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New Space Aggression


Guest jaxshumans

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Guest jaxshumans

Hi everyone,

 

Hoping someone can help us out with Jax's new behavior. We've had him for almost 6 months -- he is 6 years old and was a racer until about a year ago. When we first got him, he showed absolutely no signs of aggression. We would pet him while on his bed, we would lay down on it with him, pet him while he was sleeping, all of it. No sleep startling, no space aggression, nothing. The only time we ever heard him growl was once when we tried to take his rawhide away, and after that we have been able to trade it out for a treat and he's fine with it.

 

We took him with us to Massachusetts (from Maryland) for Christmas to stay at my boyfriend's parents house with us. That's when the occasional aggression would start. He had three incidents of biting either guests or us during that two week trip, but he was laying on his bed each time so we attributed it to him feeling vulnerable in a new environment and people violating his space. We told everyone to leave him alone unless he came to them.

 

His behavior started going back to normal when we got back home, but we have had a couple similar instances since being back. This morning my boyfriend went over to pet him while he was laying in bed, and Jax wagged his tail and brought his head up to receive pets and rolled over on his back for belly pets like he always does. Then out of nowhere (no growling or warning) he lunged up and bit him. We've only ever scolded him for growling once, before we read that we should avoid doing that. Since then if he growls, we immediately stop whatever we are doing and leave him alone, so we know he is still ok with growling. The lack of warning is concerning.

 

The only thing we can think of is that we should just leave him completely alone when he's laying down, but it's just odd because we never had this problem until we went out of town with him. Could that have changed something with him? The only other environmental factor that is the same between the two situations is that both in Massachusetts and the past week here in Maryland, there has been a ton of snow and ice outside that has limited his walks. Could this behavior be exacerbated by that? (Although he did have a nail cauterized once a few months ago and the vet said not to walk him for a week, and he never showed aggression during that time. So I'm not sure if it is the exercise...)

 

Thanks for any advice...we of course want to do what is best for him and will give him his space, we just don't understand why this never happened for the first four months we had him.

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Sounds like Rocket. Rocket is very similar in that when he first arrived we could sleep on the floor with him or right up against his bed, give him belly rubs etc. At some point, something changed where he would do those exact things. DW and I have each been bitten. The growl comes at the same time as the bite.

 

The best I can figure is that even though eyes are open and tail may be wagging, he's not fully awake. It always seems to be a startle situation. I've had him on his back, waving his paw at me to give belly rubs and had him growl and snap when the belly rub commenced. He instantly seems to know that what happened was wrong and it doesn't seem to be intentional.

 

As a result, we have a couple of rules that no one is allowed to break:

 

1. Only pet when he's standing up - no matter what you think he is telling you with his actions. Eyes open doesn't mean he's awake.

2. Announce yourself anytime you walk by his bed or any location where he is laying. This keeps him from being startled.

3. Rocket has no interest in furniture, but if your hound gets on the furniture, no furniture privileges - it's too dangerous.

4. Any guest in the house is warned not to approach him if he's laying down, and reminded about it during their stay. Let him approach you for pets if he wants them.

 

Rocket is the sweetest boy in the world, but this one quirk makes him seem dangerous. He's not dangerous at all if you follow the rules.

 

Some people have had luck "de-sensitizing" their hounds to try and eliminate the startle. Some will throw stuffed toys toward them while sleeping or laying to get them used to movement around them. I'm not sure if that works, so will rely on some others to post what has worked or not worked for them.

 

Good luck.

Edited by Time4ANap
rocket-signature-jpeg.jpg

Camp Broodie. The current home of Mark Kay Mark Jack and Gracie Kiowa Safe Joan.  Always missing my boy Rocket Hi Noon Rocket,  Allie  Phoenix Dynamite, Kate Miss Kate, Starz Under Da Starz, Petunia MW Neptunia, Diva Astar Dashindiva, and LaVida I've Got Life

 

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My thought is that he may have never been very comfortable with being approached and interacted with on his bed, but he was new and not sure what to expect so his wagging and belly exposure may actually have been calming/stress signals. Now that he is becoming more settled in and the signals aren't working he is moving to a defensive reaction. It's also possible that the visit/change made him overall feel a bit more insecure and/or uncertain again, and when he responded defensively and saw it made people leave him alone he realized that is how he can get across that he wants to be left alone while in his bed.

 

Regardless of the cause, I think it's best to completely leave him be while he is on his bed for now, and if he enjoys treats maybe even tossing him treats there when you walk by to build a positive association with people walking by his bed. One of my hounds came to me with some space guarding but he has vastly improved in the three years he has been with me. At first he did not tolerate being touched while he was lying down at all, but now he's comfortable as long as he's awake (head up, ears alert etc.) A lot of it was just building trust and having plenty of time to get used to everything. He was quite food motivated so for the longest time I would only pet him while giving him small pieces of treats when he was lying down. He would only get the treats while my other hand was touching him, and when he made that connection he started nosing my petting hand to touch him so he'd get treats :D. With time he was comfortable being touched while down (as long as he wasn't settling in to sleep). He even lies close to me and sometimes nudges my hand for attention. I never push it though and generally let him tell me when he wants some attention if he is lying down.

