Sudden aggressiveness towards husband

[Annette]

This morning Roy was out with Banjo when Banjo found something too good to resist (Roy is not sure what it was, he thought it might have been fatty meat that was tossed out).  Roy told him to drop it, but he didn't, instead he growled at him.  When Roy tried to take it away from him, Banjo growled and lunged at him nailing him in the chin with (probably) head.  Needless to say, Roy is uncomfortable/afraid of him.  Banjo never growled or lunged before (even when we "tested" him by taking away food or his very favorite toy).

Two things:  (1) we live in an apartment complex and this happened in an area where there is a schnauzer from #!#! that attacked him almost 1 year ago and Banjo is usually ready for revenge when near the building.  (2) we are in the middle of moving packing boxes, moving boxes, moving furniture, etc.  

I am hoping this was stress related but we are not sure what to think.

Opinions?  Anything we should do (other that really avoiding the area where the schnauzer lives)?

[Jerilyn]

You've got a few things going on here.  Firstly, I think this is not sudden aggression towards your husband. It was resource guarding of a very precious prize. It will likely never happen again. You can teach him "drop it" but there's no guarantee that will work with something as valuable as a found piece of meat.

And yes, avoid the schnauzer. Since you're moving that seems like a pretty simple short term task. And that moving is probably just generally upsetting the balance of everything for Banjo so he's probably a bit more on edge than normal. I've never moved house with a dog but someone with experience will chime in with ideas on how to mitigate that.

[greysmom]

 Seconding what Jerilyn said above.  Not aggression, though it was probably scary for your husband.  Resource guarding is different.  The higher the value of the object - and "found" meat is going to be one of the absolute highest value treats around - the harder it will be for them to give it up voluntarily.  Especially under the added stress and anxiety of a move.  It's always valuable to teach your dog commands like Wait and Leave it.  But you have to *keep* training them and reminding them (called "proofing" the command).  And if he was never asked to give up something of this high a value, it's likely the command failed.

In the future, we always recommend "trading up" for resource guarders.  Using a higher value treat than the one they have possession of (if possible) to help them decide to leave the item.  If you don't normally have this problem, I would say it's probably a one off.  And it's difficult to find a high value treat you can carry in your pocket!   You can also use a small squeaky toy or another type of toy he really responds to.

As far as the move goes, plug in some DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromones) diffusers in both your old place and your new place right now.  Try and minimize the hubbub, and consider having him stay with a friend on the day(s) of the move, just for safety's sake.  Pack his stuff up last, put them all in the car with your dog, and take them all in together.  Remember, there may be a momentary lapse in house training as he gets used to the new place.  Make sure you take him out regularly - on leash at first - until he seems settled in.

Good luck!

[Time4ANap]

Definitely resource guarding. 

[Annette]

On 7/22/2024 at 9:03 PM, greysmom said:

As far as the move goes, plug in some DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromones) diffusers in both your old place and your new place right now.  Try and minimize the hubbub, and consider having him stay with a friend on the day(s) of the move, just for safety's sake.  Pack his stuff up last, put them all in the car with your dog, and take them all in together.  Remember, there may be a momentary lapse in house training as he gets used to the new place.  Make sure you take him out regularly - on leash at first - until he seems settled in.

Good luck!

Luckily he is familiar with our home that we are moving to.  We had the land since 1999 and didn't build on it until 2007, unfortunately the economy tanked and there were no jobs left "Up North" so we have been living everywhere else but home.  Now we are retired and can move back.  We also planned for old dogs and old cats who can have accidents in the house.  We have vinyl throughout with strategically placed throw rugs so it is easy to clean.

Do the DAP sprays work also?  I am thinking for the car since Banjo hates going in the car.  

[racindog]

Resource guarding - NOT aggression.  It is just part of living with a DOG.  Dogs sometimes resource guard.  While greyhounds are definitely at the top of the list of nice controlled safe dogs- they are still dogs and will occasionally behave like it.  Some dogs would have seriously injured your husband-there would have definitely been blood so Banjo's measured and relatively safe response should actually help you to feel better.  While he is a large enough dog to do some damage if he wanted to you now know that even if such a situation arises again Banjo will most likely respond with a measured and relatively safe response.  He is a good boy but he is a dog and may behave like a dog but even resource guarding he has shown himself to be safe.  PS- please don't "test" him anymore as you were because there is no point to it and it could ultimately cause him to perceive it as teasing and strike out from frustration. He is NOT aggressive. He is safe. Just remember he is a dog- a very good boy though.

[Annette]

On 7/26/2024 at 7:47 AM, racindog said:

Resource guarding - NOT aggression.  It is just part of living with a DOG.  Dogs sometimes resource guard.  While greyhounds are definitely at the top of the list of nice controlled safe dogs- they are still dogs and will occasionally behave like it.  Some dogs would have seriously injured your husband-there would have definitely been blood so Banjo's measured and relatively safe response should actually help you to feel better.  While he is a large enough dog to do some damage if he wanted to you now know that even if such a situation arises again Banjo will most likely respond with a measured and relatively safe response.  He is a good boy but he is a dog and may behave like a dog but even resource guarding he has shown himself to be safe.  PS- please don't "test" him anymore as you were because there is no point to it and it could ultimately cause him to perceive it as teasing and strike out from frustration. He is NOT aggressive. He is safe. Just remember he is a dog- a very good boy though.

We only "tested" him when he first came to our family.