my lab attacked the gas meter man - help!!!

[rockysmom]

I am at a loss with what to do. I have a 120 pound chocolate lab that is 7 1/2 years old. Still very much a puppy in energy and heart. I have two boys ages 4 1/2 and 6 1/2. They love him and walk him and feed him and let him outside.
Yesterday, the gas meter man was outside the kitchen window when Rocky (lab) noticed and started barking. I am ok with this as he warns me that someone is around. unfortuantely my boys also went to the back door and in some confusion...the back door was opened. Rocky took off straight towards the gas meter man. In full attack mode. He was not just standing back barking telling the man to get out of his yard. This was full attack mode - up close (within 6 inches!), all hair on his back standing up and mouth wide open. I am convinced that the only reason the meter man was not actually bit was because he had a clip board and was desperately defending himself with it. In the seconds that it took me to get to the gas man and Rocky, we were all in shock and very upset. We took Rocky to the garage and told the gas man sorry. Nothing else we could do.
In the garage, my husband came in after me and rocky. Rocky then turned towards my husband with the same attack mode as the the gas man. I am not sure if Rocky thought the gas man followed us inside.
Here is the question : can I trust Rocky to be near my two sons ever again? Is he getting old and not to be trusted with kids? Do I find him a new home without children??? help. I am so lost and confused. And really just sick about this.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Sounds like your boy thought he needed to protect your children and then thought the gas man followed you into the garage. Doesn't sound like a dog that has an issue with the children at all....total opposite is true. jmo

I'm sure others will give you their thoughts on this with much more detail but one thing is for sure, your dog cannot be trusted around the utility people and you'll have to find a way to make it so the children aren't able to open that door.

[rockysmom]

should I take this as a warning that he could snap and go after my children? I could not live with myself if I he attacked my boys. He does have a history of thyroid issues. This can cause aggression in research iI have found.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Originally Posted by rockysmom

should I take this as a warning that he could snap and go after my children? I could not live with myself if I he attacked my boys. He does have a history of thyroid issues. This can cause aggression in research iI have found.

I think it goes without saying that obviously children should never be left unattended with any dog but should this be a warning? I really can't say, I wasn't there to see the dog's actions / reactions and the totality of what all was going on at the time but the dog never showed anything towards the kids correct? Just the utility worker and in the confusion your hubby right?

As for the thyroid issue and aggression, it's something that I would strongly recommend discussing with your veterinarian and if the dog has never gone this far before then perhaps a change in meds would be appropriate.

[Ritz459]

Originally Posted by Crossfire Bulldogs

I think it goes without saying that obviously children should never be left unattended with any dog but should this be a warning? I really can't say, I wasn't there to see the dog's actions / reactions and the totality of what all was going on at the time but the dog never showed anything towards the kids correct? Just the utility worker and in the confusion your hubby right?

As for the thyroid issue and aggression, it's something that I would strongly recommend discussing with your veterinarian and if the dog has never gone this far before then perhaps a change in meds would be appropriate.

I agree.

Once my mom was out in our backyard hanging clothes up to dry. An insurance guy had stopped by earlier and mom told him to feel free to look around, and we had a Labrador out back. Blackie didn't know the man was there. The insurance agent walked around to the back of the house and Blackie took one look at him and went after him. My mom realized what Blackie was doing and before he reached the insurance agent, she was able to say, "Blackie, no! Get back here!" and Blackie stopped. In Blackie's eyes, there was a strange man that just wandered into the back of our yard and he was trying to defend my mom.
We've now had him for twelve years, and he has never once, EVER, shown aggression to any of us kids. He is aggressive because of us sometimes (his dog aggression escaltes when we are around because he is trying to defend us from the "mean" dog), but he has never ever been aggressive towards us.
But then, as far as that goes, he isn't aggressive towards people in general. He actually loves the gas man (he gets cookies lol) and if the meter man comes up to our house, he just stands back about twenty feet and barks unless we tell him it is okay.
On that note, if we know a utility worker is going to be at our house or one stops by, we make sure we have the dogs securly put away.

If your Lab started to go after your husband, I do think it was because he thought your hubby was the utility worker.
When we had Sadie, a Lab puppy we were fostering/raising to be a guide dog, she went after my brother once. He had walked in the front door silently and had a bulky coat on. He walked around the corner of the hallway and before Sadie realized it was him, she growled, raised up her hackles and went after him. Scared the mess out of Jake and he just said, "Sadie, its me!" and as soon as he said that and she was closer to him, she bowed down and got really subbmissive like, "Crap, I almost ate my owner!"
My Grandma's Schnauzer has done this towards him to, and it was when I was home alone and Jake walked into the living room (the lights were off) with his hood up so we couldn't see his face.

