Decided he doesn't like big dogs anymore?

[Moo]

My grey has for the last 2 years been relatively ambivalent to medium - big dogs, but seemingly over the last few weeks has become quite aggressive to them while we're out. The exception to this being fellow greyhounds and long dogs. 

* seems fine with small dogs still

* no one "incident" with a big dog has occurred to cause this 

* he gets aggressive and growly even if they're a good distance away - they're often not even in his space before he's getting reactive. 

* was fine previous to this starting, he'd on the rare occasion lunge but that was once in a blue moon. Otherwise it's waggy tails, bum sniffing, etc. 

* no particular size, sex or breed causes more of a reaction, anything labrador sized upwards seems to trigger it. 

* seems relatively happy, healthy and pain free otherwise. He's been vet checked very recently, no issues. 

 

I'm not sure if this is a very delayed coming out of his shell behaviour and he's just being more assertive about saying he doesn't like things, but I don't want it to get to a point where he can't say hello to dogs at all. I think I'll be muzzling him as a precaution if I can't get him to chill. 

Any thoughts on why this could be? My only real guess is spring fever? Grumpy old man syndrome (8 this year)? 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Moo

[Apollo_the_Grey]

This could be the signs of leash reactivity starting.  There's a lot more experienced people with greyhounds and reactivity than me, but I did have a VERY reactive Pharaoh Hound.  

The way I dealt with this was to be very very proactive.  I was always scanning ahead on the walks for dogs of any type, and would redirect Ms. Gaia to treats or get her attention on me... basically as much positivity as you can get  BEFORE she realized there was another dog nearby.  I can't tell you how many handfuls of chicken and liver I had to feed her on walks just to try and prevent the reactivity.  I finally got it down to a manageable distance, rather than the "I heard the dog, so I must be aggressive" way she was at first.

So be as proactive as you can, and grab his attention BEFORE he sees the other dog.  Teach him to associate strange big dogs with good things.  And reward him when he's calm, and don't try to soothe when he's anxious or excited.  

During times when you don't see a dog and one just suddenly turns the corner near you... do a quick about face, and when your dog looks at you... reward verbally, and with a treat if he's calm.  Make it into a little game, because Greys love to play games.  But it's better to be proactive when it's possible.