I have a one year old dog who is recently becoming skittish and snapping. She is set off by the weirdest things such as when someone wears a hooded sweatshirt and she can't really see their face. I'm nervous with her around children because you never know what will set her off. It happens rare (about once a month) but enough to make me nervous.

She is also becoming very skittish. If I drop something and I'm not even in the same room, she freaks out and runs to hide. I know everyone gets spooked by things, but she especially becomes spooked by everything from pop corn popping in the microwave to a tiny branch falling from a tree.

I know that dogs can sense when you are nervous and it makes them nervous, but I can't help it. She is a sweet loving dog who thinks she's a lap dog (even though she's 80 pounds) and will cuddle with anyone. She loves giving everyone kisses and just hanging out, but what if she snaps?

Anyone have any ideas?

What flavor of dog is it?
From my experience dogs will react to their environment. Have you had her since a pup? Many times behavior problems can be traced back to when they were very young and something happened in their life. You need to get some professional help for her behavior.

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Originally Posted by 450donn

What flavor of dog is it?
From my experience dogs will react to their enviroment. have you had her since a pup? Many times behavior problems can be traced back to when they were very young and something happened in their life. You need to get some professional help for her behavior.

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We got her at 3 months from a family whom we still keep in touch with. The family got her at 8 weeks and would never use aggression on her. It is only happeneing more recently. And we have never laid a hand on her. The only thing we dog is say "bad boy" when we are yelling at our other pup because he chews our furniture and when we use that tone she lays down and becomes very depressed. Even though we are in the other room and not even yelling at her she feels like she's in trouble and we praise her all the time for being such a good girl, but she doesn't like when someone yells. Could she be effected from when she was young and it only start showing up now. Because she was never like this until recently.

What kind of help do you think we can find. We have asked our vet before and haven't really gotten any answers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 450donn

What flavor of dog is it?
From my experience dogs will react to their enviroment. have you had her since a pup? Many times behavior problems can be traced back to when they were very young and something happened in their life. You need to get some professional help for her behavior.

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She is an olde english bulldogge. She just turned 1 and I would say these episodes have started about 2-3 months ago.

Rule out any medical problems with your vet, and see if he can recommend a good dog trainer, or better still, an animal behavior specialist.
In the meantime, start a log of when these episodes happen, who was there, what time of day, where, etc, and see if you start to see a pattern. Is she outdoors during the day where things may happen that you are unaware of? Watch her body language--position of ears, hair standing on end, and so on.
When did you get the other pup? Any correlation with the onset of these behaviors?
You are right to be concerned about children, the masters of loud noise and fast movements; frightened dogs that feel they can not escape can go from flight to fight in a matter of seconds.

I have a sheba enu terrioer mix and have always had the same problem. I got the dog at age 5. The dog was neglected for several months before I got him. We have noticed that if we fail to pay attention to him as much as he feels he needs we get the same reaction.

We got her at 3 months old. We got the other at 5 months old (two months after we got her). These "episodes" have started when she was about 11 months old. Today we went to the dog park and there was some toddlers there. I tried not to be nervous (because I know she can sense that) and she was amazing. The toddlers wanted to pet her and I had her sit. I kept telling her to e a good girl. And sure enough she just sat there looking at me and the toddlers were petting her, one even pulled on her ear. She was giving them gentle kisses. It was a really reassuring experience and I think I am just going to keep working on her and putting her in different experiences that I think would normally set her off and work on her concentrating and behaving. I have to stay on top of my feet and work hard for her to overcome this. I have talked to the vet before about it. There is no health problems and as far as her past (before we got her) he doesn't think that it would effect her now. Thank you everyone for your help.

A veterinary behaviorist would be a great place for you and your dog. These are the best of the best. There are only 46 in the US who have completed this level of education in animal behavior, but I have heard some wonderful stories of success. Here is a link to find one in your area. Many visit several animal hospitals throughout their state since their services are in such great demand. Diplomates
My Nikki and I have an our first appt. in 3 weeks to deal with anxiety issues. I am very hopeful. Best of luck to you!

I am so glad that you had a really good experience with the dog. I forgot to mantion that when I scold my other dog Chibi becomes extremely nervous and jumpy. I have found that when I need to scold the other dog I must be petting Chibi and telling him he is a good boy. Good Luck!! :p

Protect yourself legally by keeping her away from situation where she may nip, also make sure she is always up to date on her Rabies Vaccine. I have a bullmastiff who I socialized to heck out of as a puppy and nuetered him at a young age, when he hit around a year he out of the blue became a shy boy, doesn't nip but will growl, no incident to my knowledge brought it on, just the dog. Also I would rec. having her spayed if she is not, intact dogs in my opinion have a higher incidence of aggression. And as everyone elso said consult your vet who may refer you to a behavioralist.