# Wits' end with growling and mystifying behaviour



## DaniK (Feb 13, 2021)

Our 13 month old male, Huxley, still intact, is becoming more and more aggressive and unpredictable. He is a very sweet, affectionate dog - possibly lacking a little in confidence at times - and very sensitive in terms of what is going on around him. He has always been a bit growly when in his bed, particularly if he is tired in the evenings and we understand this can be a Vizsla trait. However, the growliness now is quite random and is directed mostly at me. Some days he is all over me, wanting to play and be cuddled and then at other times I am simply stroking his head or preparing his food and he is growling at me and not at all responsive to strokes or reassurance. If we tell him off, he scuttles back to his crate and is hard to coerce out. He did actually bite me over Christmas and I am still not entirely sure why, though it may be, that after a few Christmas drinks, I ignored the tired growliness from his bed. Notwithstanding that, biting is totally unacceptable under any circumstances. He did draw blood and my hand was bruised, so it was an intentional bite. 
He used to absolutely adore my son (25) who is a regular visitor to our home and who has stayed with us for several longer periods last year when he was recovering from illness. My son arrived in mid December, and has been with us since, as he is once again very unwell. From the minute he walked in the door, the dog's behaviour was completely the opposite of what it has been since he was a tiny puppy. My son was the first person to see him when we first brought him home and they have always had a very strong bond. Huxley suddenly seems fearful of him, will not go near him even if he is offering toys, food or treats and is very growly towards him, even from several metres away. It is a complete about turn in his relationship with him and we are all baffled. 
My partner is definitely the alpha male in Huxley's world and the dog is obsessed with him and wants to be with him all the time. My partner does tend to indulge this, taking him everywhere. Hux does growl at him occasionally too but usually when he is tired and in his bed. My partner does spoil him but also does admonish him when his behaviour is unacceptable but we are not sure if the dog needs reassurance and patience and whether very firm admonishment reinforces his insecurity. 
One theory I have is that the dog, now that he is a mature male, now considers himself number 2 in the pack, after my partner, and feels his place is threatened by my son but potentially now also by me. There is a lot of stress in the household currently due to my son's illness and I have not walked the dog as much as I used to, due to taking care of my son, but also repeat knee injuries. It is all very upsetting. Some days he barely responds to me at all. 
We have not had him neutered so far because he is a big powerful Vizsla and we were advised by the vet that from a physiological point of view it was best not to do it too early. We are still reluctant to do it until we know hormones are definitely the root cause. We have been advised by our dog trainer (with whom we have an appointment next week, thank goodness) that the loss of hormones can make an insecure dog even less confident, which can promote defensive/aggressive behaviour.
I am hoping our trainer can help - he has worked with us with Huxley when he was a younger pup - but in the meantime any thoughts or suggestions would be welcomed. Apologies for this very long post - it is a bit of an outpouring from a very upset and stressed Vizsla owner.


----------



## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

A less confident young dog, with as you have said more stress in the house, and less exercise.
I can see where the pups problems would increase. It’s great you have a appointment with a trainer. I would also contact a Board-certified behaviorist. Hopefully between the two, they can come up with a game plan to get him back on the right track.


----------



## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Huxley is looking for his place in the world, and at 13 months old, it is not surprising that he is beginning to assert himself.
Everyone in the household has to treat him the same, and you have to be careful of the “ slow creep”. If he is allowed to blow off lesser commands, he will begin to try and avoid more important commands and eventually you have to have a confrontation to “ reset” the board.
With respect to the growling while preparing food, it is past time to put him in the stay position away from the food prep area, and he only gets to eat after the bowl is down, and he is released from the stay position.
I am going to assume that the growling is a real threat of intention, and not just Huxley trying to initiate some very rough play. In this case, your partner absolutely can not let Huxley growl at him any longer. It must stop immediately. He has to correct it. Once again, everyone has to treat Huxley the same.
Each negative interaction must always be followed by a positive interaction. Don’t end on a negative.
If Huxley retreats to the safety of his crate, call him out, do some basic command work with him, followed by praise and treats, then command him into his kennel, call him out and go about your day as if nothing happened five minutes earlier.
Don’t believe for one minute that neutering a dog will make them instantly non assertive and biddable.
The only guaranteed outcome of neutering is that the dog can no longer procreate, and the risk of testicular cancer goes to zero.Each dog will experience different outward behaviors.
Work with him. Negatives are always followed with positives. Everyone treats him the same way, and re- enforces and rewards behaviors in the same manner.
The more a dog can predict the outcome of his environment, the more at ease, and less anxiety ridden they will become.
Good luck.


----------



## DaniK (Feb 13, 2021)

Thank you both for those helpful words. I think part of our problem is that my partner is not consistent with training strategies that we have mutually agreed. He lets the dog have far more freedom than I do when we are out. He repeats and repeats commands instead of saying them once and expecting them to be obeyed. He is constantly lavishing attention on the dog and tends to reward bad behaviour with positive attention. I am hoping he will listen to our trainer when he comes on Tuesday. Grumble over


----------



## Dan_A (Jan 19, 2021)

Lack of consistency in training and overall communication around how you want the pup to behave is extremely detrimental to its development. His interpretation is of living in a confused household with no clear leadership or rule structure, so he has taken it upon himself to lead and make the rules as he sees fit. You and your partner really need to come together on this asap.


----------

