Our rescue minipoo mix is a year old now and I wrote some other posts about how he began at 10 months to growl/guard his toys. We called in a trainer and were making great strides, then a few days ago the puppy growled at my son (12 years old) after a cuddle session: the dog had come to my son to sit on his lap, my son petted him carefully as the trainer told us- staying away from the dog's head and not making him feel closed in- and then my son put his hands under the dog to scoop him off his lap (they were on the floor so it was only 8") and the dog growled. I was devastated all over again. There was no reasonable trigger here. The only thing I do know that could explain it is that the dog does not respect my son, gets mouthy with him and humpy with him where he doesn't with others.
The trainer is coming back next week to work with my whole family and especially my son on leadership skills, but I am frustrated and scared. Has anyone here had a dog that seemed to have weird/ unreasonable triggers? The dog doesn't get bothered every time, so it makes it hard to work with him and to know what will set him off. I don't know if I will ever trust him, or how long to try this before I call it and rehome him to an educated house. I'm tired of being scared and of not trusting him. I'm happy to work with him if there is an end point, but I don't know that there is one if he is beginning to come up with new and crazy triggers.
He has been to the vet on and off for various minor things through the summer, I doubt it is something physical, especially since it's not every time.
Thanks.
The trainer is coming back next week to work with my whole family and especially my son on leadership skills, but I am frustrated and scared. Has anyone here had a dog that seemed to have weird/ unreasonable triggers? The dog doesn't get bothered every time, so it makes it hard to work with him and to know what will set him off. I don't know if I will ever trust him, or how long to try this before I call it and rehome him to an educated house. I'm tired of being scared and of not trusting him. I'm happy to work with him if there is an end point, but I don't know that there is one if he is beginning to come up with new and crazy triggers.
He has been to the vet on and off for various minor things through the summer, I doubt it is something physical, especially since it's not every time.
Thanks.