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Old December 14th, 2008, 11:55 AM
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danam314 danam314 is offline
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Sudden Aggression

Hi all. I had a very embarrassing night last night, and I need some help!!! I have read some of the other aggression threads too.

I've never had a problem with Koda and aggression. Well, I mean he had some puppy issues, but nothing as an adult. He's a barker. He barks when people and cars go by the house. He barks at the water man, and strangers, but when we have new guests in our house it doesn't typically last long. The "norm" here is a handful of barks... sniff sniff... and then he's all "ok, pet me!!".
Last night the family had dinner at my Mom's house to meet my sisters new boyfriend, Thomas. Koda stayed at home which is usual. I live very close to my Mom's place and Thomas has heard lots of stories about my Koda so they decided to stop by my house on their way home so Thomas could meet Koda. We all came in the front door, and Koda saw new people so he came running. I did the "Koda Bed" command and he went to his bed. We all got in the door and he took one look at Thomas and JUMPED/LUNGED at him, barking and growling. I've never seen anything like it. Thomas backed up, I grabbed Koda as fast as I could and and did sit > down > stay. He continued to bark, and bark, and bark. He was NOT happy. Finally I got his muzzle out and put it on. We stayed in the living room for about 10 minutes and had a nice conversation (trying to show Koda we were all friends, nothing hostile). I took his muzzle off and he started barking again... over and over, and tried to push his way past me to Thomas (I didn't let him go). Thomas then said "sorry but it's time for us to go".

I was SO embarrassed Yes, Koda usually does bark at new people, but he does NOT lunge or jump at them, or continue to bark and growl for 10 minutes. He still listened to his commands (leave it, sit, down & stay) but would not quit barking. I know dogs get vibes that we don't but Koda just can't do this!!

Please, I need help! I was caught so off guard, and I scrambled to take control of the situation best I could. I wasn't scared just embarrassed. That simply cannot happen again.

What do I do?
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Old December 14th, 2008, 12:15 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Hmmm, how well does your sister know Thomas? Maybe Koda is on to something.....

Sorry, I don't have any advice. Sounds like you handled it well though, given the circumstances. Maybe Thomas can come over again and give Koda some treats as a peace offering?
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Old December 14th, 2008, 12:36 PM
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pitgrrl pitgrrl is offline
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What does Thomas look like compared to the people Koda has spent time around? Is he bigger? Louder? Fairer? Darker? Taller? Was he wearing any bulky winter gear? A hood? big hat?

What I'm getting at is, was there anything about Thomas that may seem irrelevant to a human, but that may have been totally weird/new/frightening to Koda? Sometimes the smallest things, like a hood, a louder manner or something one is carrying, can totally freak out a dog.
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Old December 14th, 2008, 12:49 PM
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otter otter is offline
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Sounds like you did just the right thing in a time of panic

You could try having Thomas and Koda meet at a more "neutral" location, make sure Thomas has a favourite Toy of Koda's and some treats. A local park or something might be good. This might give you an idea if it is something up with Thomas or if Koda is just being Territorial (maybe he's extra protective at home cause there is something a little off about Thomas, on neutral ground he might let it go).

i'm with the rest of the posters... i'd be a bit suspicious of Thomas....
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Old December 14th, 2008, 12:49 PM
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danam314 danam314 is offline
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Thanks guys. I do agree that dogs can sense things we cannot. I've known Thomas for about 6 months (we just went to my Mom's because SHE hadn't met him yet, everyone else had) and he really is a great guy. This coming from the little sister that doesn't like ANYONE near my sister

Good point Pitgrrl. We did have our winter jackets on and may have been laughing as we came in the door - I don't recall exactly. I'm really hoping it's something of that sort because he really is a nice guy!!! And my sister is really happy!! He was a bit standoffish too because a few days prior my sisters cat bit him on the nose! My sisters cat really is just strange though, she does not allow ANYONE to touch her and freaks out at the sign of people. He thought he knew her well enough to pick her up I've known her for 4 years and I can't even pet her yet!

Anywho... I'm hoping that it was just the clothing, laughter, tones of voice or volume that set Koda off. I'm just worried he may do it again to him or someone else. I was really, really embarrassed. I'm not even sure if Thomas will come back

Is there anything else I could have done in that situation? Something else, something different? Anything I can work with Koda on?

I did go and get some treats for Thomas to give to Koda, but Koda was barking and acting too aggressive so I decided against it. I didn't need him taking someones hand off
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Old December 15th, 2008, 08:37 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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Quote:
Was he wearing any bulky winter gear? A hood? big hat?
I think you are having some very cold weather right now and this was a thought of mine too. My own girl, who was very submissive and practically never barked, always barked at people wearing big hats. It took me a few years to clue in because otherwise she was a model of deportment. Big hats with those furry, hanging down attached ear muff things. She remained suspicious of the people even after they took the hat off. Can you meet Thomas in the park with him wearing only his summertime clothes? No guess not, poor Thomas might end up I think you did everything right.
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Old December 15th, 2008, 01:26 PM
Agility dogs Agility dogs is offline
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strange behaviour

My sister was away for a couple of days so I was going down to let her two dogs out for a while every day. Her Shih Tzu x Maltese knows me really well, we do Agility with him and my dog and I have know him all his life. On Wednesday I went into town and got a perm on my hair. When I arrived down at their place I let the dogs out and they went outside. When I let them back in, they both came in, then all of a sudden Mikey looked at me and started to growl. He was all tensed up and no matter how much I talked to him, he kept growling and did not want me to touch him. He has never acted aggressively like that to anybody. The next day I wore my touque and he was fine, the same happy, wagging dog he usually is. I don't know if he just did not like my hair-do or whether it was the different smell of the perm but he sure reacted to it. So, if a dog can react like that to someone he knows it just shows that something the visitor did, said or looked differently to your dog, could have set him off.
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Old December 14th, 2008, 12:32 PM
kenmando kenmando is offline
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Wrong or right i trust my dogs judgement of a persons character more than my own and i have always followed his lead and he has never let me down, after all, it is his house.
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