# Sudden aggression with my 2 year old



## Belle87ad (Sep 17, 2020)

Hello! We have a GSD/Boxer mix, Eva, that we have raised from puppyhood. She has always been high energy and hyper-motivated when it comes to protecting the house (barks at the mailman, people walking, etc.). But ANYone who comes into the house is accepted and we have never ever had a problem with her being aggressive towards anyone in the house. She is 4 years old now and was raised along with my 5 year old, so she is totally accustomed to kids. Recently though, she's been showing aggression towards my newly-turned 2 year old son. My son was sitting on my husband's lap watching tv and Eva was dozing beside them. We don't know what happened, but she suddenly make a short growl and snapped at my son, causing a small scratch above his lip. We have always taught our kids to pet gently, don't pull tails, never be rough with the dogs. My youngest is still learning gentle pet and I have had to correct him when petting in the past because he's grabbed a bit of fur. Even the last time he did that, Eva didn't even seem to notice. Anyway, I was disturbed by this event, but figured that she was sleeping and my son may have been absentmindedly petting her and maybe grabbed her fur. We'll never know. She did react immediately as "guilty" and seemed to realize she screwed up. 
Today however, my mother in law called me in a panic. Eva was resting on the couch, awake, and my youngest toddled towards her with an outstretched hand. She growled suddenly, jumped off the couch knocking him over and stood over him. It happened incredibly quick and my mother and law said Eva backed off immediately when she hollered at her. But I'm totally flabbergasted. Even when my oldest son has accidentally fallen on her or something like that, she's only ever yelped and never reacted aggressively. She has always loved my youngest son and never tried to "herd" him and reacted 100% positively when we brought him home from the hospital. She licks him every chance she can get. I keep thinking that there must have been more instances when my son has done something to her, but I can't think of any and my son is quiet and mild mannered. 
Anyway, I'm terrified by this new behavior and how it's apparently escalated. I know my first step is to take her to the vet to rule out anything, but I was wondering if anyone else has advice until we get her in. Thank you in advance.


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## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

Correct her immediately the next time it happens. The correction has to be severe and immediate. From your description the dog sounds handler soft and could experience single event learning if punished correctly. If you don’t do this soon and effectively you will likely end up getting rid of the dog. Don’t play around and if you have to punch the dog in the face so she won’t forget while telling her no. To some, this will sound harsh, but this is how dogs settle pack hierarchy issues.


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## Damicodric (Apr 13, 2013)

Chip Blasiole said:


> Correct her immediately the next time it happens. The correction has to be severe and immediate. From your description the dog sounds handler soft and could experience single event learning if punished correctly. If you don’t do this soon and effectively you will likely end up getting rid of the dog. Don’t play around and if you have to punch the dog in the face so she won’t forget while telling her no. To some, this will sound harsh, but this is how dogs settle pack hierarchy issues.


Chip. Spot on.

But for harsh - I’m putting the dog through the wall. Immediately.

(Then, calling my drywall guys). 

Not only should the correction be harsh, it should have some duration to it. Keep the dog in the “wtf did I just do” mode. Two-three minutes. This isn’t snap the leash correction mode.

Then for a while after - posture up throughout the day - no talk, stern looks, keep the dog thinking and recognizing that you are NOT happy.

This is completely fixable, but you gotta come un-glued, should it happen, again.

Best of luck moving forward with your family and your dog.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Your dog should not have access to your two year old at all until you get this figured out and have a plan in place.It only takes a second for a disaster to happen then it's too late.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Any sudden shift in a normally stable dog means vet visit first and now.


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## EgansMom (Apr 18, 2020)

Sabis mom said:


> Any sudden shift in a normally stable dog means vet visit first and now.


I agree that medical needs to be ruled out before you jump to harshly correcting a dog who may be in pain for some reason.


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## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

The behavior is very specific and very unlikely to be related to a medical problem. Letting it happen again while waiting on a vet visit makes the problem exponentially worse.


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## Damicodric (Apr 13, 2013)

Curtailing access in the immediacy is most prudent. Agreed. But how long do you live with that?

