Bi-Polar Pnut
 

Last weekend DH, and I went to buy a Sea doo off of Craigslist. The house we were going to was about an hour out, so we decided to take Pnut with us. Well we get to the house and they let us in, the owner had two dogs a chow mix and a Maltese- Well I was holding Pnut and looking out of the window, they had this amazing pool. I told them how amazing I thought the pool was and the owner said oh let me show you, so we went in the backyard..

Well the chow mix came up to me and wanted to sniff Pnut and wanted me to pet him, all of a sudden I hear this Grrrrrrr from Peanut- I look at him and he his showing his teeth!!! I couldn’t believe it! I thought it was just because I was holding him, so I set him down. So the Maltese walks up to him to sniff his bum and Pnut turns around and growls at him!! Like a really mean growl not just a get away from me growl!

I couldn’t believe it, Pnut has never acted this way! So I picked him up, I told the lady I was sorry I wasn’t sure what his issue was and we went inside!

He has never really done this before to any dog… Not to this extent. One time we were at the dog park and he was on my lap a dog came up to see us and he did growl at the dog… then I put him down and he was ok.. so I don’t get it??

How can I fix this and why did he do this?

Aw...Peanut was protecting his mommy! Luma growled at another dog for the first time, at the dog park. I was sitting on a little tree stump and she was on my lap, and a pomeranian came up to me, and Lulu just growled like, SHE'S MINE!! :rolleyes: Everyone thought it was cute, because her growl is so high pitched and harmless, but it worried me and I'm bumping this up to see what other people say. Hopefully Peanut was just in a grumpy mood.

LoL- Well I don’t think it is cute- I have always watched those dogs, the ones that were the little barkers or the dogs that nobody can touch but the Mom or Dad and I told myself I will never have a dog like that. My dog will be well socialized so I don’t have a dog that I can’t take places! I mean he doesn’t do it often, but when he does he is usually on my lap or I am holding him. So I guess that’s a good thing- If he did it all the time it would be more of an issue for me. I just don’t know how to correct it? Peanut is usually very friendly- He might not want to play with other dogs at the park he kinda just likes to do his own thing, but I don’t want him to be a little jerk off to other dogs! LoL

Or he was just uncomfortable by those dogs or those dogs in that particular setting. Often they growl when they are feeling vulnerable. If he's well-socialized & hasn't done this before, I would not worry about it as he could have felt threatened for some reason or felt you were threatened - but if he keeps it up, I would tell him "no" when he does it & get away from any big dogs as this can cause an attack. Then, just keep socializing him & correcting him when he growls. If he's persistent, you might hold your hand over his eyes or something else he doesn't like to discourage the growling.

Sometimes the signals a dog lets off are subtle enough that we don't notice, but they do. Those dogs may have had something going on that was making your dog feel threatened or defensive. Who knows? It may have been a good thing that you were holding him. I never let Gracie down around other dogs until I am certain that all the signals are peaceful. Dog body language has to be studied. Having been attacked by another dog when my other dog was alive I am now really cautious about those things.

Georgie does that a lot more now then he ever did. I don't know exactly why but it seems it's when another dog wants attention from us which Georgie doesnt want to share that.

Ya I'm not sure why he did it- he has done it before but once I set him down he got over it- I will try to cover his eyes and correct him the next time. The thing is he is very well mannared, he never barks when we are out he is super friendly but if a dog is coming up to me and I am holding him or he is in my lap he has an issue with it- I never understood why-

That's true- this is the first time I let him down and he still had an issue with the dog- then I picked him up and took him away..

Ya. Isn't it strange? To me Pnut is saying " dis my mommy back off" Lol but you know they probably have something else in mind LOL.

That further explanation sounds like he is protective or jealous. Disagree with that behavior each time he does it and expose him as much as possible to similar situations so you can correct. Maybe find out where his comfort zone is and stay just within that & every time he lets a dog come around at that distance, praise him & give a treat. Gradually decrease that distance to dogs & correct when he growls, praise/treat when he doesn't. Eventually he should get the message that momma doesn't want me growling when I'm in her arms & another dog comes up close. Some will tap a growling dog on the nose or hold the muzzle each time they do.

I wonder why he or where he got this from..? Did I do something wrong? I'm going to try to fix it!!

Maybe he feels threatened Bc I am holding him? I don't know how true that is bc he still sometimes growls at the dog when I set him down-

I think they act protective or a bit dominant when they don't feel that their leader is the strongest. A lot of times they feel they need to protect a not too strong leader or feel that they can act the leader part themselves by giving another dog lack of permission for approaching - a clear breach of his roll. You are the one to make decisions about who approaches the two of you and tells another dog to back off or gives the approach signals - not your little one! If you haven't already, try some Behavior Modification Training techniques with lots of patience & love & fun rewards and re-establish yourself as the leader of your team and giving Pnut clear ideas of just who calls the shots in all situations. Once he knows you're in complete control, he'll likely relax & let you do the decision-making.

