Labs Strange Change

Question
We have two, 5 year old, Golden Labrador brothers who are loving, friendly and playful. The one is full of life and completely docile while the other, although soppy to people, has always been a bit moody.
When he was a pup he used to growl while eating even when no one was near him but that stopped. He now sometimes growl at night and can growl during the day when his brother gets near.
Lately he has had quite aggressive fights with his brother and seems low and more moody than usual. There was also vomit on the lawn which we think was his.
What could be wrong and what can we do.

Thank you
Frances

Answer
Hey, Frances,

I'm sorry to hear about your problem.

I'm not a vet, but if you're concerned that there might be a physical/medical issue causing the recent change in behavior (or making it worse), you should have him checked out.

What do you do when he growls? Do you reprimand him, scold him, tell him no? If so, whether it's a medical issue or not, I can tell you that one of the causes of the behavior is very probably some form of nervous tension. So while scolding him may stop the behavior as it's happening, it will only tend to increase his nervous energy overall, making matters progressively worse.

You know what's kind of crazy, but really works for me and my clients? When I'm working with a dog who has too much nervous tension and it starts to boil over a little into growling, etc. (but before it actually translates into snarling, lunging, etc.) is I actually PRAISE the dog!

- He starts to growl (showing that he's feeling unsettled).

- I say, "Good boy!" in a happy, soothing tone of voice.

- His tails starts wagging and he stops feeling aggressive.

Nine times out of ten, it solves things quite nicely. At least at that particular moment. And it doesn't have the same residual side-effects that scolding and punishment have. Hey, I know it sounds crazy, but give it a shot. You get a pleasant surprise at how well it works. (But you have to have a genuinely happy feeling in your voice when you do it.)

A really good way to reduce tension in dogs is to give them a lot of good, hard vigorous playful exercise every day, preferably where the dog gets to chase things and bite them, or use some other aspect of the prey drive (such as "the search" or "eye stalk"). Tug-of-war is also a good exercise; it gives the dog a positive outlet for his aggression, and it satisfies his prey drive as well. (You should always let the dog win and praise him for winning.)

Another thing that will help would be to take both dogs on long walks together (keeping them both on the leash), preferably in as natural a setting as possible. Doing this will make them feel more like a real pack, the kind that likes doing things together as a team, which is what the pack instinct is really all about. You might also think about setting up some supervised play dates with other doggies as well. Play uses up a lot of energy, and often has the added benefit of reducing feelings of aggression as well.

I hope the big guy is feeling better (and less moody) soon!

LCK