This can be an awkward dance, but if it does happen again, assuming all is well, you gotta light that dog up.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Damicodric said:


> Not only should the correction be harsh, it should have some duration to it. Keep the dog in the “wtf did I just do” mode. Two-three minutes. This isn’t snap the leash correction mode.


I am all for a correction but this is abusive and can back fire. If you continue this long the dog will have forgotten what is was for and can bite you out of fear. Then what? InThe dog shouldn't have been on the couch to start with. I am sure sure red flags have been missed


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

Belle87ad said:


> She is 4 years old now and was raised along with my 5 year old, so she is totally accustomed to kids. Recently though, she's been showing aggression towards my newly-turned 2 year old son. My son was sitting on my husband's lap watching tv and Eva was dozing beside them. We don't know what happened, but she suddenly make a short growl and snapped at my son, causing a small scratch above his lip.


When I read this part Belle, there's something that comes to mind. It can be easy to miss signs of tension between the dog and your son anytime, but because you've thought of her as totally accustomed, I think you're a little more likely to. Its probably escalated to this from different things. Its not out of the question for her to like one kid, tolerate another, and feel uncomfortable with the third. I'd put a lot of thought into how they're all allowed to interact, and especially the types of things like laying on the couch. Things like that can be something like a competition in your dogs mind. And like Terri said, don't let them be in contact with each other at all until you have a better idea of whats going on.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Chip Blasiole said:


> The behavior is very specific and very unlikely to be related to a medical problem. Letting it happen again while waiting on a vet visit makes the problem exponentially worse.


Absolutely no access no opportunity in the meantime! I thought that part was self explanatory.


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## Lexie’s mom (Oct 27, 2019)

In my lifetime I had to return 2 dogs back to their breeders because I didn’t want to take any chances of them hurting my kids, my youngest daughter was 7 m.o when we returned our English bulldog back to her breeder after we had her for 2 years and she got her AKC champion title. She was basically raised by my shar pei and started attacking her out of nowhere. It was really bad... I didn’t want to take any chances when my daughter was crawling around for her to get in the middle.
The same shar pei that was mothering all the puppies/kitties yet again raised another pup that attacked her when she was 8 m.o. it was absolutely horrible bloody mess. She went back to her breeder the same day. My daughter who wasn’t little any more was trying to help and got in the middle and got a bite on her hand. Nothing bad but still...
My shar pei thank goodness recovered yet again at her very senior age and lived with us for 14.+ years.


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## Belle87ad (Sep 17, 2020)

Thank you all for your suggestions and words of wisdom. She has an appointment with her vet tomorrow morning to check for anything physically ailing her. It's such a strange turn from her normal behavior and we're all in a bit of shock over it. She was a very challenging dog the first two years of her life and in the last year she has finally matured so much. So this sudden behavior change is really heartbreaking. I'm really hoping the vet finds something physical and fixable to explain it. Again, thank you everyone for the encouragement and ideas.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Keep us updated!


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

I know this is not a popular opinion but both issues were with the dog on the couch. Dog bed on the floor and neither aggression issue likely happens. jmo


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## Biscuit (Mar 24, 2020)

WNGD said:


> I know this is not a popular opinion but both issues were with the dog on the couch. Dog bed on the floor and neither aggression issue likely happens. jmo


Just out of interest what is the philosophy behind keeping the dog off the couch? 

I have not allowed Biscuit on the couch yet. My idea was that was a privilege to be earned (1+yrs). Are there other reasons to keep her off? She is content on her own bed. 

Good luck OP 🤞


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## Belle87ad (Sep 17, 2020)

Biscuit said:


> Just out of interest what is the philosophy behind keeping the dog off the couch?
> 
> I have not allowed Biscuit on the couch yet. My idea was that was a privilege to be earned (1+yrs). Are there other reasons to keep her off? She is content on her own bed.
> 
> Good luck OP 🤞


I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I know it has something do with keeping the pecking order correct in the household. If you want your dog to acknowledge you as the alpha of the pack, you get the high ground, they get the floor. I'm the first to admit I'm completely awful about this because we snuggle on the couch every night...