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The incidents *may* be related, or they may not. They may also be resource guarding or sleep startling, but they may not be. The most important thing is to not take the "bite" personally and to evaluate each incident on it's own merit.

 

Two thoughts:

 

One, right about 6 months is when most "new" dogs start becoming really comfortable at home, in their new environment, with their people and the day-to-day routines. When that settling in happens, behaviors start coming out that they have been supressing due to stress or anxiousness connected to their adoption and getting used to things. We often see new separation anxiety and resource guarding issues pop up - seemingly out of the blue - but they've really been there all along and just haven't surfaced. Plus, for some reason, when you stress a dog with travelling, then come home, they do sometimes feel so much more comfortable in their regular environment that they allow more of their personality to come through.

 

Two, are you absolutely sure he wasn't playing? One of mine is really "ticklish" (for lack of a better word). He dances an wiggles and pogos his butt all over when you rub his sides and above his tail, sometimes turning around and trying to nip at the hand that's petting him. He's quite free to walk away at any time, and we do always stop if he gets too wild and over his threshold point, but he really does seem to like it. It's also one of the only ways he actually *plays* with US! My point is, sometimes he will have his ticklish reaction when he's laying on his back getting tummy rubs - he wriggles around and will ocassionally try to nip at us. If we are bending over him, he will sometimes lunge around and up towards our faces - very startling, and sometimes connecting, along with a playful growl. But he's really just playing. You can tell by the rest of his demeanor and actions. It's not always just about what the teeth are doing, you have to take the whole dog into account.

 

If you're certain that he resource guarding his bed/space, then begin keeping a bowl of small, yummy treats nearby. Toss him one everytime you walk by. Have guests do the same thing. Not only does it teach him to stay on his bed when company is around, but it helps by showing him he gets good things when people approach his bed. Otherwise, when he's laying down just let him be, and make sure eveyrone in the house follows that rule all the time.

 

He may get better over time, or he may not. I've only had one greyhound that didn't get better about petting when laying down after a couple years.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

52592535884_69debcd9b4.jpgsiggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly

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I didn't consider playfulness. My other hound will "bite" playfully (not painful, doesn't actually bite down), but he usually does it when I start to stand up from giving him belly rubs etc. But Cole is all wriggly and playful, he grabs at my hand or arm but doesn't close his jaws around it, and then he jumps up and is wagging and wriggling.

 

How does your hound act after the nip? Does he seem serious and upset, staring, maybe a tensing up before he nips, or does his behavior seem exactly the same as before the nip?

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Guest jaxshumans

Thanks for the feedback everyone! It's good to know his behavior isn't completely strange. We started giving him treats while petting him on his bed last night and had no issues. If anything he seemed pleasantly surprised he was getting treats for just laying there!

 

In terms of whether he is playing around...my inclination is that he was not playing. He will do that nipping or gently closing his teeth around our hand when we are giving him belly rubs, and that's always been fine. This seemed more like he was startled or something. When my BF went over to pet him yesterday morning, Jax had rolled onto his back and sort of gotten backed into the dining table. So perhaps he felt cornered by that? Immediately afterward he stood up and just sniffed my BF, but showed no signs of aggression anymore (but definitely no signs of playfulness either). We left him alone and he came over for pets a minute later.

 

Interesting point too about him starting to show his true personality as he gets more comfortable...another new behavior since we've gotten back is that he is much more vocal with us. He'll come and whine at us in the morning if we oversleep the alarm, or he'll stare at us and start whining or rooing if we haven't taken him for a walk yet. So maybe this is part of him being more comfortable?

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Thanks for the feedback everyone! It's good to know his behavior isn't completely strange. We started giving him treats while petting him on his bed last night and had no issues. If anything he seemed pleasantly surprised he was getting treats for just laying there!

 

In terms of whether he is playing around...my inclination is that he was not playing. He will do that nipping or gently closing his teeth around our hand when we are giving him belly rubs, and that's always been fine. This seemed more like he was startled or something. When my BF went over to pet him yesterday morning, Jax had rolled onto his back and sort of gotten backed into the dining table. So perhaps he felt cornered by that? Immediately afterward he stood up and just sniffed my BF, but showed no signs of aggression anymore (but definitely no signs of playfulness either). We left him alone and he came over for pets a minute later.

 

Interesting point too about him starting to show his true personality as he gets more comfortable...another new behavior since we've gotten back is that he is much more vocal with us. He'll come and whine at us in the morning if we oversleep the alarm, or he'll stare at us and start whining or rooing if we haven't taken him for a walk yet. So maybe this is part of him being more comfortable?

 

Yes. Exactly.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

52592535884_69debcd9b4.jpgsiggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly

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