:rolleyes: Well if that is the case I have a lot of work to do with him! I am pretty sure he wears the pants in the family. :animal36 You know how Cesar Milan says " Discipline, exercise and affection"? Uhhh Pnut gets in this order Affection, exercise, affection and exercise! Haha Is that what created this Pnut monster?

Well, these little babies do get under our skin & we often give sway to them in so many ways - ways we don't even know are sending subtle signals to them. Tibbe often wrests the so-called alpha dog or leadership role from me in things & I have to gently guide him back to the place where he's not running the show. I give over to him at times just because he is so dang cute and adorable or I'm not in the mood to make a point of correcting him all the time. But when he begins to exhibit some kind of undesired behavior because of that, I realize I probably gave way to him way too much for way too long & we kind of restart in going through basic Behavior Modification Techniques and he stops the inappropriate behavior. But I'm just not one of those who is a strict disciplinarian or expect perfect behavior 100% of the time - so we have some issues to work through from time to time. But I keep it short & a fun exercise for him & he goes right along. He's kind to me that way.
:ladywinks

I struggle with this issue with my guys because I want them to be well-socialized, but I also want to keep them safe. As someone mentioned above, I think dog to dog communication and relationships are very complex and nuanced. I think a lot of it has to do with the combo of personalities of the 2 dogs meeting -- whether they are alphas or submissives or whatever. Plus, there is the factor of territory.

I've always read that it is better for 2 dogs to meet on equal terms, on the ground, and either both on leash or both off leash. Was Peanut on a leash? If he was, maybe being on a leash while the other dogs were off leash had a little something to do with his reaction.

When Max was a pup, I would take him outside in his wire crate to hang out with me while I worked in the yard. People would walk their dogs up to the wire crate and Max would turn into the Tazmanian devil. He felt threatened because he was stuck in a cage.

You are not the only one. I know Georgie wears the pants here LOL. I know for us this won't change. We really just keep Georgie all to ourselves and don't try to socialize him anymore. He has had a couple of surgeries so we are ok with him not playing with other dogs. He does have Yorkie cousins and does well with them (they really just sleep and leave each other alone LOL). Him and his big Boxer sister have always been pals but she's as sweet as can be and so gentle. It's really the strange dogs that he gets that way around.

When he acts like that and people look at us crazy we say he has small dog syndrome and leave it at that;)

:thumbup:

It really doesn't matter much what was going on...something clearly was...and Peanut was uncomfortable with it and issued a warning. It doesn't have to have been something necessarily bad...just something to set Peanut on edge.

We took Mia to my son's house the day after we got her, and my son and granddaughter dog, Lady, 'surprised' us...and especially Mia, but I jumped, too, at first...at the window of the truck. DS met us at the truck to 'ease' the meeting for Lady...which he had not done when Brody met Lady and the two of them got along grandly and played until Brody collapsed on one on Lady's beds and Lady on the other. Mia, who was sweet as could be, good with other dogs, cats, and humans but not bonded with us yet, saw an unfamiliar human face at the window and lit into barking. For that whole visit, she was extremely uncomfortable and tense, and playing was very stressed and almost non-existent...body language looking more like aggression/fear for both Lady and Mia...neither is aggressive or particularly fearful normally. Brody played with Lady fine when I held Mia.

The next time Mia went to DS's house to play with Lady, the scene was completely different, and they were great friends. When Lady came to our house, the three played well also with no issues. But that first day, Mia's alarms all fired at the same time, and there was no easing her discomfort or silencing her. :confused::rolleyes::p:D

My fletcher freaks out when my nephew comes near him when he's laying with me. Real mean snapping, growling and barking. He also does not warn hes going to be mad, he just lashes out. Its so stressful. I wish I knew how to break the habit also. Ive tried putting him in another room when he does that. I tried to ignore him. He's better when I ignore him, but its so hard!

I agree with you- Yes I had Pnut's BB on with his leash attached. I have the retractable leash- however I was holding it but he was still hooked up.

Aw Poor Max! Lol I can almost picture him doing that :rolleyes: It is hard to balance everything out- it is hard bc they cant speak- we have to go on their actions.. That is a hard thing to do!

I think Pnut is Bi Polar!

LoL I knew I wasn’t the only one, but I am glad someone else admitted to it!! LOL. Peanut is just Peanut. I am ok with that. He is ok when he is on the ground meeting dogs so I know when meeting new dogs he will have to be on the ground. He is really a good dog, he does have a little quirks about him, but what Yorkie doesn’t!!

:confused: Has your nephew ever done anything to upset Flecther? Peanut doesn’t really like kids, he deals with my niece and nephews but he will not play with them. If he doesn’t have to be around them he will- if he is forced to he will deal with it.

Well Mia didnt like something! Glad Mia was ok the next time!

We need to start a club for people like us LOL. I do notice that Georgie is much better with other dogs when he is on the ground with him. We don't put him down with other bigs dogs for fear he will get hurt he is only allowed to be with his Sister;) I think Peanut and Georgie are just being protective of us.