Thank you for your well wishes


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

WNGD said:


> I know this is not a popular opinion but both issues were with the dog on the couch. Dog bed on the floor and neither aggression issue likely happens. jmo


I totally agree! My dogs don't get on my furniture. We have plenty of nice dog beds _around_ the couch. With new foster dogs coming in and out of our house, we started that because we didn't want to send the fostered dogs home with bad habits an adopter may not want, but what we learned is that it avoids hierarchy and possessiveness issues. 

Over the years, I have had adopters occasionally call and report new issues with dogs that I fostered for many months with _no_ issues, and as we talked, it became clear that the issues were rooted in the dog being up on the couch or bed in their new home. My hunch is that for some insecure dogs there may be a feeling of being "powerful" on the couch, especially if they're the one on the couch with the person -- some of them develop a kind of territoriality over the positioning. Once they got booted off the furniture, the adopters have reported that the jerky behavior stopped. 

Some dogs seem to handle being on the couch just fine without becoming jerks, but there are some who don't. Practicing Nothing-in-Life-Is-Free seems to help them understand how the household operates, and part of that that "I own the stuff." The furniture belongs to the humans....and the _humans_ (large and small) also belong to the humans (so no herding of humans!). I don't subscribe to alpha theory (it's been conclusively debunked by the scientists studying wolves IMHO), but there is something to "owning the stuff" that dogs understand. 

Consistency also matters. You can't snuggle every night on the couch and then say "oops! now the couch is mine." That's just confusing for the dog. You can snuggle on a dog bed.


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## Biscuit (Mar 24, 2020)

Magwart said:


> You can snuggle on a dog bed.


Many a night I've fallen asleep face down on the dog bed. I definitely see dog behaviours that only come out on the couch/chair/lap. Mine will remain off the couch.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Belle87ad said:


> I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I know it has something do with keeping the pecking order correct in the household. If you want your dog to acknowledge you as the alpha of the pack, you get the high ground, they get the floor. I'm the first to admit I'm completely awful about this because we snuggle on the couch every night...
> 
> Thank you for your well wishes


My dogs do whatever, I have zero issues. I don't much buy into the alpha/ dominant thing. 
The only dog I have ever had challenge me over furniture was laying on the floor by my feet when he attacked and crushed my forearm.
Your dog has been stable and well behaved to date. My instinct says something else is going on. Dogs do not suddenly turn on family members for no reason.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

...but i’d also think if it were medical, the aggression wouldn’t only be directed at one family member? i’m thinking some signs were missed, but that is neither here nor there at this point. this isn’t a dog that i’d personally feel comfortable around such a young child any longer.... if the OP feels confident in their application and timing of a correction, that’s fine, but that would mean allowing another opportunity to occur in order to administer the correction. not safe or fair.

keep the dog off the couch. return to a structured training routine to help rebuild the relationship and clarify expectations, but above all....keep your child safe until they are at the age of improved motor skills and overall comprehension & communication in regards to the dog.

go on walks together as a family... let the kid toss a ball or give a treat from your lap, etc. they can still be a part of each other’s lives, just not in a casual, uncontrolled, lounging around type setting.


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## Belle87ad (Sep 17, 2020)

Sabis mom said:


> My dogs do whatever, I have zero issues. I don't much buy into the alpha/ dominant thing.
> The only dog I have ever had challenge me over furniture was laying on the floor by my feet when he attacked and crushed my forearm.
> Your dog has been stable and well behaved to date. My instinct says something else is going on. Dogs do not suddenly turn on family members for no reason.


I really hope this is the case and curious if the vet discovers anything tomorrow.


