cosby is being really aggressive today. whenever i go near him to either tickle him or check to see where he is in the house he growls at me and if he's got something he's not supposed to have such as a pen cap he growls and snarls and tries to bite me if i take it away from him. help how do i stop this behavior? i'm currently flipping him on his back and pinning him down in a submissive position

Wow, I am not an expert by any means. But, I have heard about animals getting that way when their owners get pregnant. My parents had to get rid of their dog becase he turned really agressive when my mom got pregnant. After they had me they thought he would calm down, but he didn't. He saw me as a threat and actually tried to hurt me. I hope he isn't going that!

Animals can sense changes, have you called your vet?

not yet, he just started acting this way. he's really protective of me when dh is home. currently he's napping on my lap. i know he's been teething still and he's lost a couple teeth here and there but for some reason he just got really aggressive today. i really hope we don't have to get rid of him :( i love my little booger

oh no, i hope its just his teeth.:( it doesnt sound good though he's acting that way. what is your husband saying?

we discipline him the same way except if cosby tries to bite dh he'll spank him. we are thinking it's just his teeth. dh doesn't know about the most recent incidents this morning.

we discipline him the same way except if cosby tries to bite dh he'll spank him. we are thinking it's just his teeth. dh doesn't know about the most recent incidents this morning.

maybe he will straighten him out :dunno i hope he gets better

here's to hoping

Don't spank the dog, animals can't understand that kind of punishment.
If you're having behavioral problems, I suggest this forum:

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/index.php

It is filled with all sorts of information on dogs, behavior, training, and very knowledgeable people.

lightly spanking Sophie when she would snap or bite changed her behavior. She got to the point where saying No and spanking her was associated with us wanting her to stop and eventually we just said NO and she stopped. I think maybe with all the changes going on he's sensing some insecurity a little bit. Maybe with the way you are feeling and then also the anticipation and anxiety. Try to be active with him and play with him and just cuddle to avoid the aggressive behavior. REALLY get him used to someone coming up and taking something from him... out of his mouth, off his bed, and make sure he sees you playing with it. Just tell him NO and go get another toy or something like that, because a child will do the same thing to him and if he realizes that he has other things to occupy his time it won't be an issue with a child taking a bone, chew, or toy from his mouth or being on his bed. If anything just make a loud NO or something like that to catch him off guard and also to get his attention and then tell him No don't do blah blah blah kind of thing. That's what it took for Sophie to understand her boundaries and to learn not to do certain things and now she pretty much listens to everything. We had our hands all in her stuff when she was little and continue to do it today. She hasn't and won't snap at us when we try to take something. We would take it... tell her to sit... praise the heck out of her... then give it back and say go to your pillow.. good girl! She eventually learned that even if we took something she would get it back eventually, unless it was something she KNEW she shouldn't have.

thanks ladies. he's fine now, i guess he just had a toddler fussy moment.

Yeah you need to keep an eye on that espically with your DH checking on him...like getting his toys from him or bones and removiing his food bowl..you don't want the baby to try and take something from the dog and have baby get biten. DH started this when are 2 were young just periodically taking things from them and if they growl or try to hold on to it he tells them no and takes it from them for a bit longer than he normally would've if they had been accepting to it. Our bulldog she has the point and will just look at you and wait for it back but our lab is kinda hesitant he doesn't growl but he trys to wrap his paws around it and hold his face close to it lol. But he doesn't growl or bite just doesn't want to give it up.

thanks ashnbri we'll try that

With a baby on the way, you should really enroll him in a good discipline based training class, so he understands he has to respect you 110% of the time. I see too many owners chalk up bad behavior to "being a puppy" then wonder why they never grow out of it. Play biting and angry biting are 2 very different behaviors, and should not be punished in the same way. If he play bites, I put my hand in my puppies' collar, give a firm tug and tell them calmly "no". If he snaps at you in anger, damn right you crack him on the nose and scare the pants off him. I dont use the alpha rolling thing, I think it creates a useless wrestling match and I never use it.

And ashnbri brings up an excellent point, you want to teach your little guy tolerance now while he is still young so he will tolerate your baby.

one more edit: I dont go to dog forums. Ever. I used to, they make my head hurt. For every good trainer on one, you have 20 clueless people yammering on about things they know nothing about. They think because they own a few dogs, took 1 or 2 to class, maybe put 1 CD on their golden or something now they are behavior experts. :sick Find a real trainer, in person, that actually walks the walk. Attend a class, watch how they work, people talk really big on the internet. Sorry if that offends anyone, but dog training is about watching action in front you and learning hands on, these people spend more time talking online than actually training dogs.

yeah we are starting classes at guiding hands on may 14. if he's play biting with dh that's one thing we gently correct him but if he's actually angry biting he gets popped. the alpha position thing doesn't really cause a wrestling match he knows he's in trouble, though the problem lies in when he snarls at us for the alpha thing.

Wonderful to hear, hopefully your trainer is experienced with pups with a bit of sassy attitude and can help you the rest of the way. :thumbsup