My dog is about nine months old. He is a neutered Husky Shepherd cross. He is normally a friendly kind albeit hyper dog. Tonight however, he lunged and snapped at my fiancé for no reason. Curtis (fiance) was sitting on the couch petting Nico (the dog) when the dog lashed out with his front paws and snapped at Curtis with his teeth. Totally out of the blue! Any ideas about what could have caused this, and should I be worried? I am pretty nervous!

I would start with a visit to the vet. Curtis may have accidentally hit a tender spot.

He may have also violated doggy etiquette somehow. It is a serious matter for a dog to lash out that way even if hurt or rudely challenged. The dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members
Outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by
Reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class
Or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with
A treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/.

The dog must learn that is not a proper response to any provocation. At 9 months, even neutered, he may be feeling he is a big boy and ready to challenge this intruder. As a Husky/Shepherd cross he may have some genetic tendencies to aggression and protectiveness. Get a book that emphasizes leadership and being top dog. Different people use slightly different terms. Check https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=22607 for ideas. Work with him. If the problem persists, you may need to decide whether to enlist professional help or give up on him.

Hi,
Sometimes, aggressiveness means the dog has not had enough exercise, giving him more energy than he knows what to do with!
The Husky is a "working dog", meaning he needs plenty of exercise. If you take him for walks, they should be at least 45 minutes a day. If you have a large back yard, then run with him, releasing some energy.
Some professional trainers, at first, use a treadmill, holding the dog on the treadmill with a leash, letting it walk away tension.
I do wish you the very best.

Thanks, Labman for your help! Nico is already booked for obedience classes but they don't start until mid-April. I have a training book already and we are working on obedience everyday. He also has an appt for next week at the vet. We put him on a time out after his "incident" last night and when he came back out he was fine. I even cut his toenails without any problem. We just came back from a trip away with him yesterday and I am not sure but the change of routine might have had something to do with it.

As to his amount of exercise... he gets tons. He had four walks yesterday so I'm sure its not that. I am not working right now so he gets regular exercise and lots of attention. Thanks though for the suggestion, Fredg.

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Originally Posted by mrs.pennell

My dog is about nine months old. He is a neutered Husky Shepherd cross. He is normally a friendly kind albeit hyper dog. Tonight however, he lunged and snapped at my fiance for no reason. Curtis (fiance) was sitting on the couch petting Nico (the dog) when the dog lashed out with his front paws and snapped at Curtis with his teeth. Totally out of the blue! Any ideas about what could have caused this, and should I be worried? I am pretty nervous!

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U should check to see if there is a lump or something were he was petting him because that is what happened to my dog xxx don't be worried if there is a lump xxx just take him to the vets