was a struggle for power. Taking the leash away from here turned her aggression toward me. We couldn't take long walks when this problem started to get bad. A trainer didn't fix it, neither did two or three. People always offer that as a solution and either my trainers just sucked badly or it just wasn't the right solution for Bridget.


It is my opinion that most trainers are pretty awful.

The trainer we finally ended up with was the fifth one.

Which is why (no offense to the good trainers out there) I don't take much stock with training opinions given over the internet. Including my own.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Apologies for not getting back sooner nfedyk/Nadia but the chapter that I thought was relevant in Patricia McConnell's book probably wasn't. It was about a border collie that got everything it wanted when it wanted and had it's owner wrapped its finger.

Reading all the posts are some very sensible suggestions, I have only owned my dog for a year so am no expert and the fact that the dog is your mother's and she probably isn't consistent or doesn't understand where you are coming from doesn't help, especially if she isn't willing to listen and take on board what you have to say. 

Personally, I found Jan Fennell (The Dog Listener) and Victoria Stilwell very very helpful, especially watching them on action on the screen/DVD, I am one of those people that prefer to 'see' training in action as opposed to reading it, it seems to sink in better. I might also add my dog was very easy to train so I've been lulled into a false sense of security probably.

Good luck and I hope you sort the little blighter out.
ps. I would probably follow xchairity's advice, tough love and no bullshit!! wow betide anyone who gets on the wrong side of her ha ha!
....backs out of room quietely.....................................


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

sozzle said:


> Good luck and I hope you sort the little blighter out.
> ps. I would probably follow xchairity's advice, tough love and no bullshit!! wow betide anyone who gets on the wrong side of her ha ha!
> ....backs out of room quietely.....................................


HAHA!! :rofl:


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