Bax agression

[Shalista]

So I sent a new email updating my behaviorist on what's going on with Bax and I'm curious to see what you guys would advise. ( i like getting a couple view points before i start something)

his resource guarding is getting... different. I'm unsure of what to do because, once again, he only does it in certain circumstances. Ever since he was a puppy he's been finicky about other people coming near him, or touching him, or touching his food when he's eating. Not usually a problem since he eats in here with me. I'm fairly confident that he'd let me touch his food but he has snapped at people in the past when they've come near him when he's eating. He's also recently snarled and lunged chasing the cat completely out of the room when he was eating his breakfast. Since I first got him I've played the trading game with him so he's very comfortable with dropping whatever he has in his mouth in exchange for a treat. I've never tried to take anything from him without a treat handy.

All that is about food. He's also odd with other dogs. I always thought he had great socialization with other dogs. He loved to play bow and rear up pawing at them, he always pulled me over to other dogs to say hi and politely sniff butts. Most important he seemed really good at saying when enough was enough by either looking away or yawning or sneezing. Sometimes though for no reason that I can tell he'll snarl and make a little jump/snap at them.

Bax has gotten into fights before where I believe him to be the aggressor. The small note here is that both times it happened in a totally strange place to him, in another dogs house, after a long car ride (he has bad car anxiety). Both time he attacked seemingly with no provocation, snarling and lunging until they were this ball of fur. Both times it's been the same dog and they both were off leash in this other dogs house. In that same house Bax (who doesn't even LIKE toys) collected almost every toy in the house, put them up on the couch, and lay on them.

While he was at this house he also snarled and lunged at a puppy when it was put in my arms, lunged at the other dog for coming near me and sniffing, lunged at the other dog when I gave Bax a treat, and lunged at my brother for hugging me. Obviously Bax was extremely unhappy. I could tell from his body language that the entire time I was at that house he was very high strung and tense.

He also guards his crate/room (he hated his crate so my room became his crate. he spends 90% of his time here, eats here, and sleeps with me here. he's never potties in here.) When my brother came in a week ago and I wasn't in the room Bax growled at him, my brother gave him his hand to sniff and Bax lunged. Dan says he only hit him on the hand with his snout so he doesn't think he was trying to bite but even a warning shot is cause for concern. A few days later Dan came in alone again, no problems. Bax walked up tail wagging and they cuddled for a bit.

My question really is this, how do I go about helping him with this? I probably won't bring him over to anyone's house anymore given his unhappiness with it. I'm primarily concerned with his aggression when people touch me as well as his guarding over my room and his guarding of food. Obviously I will be avoiding contact with all other dogs just to be safe. I have a small nephew and niece and as things stand I no longer feel comfortable letting Bax out of the room when they are here.

(A small and probably insignificant note. Bax does have another dog in this house that lives with him and they are totally fine. Ki likes toys, Bax likes food, they both get a bit guardy if the other tries to come onto their turf (IE Bax taking one of Ki's toys) but they've never fought besides the occasional snark. I know some dogs will be fine with their housemates but hate all other dogs so I'm not sure if that's significant)

What I've tried so far: Encouraging family members to come in and spend time petting Bax in a relaxed manner and then once he's calm giving me a hug or standing near me.
Has it worked? Hard to tell. Like I said, he only rarely reacts to people approaching me. So far he has only done it in two locations, at the strange house, and inside his crate/room. He's perfectly fine with people touching me outside of his room. To be honest I thought that whole thing was over with until I went to the new house with him. Now I just want to be absolutely sure that he wont react poorly in any situation. This unpredictability is killing me.

I'm also concerned because it seems to be getting worse. As you may recall this whole thing started with the rustling bag in my room. (he would snarl and lunge if someone rustled one) I've concluded that WAS tied to his food since I tend to aggressively rustle the saran wrap when I shake out a piece of meat for his breakfast. I would note especially that all this started BEFORE I tried your training method so I don't think he's just redirecting.

Thoughts?

[Fundog]

Okay let's begin with the room which serves as a pseudo crate: what do we always advise people about crates? That's your dog's space. Don't allow anyone to climb inside it, with or without the dog, go near it, poke fingers in, etc. And personally, people should not be coming into your room without you there, and certainly not without your consent. It's called respecting your privacy. You're not six years old anymore.

Let's talk about Ki. As I recall, Bax is extremely insecure around Ki, so much so that he was peeing all over the house, which is why he is relegated to your room so much.

Toys. Didn't you mention he loves his squeaky ball? And didn't you discover giving him a toy to carry on walks is a good reward for him?

So what is it you really want to achieve here? Do you want to integrate your dog into the household and become a family dog, for everyone to be able to touch him and do whatever they want to him whenever they want?

If that's so, you really need to do some serious thinking and lay out all the rules, conditions, and stipulations before you begin, bearing in mind that stressfulness and the difference in dog philosophy in your household has a lot to do with why Bax stays in your room (where he feels safest) so much. And now you are letting all the things he does not feel safe about come into his sanctuary, so he cannot even feel safe in his one refuge anymore.

[Shalista]

ugh i hadn't thought about it that way at all. Unfortunately this room is not only mine. It is also the families library and houses a variety of cleaning products as well. (no chance of moving any of this, i all ready petitioned for that and was rejected) so people coming into this room at odd hours when I'm absent is inevitable.

I hadn't thought of Ki and the toys like that. I kind of was still thinking the whole "Well he hasn't ripped ki's throat out yet so they must be okay".

I'm not even looking for Bax to be BFF's with everyone. I Just want him to be safe and so far in the past couple weeks he's attacked another dog and come very close to attacking a couple of humans. That's unacceptable to me. I'm hoping for some insight in how to prevent him from seriously biting someone.

[Fundog]

I hadn't thought of Ki and the toys like that. I kind of was still thinking the whole "Well he hasn't ripped ki's throat out yet so they must be okay".
.[/quote]


Just because I don't run you off the road after you cut me off in traffic doesn't mean I'm "okay" with it.

So let's do another rundown of the facts so far:

You live in an antique farmhouse.
You have free range chickens in the backyard.
You have a mouse infestation in the walls.
Bax is extremely prey driven.
Bax is a very high strung, anxious little dog.
There is another dog in the house who is part of that anxiety.
Bax spends most of his time cooped up in a single room that is actually a common area.
Your father works from home and Bax disrupts his work with his frequent barking.
Bax gets yelled at a lot.
Your parents philosophy toward dog training is mostly punitive.
Your parents have been very supportive in your decision to raw feed.
Your parents have been very supportive in your decision to consult a behaviorist.
You frequently have small children visiting which makes Bax nervous.
Bax has become more anxious about all the people entering the room he is kept in.
Bax has developed a sensitivity to certain sounds.
Bax responds well to a squeaky ball.
Bax is nervous about visiting other homes and other dogs.
Bax has a tendency to resource guard because he is anxious and insecure.

Do I pay attention or what?

All of that stuff I just listed should have been put in your very first post, from the get-go. I realize you recently traded rooms with your brother (yep I read that part too!), but again, the fact it is a common area/storage space should have been explained immediately. You have been on here long enough to know that we always ask newcomers for every single detail they can think of, even if they don't think it is relevant, or even if they don't think there is anything that be done to change it. Two heads are better than one. That's why you came here, right? Now: is there anything else we should know about that you have neglected to tell us?