Why is my dog changing!?????

Question

Ok, I have a wonderful Black Lab named Zoey.
She is 9 month's old. I love her to death, but suddley her attudite is changing. Everytime I go out there, I feel like I'm with a totally different dog.
She is getting really aggresive. Espically towards our other two smaller dogs. We've had her for 9 months, ever since she was a little 7 week old pup. She used to get along with the other two female dogs great, they would run around and play. But just today, she pinned the smaller one down and tried to kill her! This was no regular play, we heard Nibbles, the 12 year old Boston Terrier yelping and ran out there to find Zoey pinning her down!
She has been spayed, a couple of months ago and she resumed to her normal self.
She is also getting really spitful. Everytime we go somewhere we come home to find something else destroyed. She has ton's TONS of play toys, and things to keep her occupied. We live back in the woods, so she is never board.
Please, help us! I

Answer 1

At about 9 months old a dog tends to start having adult dog personality traits. Their hunting skills, dominance for leader of the pack, and other wolf traits are probably coming in to play now. Due to the fact that there are 3 females living in one pack there has to be a leader....she wants to be it. As far as her being spiteful... she may suffer from separation anxiety. Try a crate. They worked wonderfully for my dogs and when she gets a little older she will love her crate. it will be like her own little condo! When in the crate, get her a Kong and fill it with goodies like cheese, treats, etc. FYI: even in a pack with male and female members a female is always the alpha! GOOD LUCK.

Answer 2

One of the first things to do is never never leave Zoey alone with the small dogs. For the next two years Zoey is going to try and establish her rank in the order of the dogs and by her sheer size she may bully the smaller dogs. You don't want vet bills and you really don't want Zoey to Bully the other dogs. I would encourage obedience training. Kenneling is another thing to do when she is alone. This breed will not be fully mature until about age 3. Labs are a hunting breed so they do best when they have something to do, even if it is not hunting.

Answer 3

You need to see a vet or a trainer. This is rather strange behavior for a lab, and it is obviously dangerous. She could be suffering from a hormone imbalance at that age. Also, she could have some separation anxiety. She is just coming into being full grown, and lots of things are changing at 9 months, its just like 13 year old people. At this point she is also learning to assert her position in the pack. She may be trying to run over the older dogs, and you, for top dog. Training is the best thing to help this problem. I must strongly encourage you to ask you vet or a quality trainer, as it is best not to mess with dogs in dangerous situations without the opinion of a professional.

Answer 4

Well, the destruction is probably coming from separation anxiety. It is very common in Labs and you may need to ease her into kennel training for security.
The aggressive behavior needs to be rectified by a good dog behaviorist. Try this, put your lab on her back and gently lower the other dog on her stomach and if she becomes aggressive scold her. This will start to teach her that she is not the alpha dog and must accept this as a peer. Do this a couple times a day for a while and see if it makes her a little more sociable.

Answer 5

A really severe change in a dog's behavior and personality is always for a reason. Has something in her environment changed? Does she have reason to be jealous or anxious? Have you ruled out that there may be something physically wrong with her or causing her pain? Or she possibly just has assumed a new role as the pack leader.
Dogs always naturally live by pack rules, and that pack, in their eyes, includes the humans they live with. You have to take the time to consistently assert yourself as the dominant one and make sure that they understand your "rules", such as not destroying things. A dog would not destroy property of a superior dog in the pack, so you have to let them know that everything belongs to YOU. When she understands that you are the "leader", and that you have claimed it, she won't destroy. Even her tons of toys have to be something that belongs to you, and you ALLOW her to play with. You MUST correct her calmly every time she shows aggression or other unwanted behavior every time as soon as you see it.
Leash her temporarily around your other dogs, and bring them together-holding firmly about a foot from the collar. As soon as you see her tense with aggression, give the leash a firm tug to let her know that's not okay, and you are in control. Dogs feed off of our emotions, so the worst thing to do is show tension or anger or fear. I would kennel her when you can't be there until she is better trained, so that your other dogs don't end up getting hurt, whether it was intentional or not.

Answer 6

First of all-animals don't know what spite is-if you come home to a destroyed house she probably has separation anxiety. Do not trust this dog with your smaller dogs-she may kill them. She is of the age where she is going to start trying to climb the pecking order. Get her to a professional trainer as soon as you can.

Answer 7

Wow that is nasty sorry to hear. Ok, with the other dogs her being aggressive sounds like a type of jealousy, yes, animals get jealous :) Or she is trying to show she is dominant. As to trashing and destroying. This sounds to me to be a separation anxiety. I have heard this kind of behavior before. Perhaps she needs some dog training this sounds like a good investment as you are going to be very upset if she continues to destroy your personal items. When you go out she is pretty much showing you that she is "pissed" that you have left her alone. Good luck, this needs to be taken care of soon as when she gets older it will be harder to manage!

Answer 8

actually the pinning is part of dog play, she is showing her dominece over the other dog. she is too young and too big to be playing with an older dog. she is just assuming her place in the pack as the young,strong one. she is also to young to be left home alone with the run of the house. she should be kenneled whether you are gone 20min or 4 hours. it's kind of like leaving a toddler home unattended. good luck

Answer 9

she is in the stage of adolescence. They become rebellious and they seem to have brain farts all the time.

You must be show the dog who the pack leader is so she knows her place amongst your family. Yahoo! Nothing in Life is Free. This will give you tips on being the pack leader.

Answer 10

she is just testing the family for "alpha "position.. this is normal doggie behavior. be her LEADER without being mean in any way. be firm about the rules and play with her on a regular basis to tire her out. i use crate training with my 4danes... they LOVE their little"dens" and are put in for their "nap" with a chew toy full of kibble or peanut butter, when ever i go out. they sleep at night there without a toy. this keeps me alpha and they are happy to have a leader. dogs love a routine.