About two weeks ago, we took in a stray dog at my work. My boss is a real dog lover/dog person and didn't want to let this poor boy keep running loose.
In that time, she's had him neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, bathed, and has started training him. He spends days with us at work (on a lead tied to her desk with frequent breaks) and nights at home with her and her partner and their GSD. She's looking for someone to adopt him as her partner is traveling 4 days out of every week and two large dogs is too much to handle for her long term.
Rio (the dog) is about 60 lbs, and I guess he's a mix of yellow lab and either husky, chow, or akita (some breed with a curled tail and dense fur). We guess he's about a year old and was probably a "yard dog" as he doesn't seem to really understand houses. He LOVES my boss and her partner and gets along well with their dog.
Here's the troubling part. Over this past week he's started to show sudden agression. Violent barking at client's he's met before and "made friends with" (we're a graphic design studio and have vendors and clients in and out throughout the day). He's lunged at a sales guy who (quite foolishly) approached him and started petting him around his neck when he was barking at him. Today he snapped at a client (who's he's met before and liked) and grazed her wrist.
He bit me on the leg a few days ago, but it was different. I stepped near him to hand my boss a message and felt something strike my leg (he was asleep) and by the time I looked down, he was all happy panting dog, wanting to be pet. I don't think he even realized he bit me, it was so fast and silent that it was almost like something instinctual. It even took me a few seconds to realize he bit me. (Though I do have quite the series of bruises now!)
We basically have a cute furry lawsuit on our hands if we don't curb this soon! He's really a sweet dog *most* of the time. We can't figure out what's triggering him, as he's barked at men and women, white people and black people, new people and "friends". He does seem more calm if we greet the person verbally as soon as they come in the door.
Any tips or insights? For now, I'm not walking past him when he's asleep and I'm warning clients to not approach him.
Thanks for any help anyone can give and sorry for the long post!
~Julia
In that time, she's had him neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, bathed, and has started training him. He spends days with us at work (on a lead tied to her desk with frequent breaks) and nights at home with her and her partner and their GSD. She's looking for someone to adopt him as her partner is traveling 4 days out of every week and two large dogs is too much to handle for her long term.
Rio (the dog) is about 60 lbs, and I guess he's a mix of yellow lab and either husky, chow, or akita (some breed with a curled tail and dense fur). We guess he's about a year old and was probably a "yard dog" as he doesn't seem to really understand houses. He LOVES my boss and her partner and gets along well with their dog.
Here's the troubling part. Over this past week he's started to show sudden agression. Violent barking at client's he's met before and "made friends with" (we're a graphic design studio and have vendors and clients in and out throughout the day). He's lunged at a sales guy who (quite foolishly) approached him and started petting him around his neck when he was barking at him. Today he snapped at a client (who's he's met before and liked) and grazed her wrist.
He bit me on the leg a few days ago, but it was different. I stepped near him to hand my boss a message and felt something strike my leg (he was asleep) and by the time I looked down, he was all happy panting dog, wanting to be pet. I don't think he even realized he bit me, it was so fast and silent that it was almost like something instinctual. It even took me a few seconds to realize he bit me. (Though I do have quite the series of bruises now!)
We basically have a cute furry lawsuit on our hands if we don't curb this soon! He's really a sweet dog *most* of the time. We can't figure out what's triggering him, as he's barked at men and women, white people and black people, new people and "friends". He does seem more calm if we greet the person verbally as soon as they come in the door.
Any tips or insights? For now, I'm not walking past him when he's asleep and I'm warning clients to not approach him.
Thanks for any help anyone can give and sorry for the long post!
~Julia