My brother has a boxer, his name is Leo. I was dog sitting him and my brothers other dog Grace she is a min pincher- They all get along great! Grace just ignores Pnut, she is somewhat older about 8. Leo is younger than Peanut he is 2. When I go to their house Peanut is fine, he allows them to sniff (when Pnut is on the floor) If Pnut is in my lap and Leo comes up to see us and Leo gets too close, Pnut will growl and show his teeth.

I do believe it is more protective behavior that Pnut has.

When I was dog sitting, we took them all out in the back yard to play. Grace was doing her own thing and Dh threw the ball for Leo- Well Pnut saw that and ran to get it- so did Leo. Peanut got there first and grabbed the ball, Leo went to play tug of war with it and Pnut snapped at him! He snapped and growled really loud to Leo, Peanut was attacking Leo- Poor Leo, didn’t know what to do. At this time Peanut was going all crazy and still growling and biting at him- As DH is running over, I see Leo take his big ol head and lay his head on top of Pnuts’ he was obviously trying to over dominate but he did it in his own way where he didn’t attack Peanut. He kept taking his head and trying to push Peanut down. that is what it looked liked me us, Dh got over to them and took Pnut away from the situation.

It was crazy! I was sooooooo thankful Leo didn’t do anything! That could have been really bad!! I thought I was going to keep them separate the rest of the weekend but right after that we went inside and Peanut was fine with Leo. They were snuggled in the same bed 15 mins later!!

I did learn my lesson, if we dog sit them again, I wont have same play time!

Yes we need a club- what can we call it!??

That's exactly what Georgie does even to Coco! Coco looks at him like what's wrong with you buddy LOL Coco has never shown any aggression towards Georgie she will just open her mouth and she sounds like Chewbacca and waves her heard around as they play. I posted it here many years ago. I just think Boxers are so sweet. I have never worried about anything other than Coco accidently hurting Georgie which she is 6 years older so when they play she is laying down LOL. I am so glad Leo realized his size and him and Peanut were buddies so soon after;)

Georgie is our first and only Yorkie so I didn't realize how different his personality would be from Coco's. She is so laid back and well he isn't LOL.

We need to think of a cute name for our club obviously to match the cuteness of our boys:D

Your Coco is so cute- I just love Boxers, they are a great breed! My brother’s Leo is such a goof ball! I love watching him- Ya that is what Leo did, he looked at Peanut like, calm down dude!! LoL I was shocked when I saw Leo take his head and push Peanut down. That was the only thing he could have done really in dog ways, other than fighting back, but thankfully Leo is a sweet heart and I think he knows how small Peanut is!! I also think Peanut knows how BIG Leo is , and I m shocked that Peanut tried to get fresh with him!

That is so funny you say that- Leo and Coco sound a lot alike and Pnut/ Georgie sound A LOT alike haha!! Yorkies are little nuts aren’t they? Haha The only fear I have with Leo is sometimes when he gets crazy and runs around, I fear Pnut would get in the way other than that they have never had a problem, and when Peanut has a problem with Leo- he pretty much ignores it and looks at him like he is crazy!

I am going to think about a name- are boys sounds like they are equally crazy~

Thank you she is really so sweet. She is getting old but still gets around and is in good health. I can't believe she will be 13 in October! Georgie is definitely a little crazy ok a lot LOL. Before I found YT I thought I was the only one with this 4lb furball that ran my life HA! We love every minute of it though and we created this monster. I can understand your worry Boxers are wild and I think they male Boxers are even more so.

Let me know what name you come up:D

Dinky thinks he is our protector too. He will bark and growl at large dogs; he is okay with dogs that are his size or smaller. Well, he weighs 4 pounds, so that does not happen often.
It really is a problem. I feel that Dinky misses out on playmates.
And he also barks at people when he does not know them or does not know them well.
I've said the when Dinky acts like this it is not barking, it is cursing. I mean if I had a doggie translator, Dinky would be saying, " You %%!@@ creature. Get the &%$#((( away from my family! Now, I will attack you **$$#@ now!"
I have finally convinced my DH who spoils Dinky that our little guy would be happier if he we taught him to behave better.
It really distresses me.

No... my nephew has never done anything to Fletcher. And if I am not around, he is fine with my nephew. Its only when he's sitting ON me and my nephew comes near us that he freaks. Neither of my dogs really like kids in general, but they are fine with them and even act good when a kid pets them or tries to pick them up.... but if they are actually physically ON me, then its best to not have any kid near them at all. Dexter does not do anything at all.... but Fletch snaps, lunges forward and barks maniacally for a few seconds at the child. I hate that he does that.

My Dexter tends to be more stand off-ish or afriad of other dogs in general. Big, small, male, female, old, young, it does not matter. Our friends have a big Rottie who is very friendly and playful and about 160lbs. Other dogs seem to sense that Dexter wants NOTHING to do with them, therefore they are always all over him, trying to play or sniff him. One day he turned around and laid into that Rottie something fierce. He was 4.5lbs at the time. It was like he was telling the Rottie to back the #$%^ off. LOL We were all shocked and made sure to keep them apart from that point forward.