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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Puppy suddenly turning aggressive

31 replies

tinygigolo · 25/03/2025 09:56

Hello, first time dog owner here hoping for some advice. We adopted a rescue crossbreed puppy about 2 months ago - he's now 6 months and generally soppy as anything, amazing with DC and loves a fuss. However he's always been a bit wary around men.

A couple of weeks ago this has escalated and he has in the evenings taken to baring his teeth, snarling and lunging at DH. He spends most of his day with me as I work from home, DH works long hours so I do most walks with the kids. He's always been more taken with me, doesn't like being away from me and I think he's threatened by DH spending time with me

DH is understandably really distressed and already talking about rehoming. Any suggestions on how we can resolve this without taking this step, which would devastate DC (who don't see this, it's always after they've gone to bed)

OP posts:

Mrsttcno1 · 25/03/2025 10:00

You need to hire a trainer for specific and qualified help OP

nightmarepickle2025 · 25/03/2025 10:01

Get a behaviourist ASAP.

Is the puppy getting enough sleep? They need 16 hours a day minimum. If it's a busy house you might need to put them in a separate room without stimulation to get this.

What do you do on walks? Cut out all ball play in favour of sniffy walks only for now.

In the morning when the puppy is not tired get your husband to do some training to build a bond between them. e.g. stay, sit, come, paw etc.

LandSharksAnonymous · 25/03/2025 10:26

What breed is the dog? And what is his history? You adopted him at four months, so what happened to him before. Tbh i'm wondering why he's 'always been a bit wary' around men and what happened to cause that (not necessarily you).

I'd be talking to the rescue first. I would hope that they told you before you picked the dog up (but something tells me they didn't) and gave you decent advice on how to resolve these issues. But if he is a rescue, you need to speak to them and find out his history and if they did not know, how they didn't bloody know. If you say he's 'always' been a bit like this, then they either knew and were negligent in not telling you, or they didn't know and they were incompetent.

But I agree with PPs - a proper trainer and behaviourist.

Hoppinggreen · 25/03/2025 10:33

Breed and history?
Did you Rescue from a reputable place or just buy it?
Hard to tell if its rough puppy play or aggression without seeing it so a qualified Behaviourist may be a good idea, your vet may have a contact

Original poster

tinygigolo · 25/03/2025 11:25

Thanks he's a crossbreed from Romania adopted through a UK based rescue, fostered in the UK for a month before we adopted him. He has never shown any aggression before last week to anyone but just seemed less keen to engage with men so I'm not sure the rescue would be aware - I have reached out to them but they said it wasn't anything he had displayed before and to contact a behaviourist

It sounds like that is the best course of action, thanks for the help and advice

OP posts:

Hoppinggreen · 25/03/2025 11:28

And THIS ladies and gentlemen is why buying puppies from abroad from places claiming to be Rescues is a bad idea.
Let me guess OP turned down by UK Rescues for having children?
You have no idea of the breeds or background of this pup and yet you brought it into your house with children.
Get professional help asap.
I hope you can get past it but be prepared for the fact that you may have to rehome or worse.

LandSharksAnonymous · 25/03/2025 11:29

just seemed less keen to engage with men so I'm not sure the rescue would be aware

A reputable rescue would 100% be aware. Unfortunately, rescues that accept dogs in from Romania - in particular - are not reputable. My money is on the fact they did know - the fosterer knew - and they didn't tell you deliberately.

We see this time and time again on mumsnet - Foreign rescue dogs with behavioural issues that the owner was not informed about. It's the oldest and saddest story in the book.

Anyone who fosters, or has a dog in their care, is 100% responsible for knowing their dogs behaviour and characteristics and anyone who claims they do not know is either incompetent, a liar or both.

faerietales · 25/03/2025 11:53

It’s a tale as old as time with these overseas rescues. Why on earth anyone thought it was a good idea to hand one over to a first time owner with children is beyond me though sadly it’s not remotely surprising.

He needs to be returned to the rescue before someone gets badly hurt.

Arthurprachette · 25/03/2025 11:55

Sounds like he could have settled and now traits are coming out.

look up resource guarding - 6 months is a crucial developmental time

Original poster

tinygigolo · 25/03/2025 12:05

Wow this is a bit of a shock to the system. He has been so well behaved since we've had him, he was fostered in a home with kids the same age as ours and he seemed to do so well there. Yes you are spot on, I wanted to do the right thing and not get a puppy from a breeder and adopt but it was difficult to get a rescue with the kids and he was born in the rescue so I thought a safe bet, not mistreated.

This is very difficult to read. DC are besotted with him and I would hate to have to take drastic action

OP posts:

DarkersideoftheMoon · 25/03/2025 12:08

i would ask your vet for a reputable trainer. So it quick as this has only just started. Your vet will need to do a thorough health check first before a reputable trainer will see the dog. Don’t delay. All the best getting it sorted.

