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Posted by KDiamondDavis on December 07, 2002 at 16:42:13:
In Reply to: grumpy dog posted by tigger1 on December 06, 2002 at 08:46:19:
:Hi I have a 2 year old beagle who has recently started to growl if he doesn't want to do something for example if he is on a chair and we want him to move and he doesn't he will growl and snarl. We have a 6 month old baby and are a little concerned. Can anyone help he did not used to do this, thanks<<<<
Often when a dog has a personality change like this, it's actually a medical problem. The first thing to do is have your veterinarian check the dog carefully. One problem that comes to mind you could be having with a Beagle would be ear infections. Dogs have a survival instinct to hide their pain--showing weakness would get an animal killed in the wild.
Often the first sign and sometimes the ONLY sign a dog will give of having a painful physical problem is a change in behavior. Aggression is common, because the dog is protecting itself from pain. Besides ear infections, anything wrong with his bones or joints that makes it painful to move could also cause him to react this way when you tell him to move. From his point of view, you would be telling him to do something that he knows is going to hurt.
Ask your veterinarian to recommend a behavior specialist who can meet with your family and dog. Even if this turns out to be a medical problem, the growling behavior can quickly become a habit. You'll need to change how you handle the dog, to help change that behavior back to the safe behavior you need from the dog. The behavior specialist can also evaluate the dog to see if this is a suitable dog to live with a young child.
The sooner the dog is taken care of medically and you get the behavior specialist in person to help, the better your chances of solving this problem. Left too long, behaviors become habits and can be very hard to change.
If the dog is not neutered, that's something else to take care of now. Neutered dogs are statistically less likely to bite children.
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinarypartner.com