Spike is growling and snapping at my 3 yr old

[Mel]

this is day 4 since he came back from the kennel, he is on antibiotics once a day, this is the 5th day of that. He has been growling and has snapped at my daughter 4 or 5 times in the last couple of days. She has done nothing to cause this. This is what we have done /are doing with our kids to establish their dominance over Spike ever since he came here at 11 weeks old (he is now 8 months)

* they make him sit before petting (doesn't always work if he is too excited)
* they will let him out of his crate when we return from being out of the house....again, they make him sit and be calm before they open the crate door.
* they feed him ...make him sit and stay until they have placed the bowl down and then tell him to 'go eat'.
* they give him his toys and play with him
* they hand feed him treats ...making him sit first and sometimes give him his paw or lie down.


Spike is fine now after his infected paws ...they are dry now, no further oozing, redness gone down, he is running, digging, playing. Not eating as much as usual but i think he is bored with his food because he is eating treats and cottage cheese.

He is worse with my 3 yr old....not so bad with my 7 yr old.
Could this be jealousy ?
do dogs do this after a kennel experience ?

very worried here.....i am stressing about having to watch him with the kids constantly.

[becka]

I've heard that some medications can actually cause aggression--have you read up on the side effects of Spike's antibiotics?

[Mel]

i have looked at side effects and i can't find anything on aggression or growling...maybe it is different for every dog just like humans.

Spike snapped at my son today in front of my husband and I. My son told him to sit, he did and then laid down and rolled on his back for a belly rub, my son stroked his side gently saying "good boy" and then spike snapped and growled at his hand. my son began really crying with the shock...no broken skin though. I rubbed my hands all over Spike to see if he had any tender areas and nothing.

We have spoken to a trainer we know on the phone and he wonders if something happened at the kennel to traumatize Spike....he only does it with the children, not my husband and I. There are no children at the kennel so i don't think he is afraid of kids. He advised calling the American Kennel Club to find a reputable trainer....unfortunately he lives too far away.

On a good note, he has been for 2 walks today, played fetch in the yard and finished a bowl of food for the first time in days.

We are still having the children give him treats when he submits to them and they put his food down and have him sit/stay then release to eat. He does all of this perfectly then just growls and snaps at other times with no reason (that we know of).

Has anyone experienced this with their dogs after a spell in a kennel/away from the home ?

[lindamarie]

I'm glad to hear Spike has healed. This is the good part.

Did Spike ever growl or nip before this?
I would take him back to the vet and have him check Spike out again. You have done it, but might be missing something.
To me, this belly rub does sound like there is some sensitivity going on yet with him.
I may be wrong and hope I am.....but the nipping doesn't just start out of nowhere.

[browndog]

hmmmm....poor Spike. He definitely had a rough go of it with the kennel situation. He is still so young and I'm sure the kennel was a bit of the shock to the system, plus antibiotics always messes with the digestive tract and causes funny symptoms. He could have a stomach ache or digestion troubles from being on the antibiotic so maybe he is just a little more sensitive/snappy as he isn't feeling well. I would try putting some probiotics on his food for a week so that his digestive tract normailizes and see how he does. You can get a powder probiotic from the vet and just sprinkle it on or you can get some from a good dog food store. If his tummy is upset, then he could be acting strange.

As for the kennel, that must have been so upsetting for you. We just left our little Katey for two full days and one night while we were out of town and it was so worrying. It was such a short stay but she did fine. I'm not sure where you live, but what we did was find a local dog daycare that also offers overnight sleepovers. We take Katey twice a week during the day so she is familiar with it (and gets socialized) with the idea that when we go away she can just sleep overnight there and she is familar with it.

Best wishes for Spike.

[Mel]

Well, no snapping or growling today, we have really stepped up the kids 'dominancy' over Spike....we had let it slip a bit i think and he had become more dominant over them recently. I think that coupled with the trauma of the kennel just made him insecure/jealous and generally freaked out. I am no expert but that is what i think may have happened here, he had snapped aggressively only once in the past with my son when he went to pet him whilst Spike was chewing on a bully stick.....no more bully sticks or 'animal parts' since because he was becoming too obsessed with them. He also would nip my 3 yr old during play or over excitement but nothing 'aggressive' and no growling. This was all new and worrying.

He seems to be fine physically, running, jumping, playing, eating well and content. I'm sure the antibiotics are making him feel a little 'strange' they do to most of us he has another week of those and yes i am adding fortiflora to his food and yogurt His stools have been normal for about 2 weeks so far which is a record for Spike ! he seems to have settled really well on Natures Balance Limited ingredient sweet potato and venison.

Linda, i agree that a vet visit will be in order if he growls again during petting....i would want to rule out anything physical we may have missed. The strange thing is, Spike lets me or my husband pet him all over with no problem.

Browndog, the kennel is a doggie day care and grooming that has sleep overs...Spike had a half day trial there some time ago and i had spent so much time researching the kennels in the area....this one seemed to be the best. It's great that you have found somewhere you are comfortable with for Katey i would love that option, especially with two small children here....we had friends over yesterday with their two children too and it was really difficult keeping Spike calm, i had to keep him in the kitchen or in the yard the whole time. A good doggie day care would be ideal but i have lost confidence now...
thanks for your best wishes !