Reactive shelter dog advice
Hello,
My dog (Noodle) has become very reactive and resource guards me (to the point where he must be removed from me at groomers and the vet because he barks so loud that we can’t even speak).
He was fine at the shelter, we adopted him in October at 4 years and a few months old. He was not reactive, more anxious. He warmed up to me instantly and to my fiancé shortly after. He was okay with other people for the first week, anxious and staying away from them but not showing aggression.
He has become so reactive that we can’t really have people over, he has nipped both my brother and mother within the last 4 months. He has never drawn blood but has left marks on me when we tried to groom him. He barks incessantly when there are any noises that scare him, when he is around my (new) roommate’s dog, and around anyone who enters my house. He is fine with my roommate and other people when my Fiancé and I are not at the house.
As soon as I get home he remains very close to me and shows lots of fear, aggression, lunging, and barking at everyone but my Fiancé. He is also a Velcro dog with me, if I am home he will follow me everywhere (to the point of not going outside when he needs to relieve himself if I am napping).
He also is reactive towards us if we brush him or try to do any grooming. He was not nice to the groomers, but allowed them to wash him and do his nails.
This is becoming a serious issue because it is impacting our ability to have guests at all and because we recently had someone move in. He tolerates them only when they are 1 on 1.
Luckily, he is a small dog (14.8lbs, assumed Pomeranian mix) so we are able to restrain him and relocate him if he is bad.
I have almost no history on him. He lived at a house that was in the midst of divorce (with the mother and children) with his father and sister. All three dogs got given up when the father aggressively attacked a child’s foot for accidentally kicking him in their sleep. His father has been adopted and returned twice because he has severely bitten his adoptive parents. I have no information on his sister.
He was unfixed, has bad teeth, and had Lyme disease. He is now fixed and fully vaccinated without symptoms of Lyme being present. He does have a collapsing trachea that he’s had since we got him (the vet isn’t super concerned- he is on PRN cough meds).
Does anyone have any advice or resources for this? He is my first dog (childhood dogs not counted). He is on PRN trazodone and gabapentin, but it doesn’t seem to touch him.
He is almost fully untrained. He came to us knowing absolutely nothing. He sits 70% of the time for food and has recall sometimes on leash. He does know what outside and inside mean and he knows his name. He’s kind of house trained and usually uses puppy pads if we’re at work and he has to go at home.
My Fiancé is at his wits end with him and the reactivity is starting to get to me too. I am not willing to give him up (I think a large portion of his issue is being abandoned at the shelter) and I am entirely unwilling to do behavioral euthanasia. He is my baby and I just need him to work on this behavior.
Thank you.