FREAKY NEIGHBOR (maybe)?

Question

We (my family) has a three year old male black lab who is three years old and was very mild mannered until last week. We went on vacation for five days and our neighbor who is a single female looked after him. We only wanted her to check on him from time to time and feed him as he is not an indoor pet but she insisted that he stay in her house. well every since we returned he is more aggressive, hunches on everyone, and sticks his nose where it doesnt belong. I know it's sick but I think that maybe he was abused. I'd like to know what you think and what would you do about it

Answer 1

Yes she is freaky and I beleive she abused your dog.

Answer 2

Abused! That's why she insited for him to stay! Maybe he was forced to clean the lady's butt with his tongue which is why he sticks his nose in u no where! If you wave your hand over his head and he leans down like avoiding to be hit there you go you have to report that woman right away! If I were a lawyer by now she would be guilty for abusing. GUILTY GUILTYYYYYYYY!!!!!!

Answer 3

Actually my first reaction is to guess that he got way with everything he wanted to do with her & now thinks he's king of the world. This is all dominate behavior. I'd calmly go about your routeine & quietly but firmly tell him no when his bahavior is unacceptable. He should settle down. If not, an obedience class would be my first choice of options

Answer 4

Definitely sounds like he was abused in some way.
Next time, get a hidden camera and put that nasty woman in the slammer!
It's your word against hers...and the dog's.
Invite her over for coffee or something and have her around the dog for a while....see how the dog reacts.
If I could only get my hands around her neck~!!!!

Answer 5

Personnally, either she did something that wasn't right )like abuse him) or maybe he really thought that you guys were gone for good and abandoned him. Just get him used to having you guys back and and reasure him that vyou are not leaving. He should be fine in a couple of weeks.

Answer 6

What you are describing is typical signs of dominace. Placing paws on you, leaning on you, barking at you and staring at you are all signs of dominance. Your dog has a superiority complex. Your dog believes he is the pack leader. The pack leader is responsible for the wellfare of the pack. The pack left him and he had no idea where you went. No you are back and he wants to assert his athority with you.
Here is a few steps you can take to correct the problem.
You must start the steps of a bonding proccess called, 'Amichein Bonding'. These simple steps will get the message across to you dogs that they are not the leader you are, and therefore they do not have to worry about the responsibilities of being the leader. eg. barking at people when they get close to the houes or yard. when you first enter the house from being away, you must show your authority. the leader has a personal bubble of space that can only be penitrated when the leader says so. you must ignore your dogs when you come home until they have settled down. do not look at them, do not acknowledge them and do not pet them. once they have calmed down you may call one of them to you, tell him/her to sit and after they comply you may give them all the love you desire to give. If, however, they start to jump around again you must start all over. They must understand that you will give them affection but only on your terms, no one elses.
The second step is gesture eating. The leader always controls the food. The leader always eats before the rest of the pack. Once the leader has gotten his/her fill the rest of the pack is then allowed to eat. I am not a big fan of eating a whole meal infront of my dogs so there is something else you can do that will get the message across just as well. You should never free feed your dogs. This gets the message across that because they have full access to food at all times that they are the leaders. Take a cookie or a cracker and place it on your counter. Place your dogs food bowls beside your cookie and prepare the dogs meal. Before placing your dogs food down for them to eat, make sure that they are watching, and eat your cookie or cracker infront of them. You dont' want to make a big scene, but you do want them to see what you are doing. You want them to think you are eating right out of their food bowls. And when you are finished it looks as if you have taken your fill and the rest of the pack can now eat.
Third step. The leader always has a personal space in the house that no one else is allowed into unless allowed by the leader. For me it is my living room. My dogs are not allowed in my living room unless I say it is ok and not before. At first this may be hard to do. The best thing to do is go and get a few baby gates and place them in the opening of the room that is 'off limits' to your dogs. After a while your dogs will get the picture and you will be able to take the gates down. After that it is a constant reminder to your dogs that you are not welcome unless the leader says so. My male, who is a pure bred border collie stud, constantly tests me. He will put one foot into the living room and check to see if I am watching, If I don't see him right away he will put another foot in and check me again. By this time I have caught him and all I need to say is 'out', and he will retreat. However, there are some days that he will test me further and that is when I only need to stand up off the couch and he will back away with a look of, 'I'm sorry, your the leader.'
You should never give your dogs full run of the house. Not even when you are home.
Fourth step. The leader is always the one to lead the pack on the 'hunt'. The hunt being anytime you and your dogs leave the 'den' house. If your dogs pull on the lead or walk infront of you at anytime, the walk is over and you return to the 'den'. The dogs must understand that the 'hunt' only takes place under your rules. This may take quite a few times, but it is very important to follow all steps. Your dogs will be looking for any sign of weakness from you for them to try and take over again. Practicing 'heal' in a controled environment eg. in the home or in your enclosed yard, on a lead at all times, is a good way to train them for the hunt. All these steps take time and effort, but they will work. I have tested these theory's time and time and time again, not only with my dogs but with numorous clients of mine. This is a way of life with your dogs, not just a quick fix. Once you go back to your old ways your dogs will return to their old ways.

Answer 7

sounds like it to me....go confront her and see what really happened...see how hr reacts when she comes over,dogs have a great judge of character,and if he does get mean or skittish then you know (she or someone else did something to him)!!!

Answer 8

He's confused. Start training him again.

Answer 9

i think that if you put your hand above his head or his butt and he flinches then he was abused