# Harris



## Sharont (3 mo ago)

Hi my very first post. We had our vis Logan for nearly 10 years but sadly lost him last Xmas absolutely heartbreaking ❤‍🩹. He was perfect in every way so soft and loveable and missed him so much so we had another assuming he would be the same!! Harris is now 11 months old and is so different he is very timid around strangers and gets scared by the slightest thing. Unfortunately a few months ago he became quite food aggressive and has bitten me a few times and even now with lots of training and ideas from our dog trainer we’re still not quite there. In a way I can deal with that as I know to leave him alone, but in several occasions he has had a go at me for no reason at all I can be sitting on the chair with him fussing him when suddenly he will turn nasty and lunge! He is so loveable in every other way and has lots of walks he’s well trained and hardly ever left but this unpredictable behaviour is so upsetting that my husband is thinking of sending him back to the breeder which would absolutely break mine and our sons heart again!!! Really don’t know if I can bear to loose 2 in one year. Please any help out there would be so appreciated


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

How well do you know the bloodline/breeder? Has there been any temperament, or medical issues that could cause this kind of behavior in any of their dogs? Have you had the pup do a full workup at the vets? Have you talked to the breeder about what has been happening.
It’s so hard to know if it’s genetic, medical, or environmental. Some of the preventative flea/heartworm meds, can cause these dogs to be grumpy, and more willing to growl/bite. Even with dogs of good temperament, a pup can be born that for whatever reason Mother Nature decided to wire their brains slightly differently.
If he is not always comfortable being on the sofa with you. Then I would not have him sit next to you. Provide him his own bed, or chair in the living room.


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## BellaVT (12 mo ago)

texasred said:


> Some of the preventative flea/heartworm meds, can cause these dogs to be grumpy, and more willing to growl/bite.


Sorry to hijack, but do you have more info about this? We're having some odd mood issues including some growling, but I hadn't considered this avenue. Most likely it's something else, but this seems worth learning more about. She's currently on Simparica Trio, which is a monthly oral for flea/tick/heartworm.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

BellaVT said:


> Sorry to hijack, but do you have more info about this? We're having some odd mood issues including some growling, but I hadn't considered this avenue. Most likely it's something else, but this seems worth learning more about. She's currently on Simparica Trio, which is a monthly oral for flea/tick/heartworm.


I have been told right at the get go no `trio` products. too much chemicals at the same time. some reading materials here.








Are These Chewable Flea And Tick Preventives Safe For Dogs? - Dogs Naturally


Find out whether chewable flea and tick preventives like Bravecto, Simparica and Nesgard are safe for dogs ...




www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com




after some avenue we switched to heartworm preventive only, combined with natural flea and tick prevention, it has worked in the last 2 years, we do every 6 months a blood test, just to ensure no vector born illnesses have occurred (we are in South Texas surrounded with plenty of dangerous creatures), so ensuring vets supervision it seems to work.


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## Pupmum99 (Jan 4, 2022)

texasred said:


> Have you had the pup do a full workup at the vets?


This would definitely be my first port of call. And trying a certified clinical animal behaviourist rather than a trainer if that’s not already what you’re doing. If you’re in the UK you can search for practitioners via a website/register called animal behaviour and training council. 

“Aggression” or however you define it is really tricky and really does put you in a difficult position and a sad decision to have to consider. I once returned a rescue for similar reasons, and it is absolute heartbreak, but you really do have to make sure that the decision has the total best interest of the dog and yourselves if it’s still not working after you’ve exhausted other options.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

BellaVT said:


> Sorry to hijack, but do you have more info about this? We're having some odd mood issues including some growling, but I hadn't considered this avenue. Most likely it's something else, but this seems worth learning more about. She's currently on Simparica Trio, which is a monthly oral for flea/tick/heartworm.


Personal experience with trifexis. Other dogs had no problem with it. One dog would be tired, grumpy with the other dogs for a couple of days after taking the preventative. It took me a little bit to narrow down the cause. Once I realized it was happening at the same time every month, I changed to a different preventative. That solved the problem. Different dogs react differently to medication. So you have to figure out what works for the individual dog. That dog was changed to Sentinel.


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