Your beloved four-legged friend suddenly started growling when you touch him and trying to bite. Find out why the dog became aggressive and what the owner should do.

Aggression can have many causes. Cruelty to the pet, lack of proper socialization, accumulation of daily stress or anxiety experienced by the pet. Such problems do not arise overnight. The owners themselves are often to blame for aggressive behavior. In such cases, the dog’s aggression is not sudden, but systematic, manifesting itself constantly.

What to do if an animal suddenly shows aggression? A calm and quiet dog suddenly starts growling during play or when the owner tries to pet him.

The reason for sudden aggression in a dog

It is important to understand that aggressive behavior in dogs – growling, clicking teeth, biting – means only one thing. The animal expresses its displeasure in this way. It is as if the dog is telling the owner: “Stop doing this, I don’t want you to do this!”

This behavior is a request that may occur when you take away a dog’s favorite toy or try to trim its claws. And this is quite natural, you need to work with it so that the animal stops being afraid of the hygienic procedure or showing a possessive instinct.

When a dog is afraid of the owner’s outstretched hand, reacts inappropriately to those everyday situations that previously did not cause problems for it, this is where you need to pay full attention and be vigilant.

Unfortunately, very painful manifestations of various diseases in dogs can remain unnoticed by the owner for a long time. Animals cannot complain of joint pain, a broken spine, toothache, ear inflammation, etc. Painful symptoms of such diseases and hidden injuries are externally invisible, but dangerous to the health of the pet.

A person may notice, for example, joint inflammation in a dog only when the animal begins to limp, cannot climb the stairs, licks the sore spot. When the owner, unaware of the disease, touches the sore spot, the dog may jump back, yelp in pain, and bite the hand.

If such a warning is ignored by a person, the four-legged one will quickly come to the conclusion that it must defend itself more intensively from pain. It will growl when the owner simply reaches out to it. Over time, it will begin to react aggressively to any attempt at contact with a person, and not only with the owner, but also to other people.

Moreover, a dog experiencing pain will begin to behave aggressively towards other dogs, even those with whom it was previously friends and loved to play.

How does a dog behave when it is in pain?

A dog in pain may react to human touch in a variety of ways, depending on the pet’s personality and the intensity of the pain it is experiencing.

Some pets in such cases begin to lick the hand touching the sore spot. Other animals begin to squeal and will try to run away, growl or bite.

It is important to know that in such cases, the bites of your beloved pet are very cruel. The dog, experiencing sudden piercing pain, may not have time to growl warningly. It will immediately proceed to the necessary, in its opinion, defense.

The dog may make a painful groan, whine, or guttural sound. The eyes will be wide open so that the whites of the eyes are visible. The pupils are dilated. The ears are pressed to the head, and the tail is tucked in.

This reaction immediately disappears as soon as the owner removes his hand and moves away to a safe distance.

Dog aggression after castration or sterilization

Aggressive behavior of a dog after sterilization, castration, and any other surgical intervention is quite understandable. Sometimes the relationship between the owner and the pet changes radically after the operation. And it is not about hormones, but about the fact that the animal remembers the pain caused to it. It tries to protect itself from it, considering the owner to be guilty of everything.

Here, serious correction of the animal’s behavior is needed, depending on the degree of aggressiveness and the specific situation. It is necessary to show maximum attention and patience so that the dog begins to trust its owner again. This path to complete recovery must be taken together by the person and his dog.

Sterilization does not pass without leaving a trace for the health of the pet. It is not as safe a method as it is advertised.

What to do?

What to do if your pet suddenly starts to show aggression.

You should never yell at your dog, punish it, and especially not hit it for biting. This will only make the situation worse and lead to the sick animal completely losing trust in its owner.

The dog, in addition to pain, will begin to experience strong fear, which will encourage it to behave more aggressively. Shouting and hitting will not achieve anything, but will only further increase aggression.

You already know that any strange changes in the dog’s behavior can be a sign of illness. Sometimes aggressive behavior is accompanied by other oddities – changes in appetite, refusal to play and caress.

It is necessary to urgently take the dog to the vet. Only a specialist will be able to figure out why the affectionate pet suddenly began to bite, growl and threaten its owner.

Together with the doctor, you will be able to understand the strange behavior. By relieving the animal of pain, you will be able to win its trust, love and devotion for life.