zoe schnauzer

Question
hello how are you? i have a little 1 yr old 4lb. chocolate mini schnauzer that has always been the sweetiest most precious little girl until lately, now that she is grown she has decided to be aggressive with anyone that she comes into contact with that she doesnt know. im really confused on why this just started, she is very protective of me but she has been around lots of adults and children since she was a baby and never acted out until the last couple of months. she has even snapped at a couple of people, thank goodness she is so small and it didnt hurt them, if im holding her and someone comes in my home and they aproach me she goes crazy on them and i have to put her in a seperate room. thanks for any advice u may can give me to help me stop the problem with her! i do not wont to be a pet owner with a dog that will bite! also i do get on to herand tell her bad girl but have never spanked her or anything like that, shes been very spoiled!

Answer
Without actually seeing the behavior, it is hard to really say what and why this is going on.

Dogs do have a secondary fear period, generally around 18 mos. of age, and this could be what triggered this behavior. Possibly there was some event that triggered it, but you didn't pick up on it. When one of our guys was 5 mos. old, my daughter had him at training around Halloween, and a little girl came in dressed like a witch, complete with tall hat, and wanted to pet him. That little girl in her costume scared him so badly that he now thinks that all children are out to get him and he growls whenever he sees one.

When a dog is afraid of something, so many people want to soothe their dog, and tell it that everything is okay; they may even pet it as they "soothe it". This can apply to strangers, strange locations, or loud noises such as thunder. What one is doing when they do this behavior is telling the dog that his behavior is acceptable, and it then makes the behavior WORSE. Depending on what a dog is doing, bad behaviors should either be ignored or corrected. I correct for aggressive behavior, while something like fear of thunderstorms, for example, should be ignored, with the dog being crated or placed in a comfortable place for him, with a radio or TV playing to help cover up the noise. If a person is afraid of storms or reacts to thunderclaps, he should be away from the dog so that the dog doesn't see the person react.

Find a really good treat that your dog likes, such as string cheese or chicken, and work on having strangers feed her. I would start out doing this away from home... while on walks or at training classes (which she should be going to for several months). She needs to learn that strangers can be nice, and they come with good things to eat, and it is best to start doing this on neutral ground... away from areas where she would be territorial.

Get her into ongoing obedience classes for several months, and work with her every single day. Start practicing "Nothing in Life is Free" with her. http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm  The dog needs to learn that YOU are the boss, and she is NOT.

You might want to ask your veterinarian for the name of a good animal behaviorist to help you with this, as it really does help to SEE exactly what the dog, and YOU, are doing when this behavior happens. You might also have your vet do a good checkup on the dog to be sure this behavioral change isn't due to pain issues of some sort. Also, hypothyroidism can cause aggressive behavior, so you might want to have her thyroid tested just to be sure that isn't the problem.