I am hoping that someone will be able to help understand an episode that happened yesterday afternoon while walking my dog. I would appreciate any advice and also some insight about what could have triggered my dog’s behavior. I guess I should give some background first. I have a 14 month old in tact male Bullmastiff named “Aengus”. I got him when he was 8 weeks old from a reputable breeder. One of the things that I was stressed more than anything else was to socialize your puppy as much as you physically could. I was told, and read, that since this is a guarding breed it’s important for you to have your dog meet as many different people as possible. That’s exactly what I’ve done. He’s come to work with me since I’ve had him, I’ve brought him to parks (not dog parks), I would always take him outside at lunch to the deli next door so he could meet anyone and everyone. For awhile I was wondering if I had socialized him too much because he doesn’t care who comes to my house or my office. He won’t even go to the door without grabbing one of his toys to give to whoever is knocking. He really loves people and all kinds of people even the ones I don’t like which was tough for me because I’ve had to talk to way too many weirdos just trying to socialize him.

2 weeks ago was his yearly exam and I allowed only his rabies vaccine and they took blood to check for Heartworm and Lyme Disease. He was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. He’s been on antibiotics (Doxycycline) for 2 weeks and has one week left on them. I don’t know if this has anything to do with anything, but I’m trying to give as much background as I can and name anything out of the ordinary.

So yesterday we’re on our walk and on our usual route and we were almost back to our street and a lady is getting out of her car and asked me if he was a Bullmastiff I said yes and she asked if she could pet him. I said sure. Aengus was really excited to meet the lady, she was petting him and we were talking. Then as we’re talking there is this guy that had come out of his restaurant that we had met about 2 months ago. He came running over and was saying, “Hey Aengus, hey buddy hey Aengus”, while he was petting him on the head. Aengus was sitting and then gave a deep chested growl. I pulled him back and gave him a correction and told him “NO!” He then growled at ME and I gave him another correction and he jumped up on me. When he jumped up on me it wasn’t like an aggressive jump like he was trying to attack me, it seemed more like a play/excited jump if that makes any sense. The people were looking at me and they were saying something but I don’t even know what because my head was spinning from what just happened and then the guy came over to him again and said, “It’s okay buddy don’t you remember me?” Aengus growled again and I corrected him again. I said that I was really sorry and then the guy left. I was about to walk away and then the lady said to me, “Wow he just did not like that guy!” Then she starts to baby talk Aengus again and he gets all excited with tail wagging butt wiggling and she pets him and then he growled at her while he was sitting there. So again I gave him another correction and we left.

I feel so very lucky this is all that happened and I will not be letting strangers pet him anymore. I feel very stupid that I did in the first place. What really freaks me out too other than the growling is that his body language was doing nothing that I picked up on to think that he was going to be aggressive. He was in a sit every time he growled. Then when the people were talking to me when I don’t remember what they said he was just sitting there looking at them. Not barking, not showing teeth, no lunging, not even growling then, it was when he was sitting there being pet. Now if it was just to that guy I might be thinking ok he didn’t like the guy, not that that’s acceptable but still but it didn’t make sense to me that he growled at that lady after the guy left? I know it’s hard to try to analyze things without being there but if anyone has any insight to this I would really appreciate it.

I also do have Mr. Frawley’s Basic Obedience tape and DVD and have been working with him since he was 9 months old. I work him everyday and do follow the rules of dealing with a dominant dog. No furniture, bedroom, walking through doors first etc.. This was recommended to me after I had e-mailed Mr. Frawley because Aengus had growled at me when he was 8 and a half months and I was taking a marrow bone from him.

Thanks so much in advance for any help you can give me and for reading such a long post!

- Danielle

A few things come to mind that this may not be entirely a behavioral issue. One is the Lyme Disease, another is the antibiotics. On the behavioral side of it, his age and the fact that he's intact may also have a role.

Lyme Disease causes pain in the joints, and if left untreated, there can be neurological abnormalities. Among Doxycycline's possible side effects are abdominal pain and nausea. It would seem reasonable to me that a dog who is uncomfortable might vocalize his discomfort, particularly if what the human is doing is hurting him. It sounds like your dog was happy to see these people, but the physical contact may have been physically uncomfortable for him.

As far as his age, he's maturing and hormones are very powerful little buggers. It's possible that during this period of change from puppy to adult (from now until about three years old), you will see behavioral changes as a result of this process. Many dogs don't like being patted on the head, because it is a very dominant gesture; particularly if the person is also leaning over them and making direct eye contact. I don't greet dogs I don't know very well by petting them this way, but rather, I scratch their chest or under the chin.

My recommendation would be to start with the veterinarian. Perhaps the antibiotics are making him feel yucky, or the Lyme Disease had progressed far enough before diagnosis that there may be some lasting effects (I don't know if this is even possible, but it's a question you might ask).

Good luck. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Lisa thank you very much for your quick response! Everything you said makes a lot of sense. I am also re-reading a lot of Ed's articles about dominance and establishing yourself as a pack leader. I think the Lyme too is definitely something I need to talk to my vet about and see if it's possible if it has done more damage than I thought. I really hope not.

Thanks again for your reply! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Maybe for his safety you should think about a muzzle in public. If someone gets scratched they can sue, and I'd hate to see a dog you've worked so hard with come to harm. Just a thought, good luck.