Okay so this is like the first time I'm posting on here and I'm not sure if there's a specific thread I should post in but I was hoping I could get some help here
Basically, me and my family own a dog, about 4 years old, chihuahua mix. He's not super well trained but he listens and understands pretty much what you want and such
He's always been sleeping in our beds, and doesn't mind if you pick him up, hold him in your arms or in your lap or whatever, he enjoys it, even if he's on his back
Lately though he's been acting strange from time to time
It started like a little over half a year ago, he started growling sometimes at my little sister. She's pretty loud and clumsy and sometimes not very careful with him, also since she's the youngest, we just assumed he was kinda trying to get a little higher in rank sort of
But just pretty recently he's started growling at me and sometimes my partner (who visits pretty often) who he completely adores.
It only happens if he's like lying down and you lean forward to give him like a kiss, and then he gets super worked up
I've tried everything I can think of, ignoring, comforting, telling him of by keeping him at his back and waiting for him to calm down (this only makes it worse) and nothing works
The weirdest part is that he seems so regretful of it, like right after you lean back he licks you in the face and walks after you to "apologize"
Just today it got really bad and he went from growling to snarling and it even felt like he was gonna bite, something he has never done
I've grown up with dogs, learnt a lot from my grandmother who's worked with dogs most her life, read tons of books and watches documentaries etc, and I have no idea what this behavior is
I'm terrified that he might have a tumor or something
I'll call the vet tomorrow and talk to them, but I just wanted to ask here to see if anyone knew what this might be
Pic related, doggie on the right
>>2016285
That is somewhat odd but can happen as dogs age.
Or he may be sick/hurt in some way
>>2016287
>sick/hurt in some way
Yeah I'm really worried about this
I've tried feeling and squeezing a bit over his body just to make sure he doesn't have any injuries but I couldn't feel anything and he didn't really react
Again, talking to the vet tomorrow, might but take him for a checkup just in case
>>2016285
Holy fuck his legs are long
Basic dog warning behaviour telling you that he doesn't like whatever you're doing and to back off. My guess is that the kid has been being to rough and/or annoying him so now he doesn't like it when anyone gets that close.
Two things-
1: Don't let the kid be around the dog unsupervised, kids shouldn't be left alone with dogs anyway. They're kids, they're going to be stressful to a dog unless they are really calm and well behaved
2: Build trust with you're dog again so he doesn't have to feel like he needs to growl anymore. It would be preferable if he could simply get up and walk away if somethings annoying him and be left alone and not pestered. I would personally recommend picking up a current dog psychology/body language book and maybe watching sone YouTube vids. Ein Dunbar for the book, and Kiko pup or Zac George for the YouTube if you want to check them out.
All in all, your dog isn't being bad-it's good that he feels he can warn you with a growl instead of going straight to biting. I think he's just stressed from the kid and has learned that growling means he will be left in peace. He's probably become untrusting of people getting in his face (most likely because the kid got too in his face and roudy) and also from weird behaviour on your part like not backing off after he growls. (Again, probably what the kid did not thinking about it.)
So read up on dog psychology, don't leave the kid alone with the dog (maybe even teach the kid to respectfully handle an animal?), and try to put some trust back in your relationship with the dog.
>>2016387
Thanks for the tips man
The problem is though, my sister is like 13, not really a kid. So I can't really tell her what she can and can't do.
I'll check out those vids and maybe the book, thank you for recommending them
I'll also try to leave him alone when he does this. I kinda suspected that he wanted to be left alone but I got confused because right after you back or he comes up and runs towards you wagging his tail and licking you
It might just be that he feels bad that he growls though.
Thanks again, I feel a lot better actually.
>>201634
They're too long. He broke both of them (not at the same time) as a because they were so weak and long. One time he just junped out of a couch when he was a bit tired. It really sucks, because I'm always afraid that he might get injured again, and he cant really play with dogs unless they're the same size
We got a kitten like a year ago though and they love to play with eachother, so thats awesome, since he's been kinda lonely
>>2016419
Was he neutered early? I heard limbs can grow that long and frail if done so.
>>2016422
Nope, he's not neutered at all since he's always been so calm (except some guarding tendencies, like barking when someone knocks on the door). We've considered getting it done just because he might gain some weight (he doesn't eat much because he's so picky, so he's super skinny plus has super long legs), but it's more of a cost question, since we're not super wealthy
>>2016419
Bro.
She's fucking 13.
She is still very much a kid.
God forbid you have a daughter and say the same shit.
>>2016650
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/low-cost-spayneuter-programs
>>2016699
You're right lol. She still gets pissed as fuck if I try to correct her on something, especially on how to treat the dog, because "it's not my dog" etc
>>2016709
This would be great, but I live in Sweden...
I'm really happy this exists though. More people should get their pets neutered, especially cats if they're gonna run around outside
Post more photos, your doge is cute
>>2016285
This is what happens when you get a shit breed like a Chihuahua. My girlfriend is a dog groomer and is around and working with dogs all day and she confirms they are terrible breeds. They all have a Napoleon complex and are overly territorial. People give pitbulls a hard time but Chihuahua's are easily one of the most aggressive dog breeds.
>>2016778
C'mon man, it all depends on the owners. Majority of them don't bother to train them because of their size and think its cute when they bark.
>>2016752
Thank u anon
>>2016778
Like the other anon said, that really depends on the owner
Most people who get chihuahuas are looking for a cute dog who they don't need to train them because they're so easy to handle so they don't bother
Both the dogs we've had have been chihuahua mixes and they've been super nice. But I've actually bothered to train them and tried my best to make them decent doggies
Only reason we got small dogs is because my mom likes small ones more, also she wanted me and my sister to be able to walk them without any problems when we were younger
Most pics I have of him are on my computer
I might post more tomorrow
>>2016912
Yeah, I'm worried about him constantly. When we bought him we didn't think anything of it, and since he was a bit smaller then they weren't so ridiculously long.
I'm happy we got him though, since someone else might have put him down when he broke his leg.
The only comfort I have that he now has pieces of metals in his legs that hopefully give some support
>>2016915
Holy shit that cast is cute. Speaking of metals in his legs, are leg braces an option for dogs? Not sure if they exist
>>2016916
It was so big because there had to be metal on the outside too with small sticks going inside the leg to keep it together, because the bone itself was so small
Poor guy had to walk around with that clump like for over a month, and he was only like four months old at the time
But I agree it was pretty adorable. Especially when wekas to buy pink bandage with little hearts on
I've never hear of leg braces for dogs, I think they would just get annoyed and be be really impaired by it
might look into it though. Although, his legs have been fine now for maybe three years, so unless something drastic happens he'll probably be fine
