Hi i have a young border terrier male who has been great in all respects exept that he has started attacking me more and more frequently and I dont know why. Ive trained him since day one he is resposnive and usually very friendly with dogs and people. However recently he has started lunging at me without warning, he is happy exploring or playing and then seems to just flip.
I never smack him but do reprimand him however his attacks have become so aggressive that i have to restrain and pacify him or remove him form the room until he calms down.
He has excersise,plenty of toys food and affection I was wondering if his aggression might decrease after neutering which i will definately be doing for is health and happiness and mine hopefully!!
I have a child and worry that if i cant do something then i wont be able to keep him and that breaks my heart this was meant to be his home for life and he is dearly loved and part of our household now.

Hi!

sorry you are having difficulties, I would recommend you chat to your vet, there may be an underlying problem that gives sudden pain, (ear ache)

Definitely go & see your vet to rule out any underlying medical issue that he may have.

How old is he? When do the attacks occur? Is there any warning? Are there any triggers?

He's only 7 months, Ive booked him into be neutered and the spoke to a vet who says that after neutering they'll reccomend someone who can help me manage his behaviour so fingers crossed. And they'll be able to check him over to rule out any pain he could have.
Theres no warning signs not that im picking up anyway, he will be perfectly happy going about his business, if im sitting then he'll lunge at me and go for any area but often my face and this dog is fast! If im standing and it happens he'll go for my legs, feet or will jump up to bite my hands. Luckily i havnt had any serious injuries yet just scratches and bruises but its more than just nipping and sometimes he'll fix his bite on me growl and shake me as if im prey.
When he isnt in an aggressive state like this he is responsive to being told to 'get down' or 'sit', he is toilet trained and comes on command although i dont let him off the lead now incase he goes for someone which is sad for a dog like this because they need to run and chase. I did so much research before i bought him and most people including his breeder sing border terriers praises.
Im hoping this is a hormonal problem and with me being a female and him intact maybe its not a good combination for him right now. He'll be getting the snip next week though so hopefully after that he'll have a better quality of life.

I don't have much experience regarding dog behaviour (got my first dog a year ago & recently got my second) so can't offer much advice regarding this unfortunately, although there are loads of other members who could hopefully comment.

We had a few incidents when we got Roxy (second dog) who was fine for the first couple of weeks then started to attack Toby (first dog) for no apparent reason in the evenings. With her there was no warning signs, no growl but they all happened after she had been sleeping.

We couldn't understand what the trigger was so started to keep a diray of what had happened that day, walks, where she was when she started an attack, what happened afterwards, etc. This all helped when we managed to get an appointment with the behaviourist - might be worth doing something similar to see if you can see any pattern.

I started noticing a 'look' with Roxy where I knew the split second before she would attack Toby (it was never dorected at me) so would intervene to stop this by making her come in to the kitchen with me just to break her concentration.

I really wouldn't worry too much about him not being off the lead, alot of dogs don't or can't have this freedom & they are still happy dogs. He is only young so you have plenty of years ahead when you can do this when you are more confident with his behaviour. Maybe get a long line so he can have a run around but you still have some control.

Really do get some help with this from a recognised behaviourist as they will be able to really asses your situation & help you manage this. With Roxy we have not had any attacks for a while now ... although she has other issues tha t we need to work on!

Hope things improve for you both

Wait till you have a cattle dog tell you its lunging at your backside the first time! All he is doing is playing , its meaningless as an actual aggressive point until he is a "grump" personality except you need to be careful for your throat for accident sake.

Neutering only stops unwanted puppies or unwanted "real" aggression, its probably not required if you can passiffy him anyhow.

Just wondering what your relationship is like with your dog?

Is he treated like a baby? Fussed when he wants, gets on your lap when he wants?

You may be looking at a lack of respect on his part. A human pack leader is not a play mate, and in my opinion, when a dog treats it as such, it is down right disrespectful.

The dog needs to learn some manners. Imagine a 9 month old rottie or staffy doing that. Would you be able to deal with it in the same way then? The answer would probably be no.

Perhaps when he first started doing it, it was deemed as "funny". Now it is no longer the case, but the dog has learnt to do this. Or else, as I said he has no respect for you.

Sorry to sound harsh. It is just the way I tend to see these type of behaviours.

x

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