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Adopted dog- aggression
We adopted a 3 year old malinois three months ago. He’s been the sweetest dog with people and never displayed any signs of aggression. However, yesterday, we had one incident in which he aggressively barked at a guest who was over at our house and either intentionally tried to bite him or his teeth grazed the persons skin. The person was standing over the couch he was laying on and was hovering him but did not try to pet him or provoke him in anyway. Since this was his first time doing anything like this, I wonder if it’s possible to correct/avoid this in the future?
He does have significant fear aggression amongst other dogs. But I’ve never seen him do this to a person. Strangers have approached us outside the home and he has no issues with them. We’ve also had guest in the house in the past and no issues either.
Thank you and I appreciate all your advice!!
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1 Reply
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It’s fairly common that some working dogs can dislike and growl and snap if someone hovers over their heads. I have had a similar experience to yours with Daft Punk who was rescued from abuse at 2 years of age.
It seems many Shepards/protection dogs don’t like it when someone -not thought of as a family leader- put their head on top of the dog’s head or above their head. Maybe he anticipated the hovering as aggressive. Had your malinois been standing up and not on the couch it may have been less likely to happen? I corrected the behaviour with disappointment and separation in the kitchen. I was advised to neuter him by another trainer. I have not done that yet. Still hoping for little punks.
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