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## Belle87ad (Sep 17, 2020)

Fodder said:


> ...but i’d also think if it were medical, the aggression wouldn’t only be directed at one family member? i’m thinking some signs were missed, but that is neither here nor there at this point. this isn’t a dog that i’d personally feel comfortable around such a young child any longer.... if the OP feels confident in their application and timing of a correction, that’s fine, but that would mean allowing another opportunity to occur in order to administer the correction. not safe or fair.
> 
> keep the dog off the couch. return to a structured training routine to help rebuild the relationship and clarify expectations, but above all....keep your child safe until they are at the age of improved motor skills and overall comprehension & communication in regards to the dog.
> 
> go on walks together as a family... let the kid toss a ball or give a treat from your lap, etc. they can still be a part of each other’s lives, just not in a casual, uncontrolled, lounging around type setting.


Thank you for this advice. I think after the vet check we're going to get her a bed for living room. And with the weather changing to comfortable we're going to make extra effort to get her walks in with the whole family.


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## Belle87ad (Sep 17, 2020)

I just wanted to make a separate post and express my complete and heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who have taken time to comment. I stumbled across this site while googling information about aggressive behavior and I'm truly overwhelmed and frankly emotional by the honest, helpful and quality advice each and every one of you have contributed. It's given me a lot to consider and hope that even though we don't know yet what's causing this change, that there is hope to change her back. Thank you so much, everyone!


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Biscuit said:


> Just out of interest what is the philosophy behind keeping the dog off the couch?
> 
> I have not allowed Biscuit on the couch yet. My idea was that was a privilege to be earned (1+yrs). Are there other reasons to keep her off? She is content on her own bed.
> 
> Good luck OP 🤞


 I agree with 'no access to the couch or bed' for this particular dog. If there are no issues with a dog than I don't worry about it. In this case, there WERE issues otherwise nothing would have happened. The dog and child were just too close together and possible crowded each other, which the dog did not approve of. Dogs bite with the intended result so this was a strong warning and next time It may be worse. Check out the bite scale of Ian Dunbar and the interpretations of the bite at https://apdt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ian-dunbar-dog-bite-scale.pdf.
It seems to be a level 2 bite and following is the interpretation:" _Levels 1 and 2 comprise well over 99% of dog incidents. The dog is certainly not dangerous and more likely to be fearful, rambunctious, or out of control. Wonderful prognosis. Quickly resolve the problem with basic training (control) — especially oodles of Classical Conditioning, numerous repetitive Retreat n' Treat, Come/Sit/Food Reward and Backup/Approach/Food Reward sequences, progressive desensitization handling exercises, plus numerous bite-inhibition exercises and games. Hand feed only until resolved; do NOT waste potential food rewards by feeding from a bowl. "_
In your first post you mentioned several behaviors that show that the dog takes too much initiative in "protecting" the house. I would also incorporate NILIF (see info on this forum)


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## Shefali (Aug 12, 2020)

WNGD said:


> I know this is not a popular opinion but both issues were with the dog on the couch. Dog bed on the floor and neither aggression issue likely happens. jmo


I don't let my GSD on the couch or the bed. People furniture is only for people. He has his own dog beds/blankets


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

Biscuit said:


> Just out of interest what is the philosophy behind keeping the dog off the couch?
> 
> I have not allowed Biscuit on the couch yet. My idea was that was a privilege to be earned (1+yrs). Are there other reasons to keep her off? She is content on her own bed.
> 
> Good luck OP 🤞


I just don't think dogs belong on furniture, beds or kitchen counters.
Manners, hierarchy, dirt/ticks/fleas, at face level with kids, take your pick, there's more.

I have lost count of how many people say "Fifi gets to be on the bed/couch but gets down if I need her to with just a bit or grumbling or a low growl" .....

Plus when the kids were all home, 5 of us filled the L-shaped couch where we usually watch TV; there was never a question of who owned the couch. When there's more of us, we fill the 2 very expensive couches in the living room.

We have very nice rugs or there are dog beds around. Everyone wins.

Others feed people food or from the table, creating other confusing food/possessiveness issues that we wouldn't necessarily agree on. If your dog has never learned to beg/be fed at the table, they won't be there to mistakenly bite little hands dropping food that I read of occasionally. To each his own I guess.

Dogs may be family but they're still dogs.


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