Lemsipper · 25/03/2025 12:12

Definitely get a behaviourist asap. This happened with our rescue dog, he would “guard” my mum so we couldn’t cuddle her etc. My mum didn’t end up doing anything about it, just laughed it off and one day he bit a chunk out of my face and I needed to have about 20 stitches. He then sadly had to be put to sleep on the vets advice. Please don’t let this escalate. Please get a behaviourist in YESTERDAY

Arthurprachette · 25/03/2025 12:14

I’d speak to someone first

the hybrid doodle types have a whole history around these kind of traits - look at doodle trust if he’s a doodle mix for more info

you say it happens in the evening, is it when your relaxing? I’m asking because Dogs can resource guard humans

it might not be as bad as you think from what we are saying. We are just giving perspectives from past experiences. You need some proper professional input to know

Original poster

tinygigolo · 25/03/2025 12:23

Thank you, I've booked him into the vets this afternoon and will ask for an urgent referral. I'm feeling a bit shaky at the thought of him hurting anyone in the family.

OP posts:

LandSharksAnonymous · 25/03/2025 12:27

@tinygigolo - you're doing the right thing and I know you did try to do the right thing before. But there often are very good reasons why rescues, and some breeders, won't home dogs or pups to families with young children.

6 months is very, very, young. This isn't like an adult dog where behaviour gets ingrained and you can only manage it and not fix it - so I really hope it works out for you!

Easterbunnygettingsorted · 25/03/2025 12:27

He has decompressed.. Sadly you are seeing The Real Him. Nowt you can do since the poor thing has been transported miles after likely a rough start /neglect /abuse /street ddog but hand it back over.. Any reason you didn't get a uk ddog to start with? You have got a completely unknown ddog.. Absolutely nobody can vouch for it. And your dc may pay the price....

Birdbrained13 · 25/03/2025 12:33

Please take a beat and breathe - it might not be so bad. We had similar with our rescue dog from abroad. We got a trainer in with experience. In our case he growled at my teenage kids. He was scared. The trainer got them to make themselves as fun and positive as possible so he would associate them with good things. Every time they entered a room he was in, they would be calm stay at a distance but use treats to ensure he started to see them more positively. Then they started to teach him tricks etc all reward based. It worked really well and he is very happy with everyone now. Give a trainer a chance to help

ChunkyMonkey2020 · 25/03/2025 12:36

I’ll go with what everyone else has said. He has now decompressed and you’re definitely seeing the real dog coming out.

I have a Romanian Rescue too, she came to us straight from Romania at 6 months old and the dog that came to us is definitely not the same dog we have now.

Do the rescue who brought her over have a behaviourist at hand? It might be worth contacting them for some help and advice.

Original poster

tinygigolo · 25/03/2025 12:41

Birdbrained13 · 25/03/2025 12:33

Thank you - appreciate all the comments good and bad but it is reassuring hearing a story with some hope.

OP posts:

Hoppinggreen · 25/03/2025 12:43

Its good to have hope and if you also have time and money it could work out ok but be realistic as well.

Hoppinggreen · 25/03/2025 12:44

ChunkyMonkey2020 · 25/03/2025 12:36

I’ll go with what everyone else has said. He has now decompressed and you’re definitely seeing the real dog coming out.

I have a Romanian Rescue too, she came to us straight from Romania at 6 months old and the dog that came to us is definitely not the same dog we have now.

Do the rescue who brought her over have a behaviourist at hand? It might be worth contacting them for some help and advice.

I believe OP has been in touch with the "Rescue" and they aren't very interested

WinWhenTheyreSinging · 25/03/2025 12:46

It's all well and good being born in the rescue, but so much of a dog's temperament is genetics. What type of dog is it?

Hoppinggreen · 25/03/2025 12:48

WinWhenTheyreSinging · 25/03/2025 12:46

It's all well and good being born in the rescue, but so much of a dog's temperament is genetics. What type of dog is it?

True. There are some breeds I would and wouldn't have due to certain genetic traits that mean we wouldn't suit eachother.
No guarantees of course but breed is good place to start

Original poster

tinygigolo · 25/03/2025 12:48

Yes, they just recommended I seek out a behaviourist. But they have guaranteed they will rehome him if it doesn't work out for any reason which was one of the reasons I felt like it was a safer bet.

He's a real mix - we did a DNA test and he's mainly a mix of small breeds, predominantly chihuahua

OP posts:

PhilippaGeorgiou · 25/03/2025 12:50

Not a lot of point in people pointing out what you did wrong now, is there?

So, you made some erros in judgement - you aren't the first and won't be the last. Vet check and behaviour support is important. I think the bigger problem here is that you have no experience of dogs. But address this now and you have a very good chance that it can be resolved. The age of your puppy is informative - he is a 6 month old "teenager", no longer a puppy but not yet grown up. Like all teenagers he will test the world, test boundaries, and test rules, and try to see what he can get away with. A firm but fair ha now should setlle him into the behaviours that you want, but because you have no experience of that you aren't handling his growing up as well as you might. It's not a disaster yet, and there is a very good chance that you can turn this around. But it will take work and application and everyone in the family will have to be on board.

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