Posted in another training page here too. Looking for advice or help with my 3.5yr old Great Pyrenees mix. He is about 75 lbs. He does take 100mg of cyclosporine for anal fixtures - we have been on meds about 4 months.
Over the last few weeks he has gotten significantly more aggressive. It has been directed solely at me since this has began. (We have a 10mo female Great Dane we added 6mo ago, and a 4mo pregnant wife - no issues with either of them as of yet).
I have had 4 incidents with my male now (all in the morning only - seems normal when I get back home in the evening) where he has shown major aggression with me that I have never experienced with him. All has been within last 3 weeks. He has never been THIS reactive (in his first 6mo-1yr he would snap sometimes if suddenly awoken, and bit me once when he had a vomit covered paper towel he was trying to eat - I have NEVER had any issues taking food/toys/treats from him - whether it be person or dog intruding). Other than that he has been around my in laws, in a rv, our cabin, etc. with other family members, and other dogs male and female for extended periods of time without issue. (We travel together and my family has 3 large dogs, and my in laws have a 2yr old Great Dane).
Incident 1: He was eating breakfast and I pet him to say goodbye before I left for work. He snapped and bit my forearm (1 bite - I had a winter coat on so no marking, just a small bruise from the pressure). I scolded him and told him no. I was a little more stern and yelled due to the severity of this random snap. I pinned this to just being tired or not well rested and went on about it.
Incident 2: I was leaving for work and went to pat him goodbye. I went to pet his head and he showed me teeth and growled. I backed off and let him go onto his couch spot where he let me pet him like normal. My thought here was that the other dog was antagonizing him and he was just tired still and not ready to deal with any attention. I don’t think I even reprimanded him here and just let him be.
Incident 3: yesterday I was leaving for work. I gave the 2 dogs their morning bone biscuit and said bye (Great Dane is in a crate still - she got her treat in the crate). My male dog was almost finished eating his, when I patted his head and then his butt and said bye. I took about 2 steps back when I saw him turn around. He then showed his teeth and charged me. He grabbed my forearm/hand and bit me about 3-5 times without stopping until I was able to grab his collar and get control/make him lay down. This incident left swelling, bruising, some teeth marks/scratches. I was not actively bleeding but the markings are just below “skin-breaking”. I was very upset with this incident and I did scream at him as loud as I could while I was holding him on the ground - (essentially screaming what’s wrong with you, bad boy, etc.) I did not physically reprimand other than my pointer finger on his nose while I was yelling. He didn’t seem phased and then went on the couch and was upset/not doing anything. I left for work and when I got home he was standoffish, but eventually came and cuddled on me/licked my face like normal. My wife and I concluded this is likely resource guarding because the 2 major incidents both involved food or treats.
Incident 4: this AM (morning after bite), he seemed normal. Let me wipe his paws, give him his medication, pet him, etc. He jumped on our couch and I went to pat his head, and he again showed teeth and growled. I backed off and tried to approach with treats but he wouldn’t come by me or walk in the room I was in. He was going to my wife and being fine with her, but seemingly has some issue with me.
I am nervous what to do or how to react. He is my first dog of my own and I have been very close with him. I usually have the best relationship with him and this behavior is just very unusual and upsetting. I am nervous that he will bite my wife and even worse, this will bleed over to when our baby comes. Any help would be appreciated. He has never been very food motivated, which also makes this that much weirder. Any help would be appreciated.
Over the last few weeks he has gotten significantly more aggressive. It has been directed solely at me since this has began. (We have a 10mo female Great Dane we added 6mo ago, and a 4mo pregnant wife - no issues with either of them as of yet).
I have had 4 incidents with my male now (all in the morning only - seems normal when I get back home in the evening) where he has shown major aggression with me that I have never experienced with him. All has been within last 3 weeks. He has never been THIS reactive (in his first 6mo-1yr he would snap sometimes if suddenly awoken, and bit me once when he had a vomit covered paper towel he was trying to eat - I have NEVER had any issues taking food/toys/treats from him - whether it be person or dog intruding). Other than that he has been around my in laws, in a rv, our cabin, etc. with other family members, and other dogs male and female for extended periods of time without issue. (We travel together and my family has 3 large dogs, and my in laws have a 2yr old Great Dane).
Incident 1: He was eating breakfast and I pet him to say goodbye before I left for work. He snapped and bit my forearm (1 bite - I had a winter coat on so no marking, just a small bruise from the pressure). I scolded him and told him no. I was a little more stern and yelled due to the severity of this random snap. I pinned this to just being tired or not well rested and went on about it.
Incident 2: I was leaving for work and went to pat him goodbye. I went to pet his head and he showed me teeth and growled. I backed off and let him go onto his couch spot where he let me pet him like normal. My thought here was that the other dog was antagonizing him and he was just tired still and not ready to deal with any attention. I don’t think I even reprimanded him here and just let him be.
Incident 3: yesterday I was leaving for work. I gave the 2 dogs their morning bone biscuit and said bye (Great Dane is in a crate still - she got her treat in the crate). My male dog was almost finished eating his, when I patted his head and then his butt and said bye. I took about 2 steps back when I saw him turn around. He then showed his teeth and charged me. He grabbed my forearm/hand and bit me about 3-5 times without stopping until I was able to grab his collar and get control/make him lay down. This incident left swelling, bruising, some teeth marks/scratches. I was not actively bleeding but the markings are just below “skin-breaking”. I was very upset with this incident and I did scream at him as loud as I could while I was holding him on the ground - (essentially screaming what’s wrong with you, bad boy, etc.) I did not physically reprimand other than my pointer finger on his nose while I was yelling. He didn’t seem phased and then went on the couch and was upset/not doing anything. I left for work and when I got home he was standoffish, but eventually came and cuddled on me/licked my face like normal. My wife and I concluded this is likely resource guarding because the 2 major incidents both involved food or treats.
Incident 4: this AM (morning after bite), he seemed normal. Let me wipe his paws, give him his medication, pet him, etc. He jumped on our couch and I went to pat his head, and he again showed teeth and growled. I backed off and tried to approach with treats but he wouldn’t come by me or walk in the room I was in. He was going to my wife and being fine with her, but seemingly has some issue with me.
I am nervous what to do or how to react. He is my first dog of my own and I have been very close with him. I usually have the best relationship with him and this behavior is just very unusual and upsetting. I am nervous that he will bite my wife and even worse, this will bleed over to when our baby comes. Any help would be appreciated. He has never been very food motivated, which also makes this that much weirder. Any help would be appreciated.