[Stormy]

We had a little unwanted event before the holidays and wanted to get some thoughts on it.

We have been having work done on the house so Berrin was being put in his room when the workers were at the house. We put him up in my parents room so he wouldn't be bothered or teased other than the banging and racket in the house.

Well we were normally getting him up taking him for his morning walk letting him eat his breakfast then playing before he went to his room. This one day he had to stay in extra long. First the workers got there and then my mom was doing stuff with a friend of the family. Well needless to say Berrin was in his room for a long time that day.

My mom told me why don't you get him out and give him his dinner and walk him so I did. He wouldn't eat because he doesn't like being closed in the kitchen with the living room door locked so he fusses at that door. Well mom decided to let him into the living room to meet her she has known us for a very long time since I was in grade school about 15 yrs or so. She knew Stormy and they got along fine and she loves dogs.

Well Berrin came into the room and started barking at her then unfortunately decided to jump up on her she was sitting down so mom got him down. While he was barking at her he caught her shirt. I'm not sure if it was an attempt to bite or not. But we were kind of shocked at this behavior.

He had been taken out a lot when he came to us he got to my mom's work my dad's work the pet store he went on visits to meet the neighbors and his visits to the vets. He was never aggressive to anyone in these visits he would bark at the next door neighbors sometimes but you could get him to cut it out. The lady neighbor toward the back of our yard met him the week he came home and he got to visit with her for about 15-20 minutes when we talked. Now whenever he does see her he doesn't bark at her he will just look at her. My sisters bf he treats like one of the family. He got to meet other friends of the family and get treats from them and would bark a little but never jumped or put his hair up or anything.

Is this something to be really worried about or do you think he was really stressed out being locked up a lot around the holidays and the combination of that day he shouldn't have been put into the situation he was?

Do you think as soon as it gets warmer we should start taking him to the park as much as possible to be around more people. Even the idea of keeping him at a distance giving him treats for awhile? Should we try to have him meet more people at the house if i have him on the leash maybe let him get some treats from them?

 

[Chris Wild]

Without knowing the body language he was showing at the time, it's hard to say whether it was a defensive reaction, overly excited play, or a combination of behaviors.

If it was an isolated incident and he doesn't act this way normally, I wouldn't worry too much about it. He's quite young, which means he's both prone to overreacting and lack of self control and he doesn't have much life experience yet. Sounds like between the holidays and the work in the house his environment has changed drastically. His home has been invaded by workers. There have been strangers coming and going and making all sorts of odd noises in the house. And he's been shut up in a room, something he's not used to and which can build anxiety because he knows there's all sorts of odd things going on but he doesn't know what.

I'd try to normalize his life a bit, and when he's settled back down, take him out to something that's familiar. A place he's been and has had positive experiences, and see if he acts any different. He probably won't. I'd bet this was a fluke incident caused by a young dog feeling a lot of stress and confusion.