Dealing with/controlling aggressive behavior

3 year old chocolate lab male has suddenly gotten aggressive/dominate towards kids in the last few days. Growling and nipped at them. So strange because all the neighbors kids play with him and pet him. One kid walked up to him to pet him and he just immediately nipped at him. Little while later was Growling at a little girl as he walked by.

Of coarse we immediately removed and crated him. But now we have a HUGE SENSE Of distrust. Crazy because he seeks the affection of being petted and played with. Not sure of what to do next. Have a vacation planned and he would be with little kids swimming and playing all week…..what tests do you do and how do you make an immediate change in behavior?

Interesting, how’s his health? Out of the blue like that I’d suspect a possible pain issue? Anything environmentally change at all, was he in others care at any time recently or any possible injuries? That’s a tough one.

I’m thinking along the lines of basseyes, sounds like a possible health issue. I’d schedule a trip to the vet.

Hope you get it figured out Randy, it’s unsettling to say the least.

have him checked for lyme disease as well,my GSP contracted it,along with being lethargic,she got nippy around me as she was in pain.
I am not suggesting that is the problem with your lab,but never hurts to have them checked while you are at it.

let us know what the vet says,sure hope he turns out okay and its something simple.

My first thought is that he’s got something causing him pain, too.

PHEW !! I thought this was about a woman !

Good advice, see a vet.
WKW

I have 3 wirehairs.one of my females used to love little kids, then one day one of my buddies little boy( age 3-4 ) fell on her and ever since will avoid kids and get nervous and rumble when they approach.I always have control of her now when children are present.

Could your dog have had a bad experience when you weren’t looking?
It stinks having to worry but I just decided I was gonna have to make some changes when kids are around.I don’t have any children so I realize it’s not the same situation as yours but it’s just something that may have caused a change in behavior.
Sorry to hear, but good luck!

I had one years ago doing the same thing. Wound up being ear infection.

No obvious signs of any pain. He’said as anxious as imaginable to play fetch- bringing balls and a chuck it to anyone that looks like they’ll play.

Strange, he did it again with me standing there to a 6 year old neighborhood girl. Tail wagging like a buggy whip and he was Growling and wagging his tail. He’said not neutered, so wondering if it could be a hormone/dominance thing. This is the first male dog that I have had

Maybe he is protecting you? Kid walks by and he takes that child as a threat to you. Unsettling to say the least…RR

Look at goggle type in fear biting all sorts of info comes up. This needs to be dealt with quickly and possibly professionally. Right now I wouldn’t let a kid near the dog. There is something physically or mentally wrong with the dog. IT is to never to be trusted again. I had the same thing happen to my Golden buster. Perfectly fine then boom growling biting. Worked with my vet and he had me put him down as he couldn’t be trusted with kids and sometimes adults. Not what you wanted to hear but a kid will pay the price eventually and I could not live with that risk. And it wouldn’t be wise to pass the issue down the road to another owner.

Mwal

Just cause a lab still wants to play fetch doesn’t mean there’s still not a pain issue. My first step would be a trip to the vet. Vet’s are very good at analyzing pets and their behavior, as well as our’s. It could possibly have something to do with him still having testicles, but at 3 years old I’d highly doubt there’d be that drastic of a change but you never know. If he doesn’t reside in a house with kids, labs do get more protective as they age. How is he with other dogs? Is there any neighbor kids he knows better than others? That’d be where I’d start. If he’s getting that way with kids he knows well, that’d be ultra concerning. If it’s strange kids, it’s still very concerning. Actual growling and nipping is miles different than barking at strangers. My wife loves dogs and we have a lab and a German wire haired griffon currently, along with 5 kids. She hates it when people say nipping, she’ll correct them and say you mean biting. Personally I do think there’s a difference between nipping and biting, but nipping can turn into biting very quickly. First things first before worst case scenario, take him to the vet. Most are pretty good counselors for helping with tough issues. That’s where I’d start and evaluate it from there. Finding a good professional dog trainer would be my next step after that if the vet can’t help.

Had a great chocolate lab male that was our first dog. This is like 20+ years ago and my wife was walking back into our driveway from taking a walk with our first kid. A neighbors gigantic rottweiler took off after her. Our lab was a big dog but gentle as a feather around kids. He was standing by me in our back yard and took off like a rocket and hit the neighbors dog about 5′ from the stroller. I’d had never seen a dog do anything like that. He T boned that rot and held his own against a mean, big dog. That was not a fun thing to breakup. After that our lab wasn’t so fond of strange dogs, but still gentle as a feather around kids and loved kids. I knew why he didn’t like strange dogs and really didn’t mind. It’s a different situation but changed him drastically. He was also the same dog that wouldn’t let an in-law he knew up our stairs when he came over to work on a furnace issue without us home. He gave him the downstairs, but wouldn’t let him near the bedrooms. Dogs are weird and have some strange personality traits just like humans do.

Is the dog a house dog or in an outside kennel at anytime?

He’s an inside dog and around kids very frequently. He’said quite submissive towards other dogs. We also have 13 year old female Britney. She’s very fragile and he’s pretty good with her. They don’t play much, but he is usually very gentle with her as if he knows she is old and failing.

I have a couple calls into a couple vets. Waiting on call backs

Man that’s tough. Hopefully a vet or someone can get to the root of the issue. Good luck with it and update if there’s a solution found.

my yellow had a vertebrae out of alignment. He was owly and got nippy when touched. Wasn’t sure what his issue was. No limping, no real signs of pain until one day when he tried to go up the steps and couldn’t. I took him to the vet and when she started checking his back, she found the spot in short order. Once that cleared up, he was back to being a big old slobbering lunkhead.