[Kristinadem]

My dog is a 2 year old labradoodle. We got her when she was 6 weeks old when I was pregnant. Always treated her with A LOT of love, even sent her for a 2 week training when she was 6 months old. However, she’s always been a little feisty and it’s getting worse. For example, when she sleeps, if we accidentally touch her or come close she’ll jump up and bark, ready to bite. Same goes for petting. One second she’s super nice and happy, enjoying her rubs and the next her lip goes up and she starts growling. The other day she even bit me out of nowhere while I was petting her. Not bad, but still! It scared me!
We went away recently and had a lady watch her. The lady called 2 hours later saying that our dog got into a fight with one of her dogs and when they tried to comfort her she wouldn’t let them close (lip was up, she was growling and barking and then when she tried to pet her she bit her pretty hard)!!! I do not know what to do! We love her so much, but she gets kind of aggressive sometimes and I have a toddler who’s always wanting to pet her! Is there a way to fix this? Has anyone else dealt with the same problem? Please help! Any advice would help!
She has never been abused, we got her when she was a puppy! We never ever hurt her. We give her so much love.But she’s acting like she’s always on edge!

 

[DaySleepers]

This behavior would have me booking a vet visit ASAP in case there's underlying pain issues or something like a thyroid problem that's making her hypersensitive to touch and extra cranky. This doesn't seem like normal 'feisty' behavior to me, and it's important to rule out medical causes before assuming it's a behavioral problem, because no amount of training or behavioral modification will help if she's hurting or sick. Good luck, and let us know what happens!

 

[LeoRose]

Definitely time for a thorough vet check, including bloodwork and a full thyroid panel sent to an outside lab (Michigan State University is often recommended) to rule out a physical problem.