ashleighelizabeth
Well-known member
I am so incredibly frustrated right now. I know that all of this is my fault, but I don't understand where we went wrong. We have exposed Sonny to tons of different, people, places, dogs, children since he was a puppy. We took him to puppy school when he was younger. We have tried to do everything right, but somehow it doesn't seem to be enough.
Sonny recently has started growling and barking at other dogs and children. We are attending an obedience II class right now and there is one dog in the class that Sonny seems to have a problem with. Every class Sonny growls and snaps at this dog. We have ALWAYS been right there and this dog has done nothing to Sonny. Our trainer thinks that Sonny is guarding us and his treats since we have treats during class. Also the other day my friend came over with her lab. Her lab is the most laid back dog ever and Sonny seemed to do fine with him in the beginning; however as the day went on and we were in our living room Sonny started growling and snapped at the lab. The lab really didn't do anything or even growl back, but we immediately separated Sonny from the lab. I don't know if this was the right thing to do??? Or if we should have let them work it out. Part of me wonders if we have been "overprotective" with Sonny and anytime we see any discomfort between him and another dog or person we move him along or separate him. I have always been afraid of him getting hurt by another dog, but now part of me thinks that I prevented him from learning some important dog lessons.
Anyways finally the end of my story where I have had it! We were visiting a cousin at her house today and she has two kids, one of them is 3 1/2 and one of them is 8 months. Sonny has been around the toddler before and did great with her ; however this time almost immediately after we arrived he started growling at both kids. I had brought over Sonny's treats and a couple of his toys and he seemed to growl when the kids would get close to his toys. Even after we had left the house and gone to a park he still growled at the baby whenever the baby was within 4 feet of him!
Ugh so frustrated and open to suggestions. We obviously are looking into private lessons because this is a problem that has to be corrected since we plan on starting a family very soon.
Sonny recently has started growling and barking at other dogs and children. We are attending an obedience II class right now and there is one dog in the class that Sonny seems to have a problem with. Every class Sonny growls and snaps at this dog. We have ALWAYS been right there and this dog has done nothing to Sonny. Our trainer thinks that Sonny is guarding us and his treats since we have treats during class. Also the other day my friend came over with her lab. Her lab is the most laid back dog ever and Sonny seemed to do fine with him in the beginning; however as the day went on and we were in our living room Sonny started growling and snapped at the lab. The lab really didn't do anything or even growl back, but we immediately separated Sonny from the lab. I don't know if this was the right thing to do??? Or if we should have let them work it out. Part of me wonders if we have been "overprotective" with Sonny and anytime we see any discomfort between him and another dog or person we move him along or separate him. I have always been afraid of him getting hurt by another dog, but now part of me thinks that I prevented him from learning some important dog lessons.
Anyways finally the end of my story where I have had it! We were visiting a cousin at her house today and she has two kids, one of them is 3 1/2 and one of them is 8 months. Sonny has been around the toddler before and did great with her ; however this time almost immediately after we arrived he started growling at both kids. I had brought over Sonny's treats and a couple of his toys and he seemed to growl when the kids would get close to his toys. Even after we had left the house and gone to a park he still growled at the baby whenever the baby was within 4 feet of him!
Ugh so frustrated and open to suggestions. We obviously are looking into private lessons because this is a problem that has to be corrected since we plan on starting a family very soon.