[IceyBlueSibes]

I think I agree with the others. I really don't think your dog is going to show aggression towards your children. If he hasn't shown this type of behavior towards them, I wouldn't worry about it. He saw a strange man in the back yard and was defending his family. He was only doing what came natural. When your husband walked in, Rocky was probably still "in a frenzy" and thought it might be the meter man. Does your husband wear a uniform for work? I have known dogs that dislike anyone wearing a uniform, only because they really can't tell the difference between any of them.

I agree with Crossfire. If this is something that may be caused from the thyroid problem, it would be best discussed with your vet.

But, I don't think I'd worry about the children unless he's shown aggression like that towards them. You say he hasn't, so I wouldn't worry, but I'd never leave a dog unattended with my kids (if I had any) anyways.

[LilacDragon]

Dogs communicate with us by learning commands through repetition and by reading our body language. Children are harder to read as they have jerky movements that seem to come out of nowhere. As a general rule, a dog that is aggressive or a fear biter will often bite a child or a senior citizen before they will bite an adult.

I think you should have his thyroid problem looked into. But I really don't think that your children are in any danger.

[Doglover1988]

My late dog Zoe RIP once attacked the guy who came to install our well. She had never shown any agression to anyone else. My dad dragged her into the garage her hackles were raised and she was in attack mode. After that she never showed aggression towards any other person and was terrific with kids.

[BoxMeIn21]

Get him to a vet soon. Especially if he's had history of thyroid issues. When a dog exhibits a behavior like this "suddenly" - it's usually a good indicator of a underlying medical issue.

[Cassiepeia]

Originally Posted by BoxMeIn21

Get him to a vet soon. Especially if he's had history of thyroid issues. When a dog exhibits a behavior like this "suddenly" - it's usually a good indicator of a underlying medical issue.

Doesn't sound like something that is "sudden", the dog is known for barking at people it doesn't know and in this case (as others have pointed out) was just going that extra step because the kids were involved and it felt the need to protect them.
Doesn't seem unusual. That's not to say, of course, that a vet shouldn't be consulted though. I just don't think we should panic the owner for no reason.

Cass.

[BoxMeIn21]

Originally Posted by Cassiepeia

Doesn't sound like something that is "sudden", the dog is known for barking at people it doesn't know and in this case (as others have pointed out) was just going that extra step because the kids were involved and it felt the need to protect them.
Doesn't seem unusual. That's not to say, of course, that a vet shouldn't be consulted though. I just don't think we should panic the owner for no reason.

Cass.

I think you misread my post. My mention of getting him to the vet soon was not used to invoke panic.
And perhaps I misread the OP's post, as well. I got the idea that charging out the door at someone was an out of ordinary behavior for this dog, at least it seemed to me from how the OP describe the event.

In full attack mode. He was not just standing back barking telling the man to get out of his yard. This was full attack mode - up close (within 6 inches!), all hair on his back standing up and mouth wide open

Regardless, I wasn't there to observe the dog and I was merely commenting on something that I have seen a pattern with: Out of the ordinary behavior/aggression = underlying medical condition. More times than not, it's thyroid.

[Kris]

Did he stop his 'attack mode' himself after realizing the man in the garage was your husband or did you need to stop him?

I've always felt that encouraging dogs to be territorial was dangerous, so my bias tells me that this was bound to happen once the dog knew that barking at people was ok. Maybe you should start correcting the barking behavior now that you know it can/will escalate?

[Amaya-Mazie-Marley]

I have a dog that is the same way. She is a loving dog and fine with everybody but she gets into attack mode if she feels someone has been sneaking up on her. She was outside playing around and was asleep on the porch when the cable guy pulled up. She just kept right on sleeping until he stepped onto the bottom step and she freaked out. She was asleep and woke up with a strange man standing over her. She attacked and he wasn't so lucky. She got his ankle pretty good but he was laughing afterwards. He realized he spooked her. Regardless a dog shouldn't bite period, but I highly doubt it will affect your dogs attitude towards your kids.

[borzoimom]

Rockysmom- your dog was doing his job.
I had a similair situation years ago. I was in the back of the yard cutting the grass on the riding mower. The yard had two sections too it, and a some of the dogs were there going in and out of the house. The gate was unlocked so I could put the mower back, but it was closed. The meter guy (electric but same thing) saw me in the yard on the mower, the gate was unlocked and walked in the gate. I, of course on a riding mower, didnt hear the commotion at first, but caught the activity out of the corner of my eye- as this man stood pinned against the wall of the house with about 6 shepherds just holding him there. Luckily the man didnt do something stupid like appear more aggressive etc., but he sure was shook up. It took me several phone calls to the electric company before they would agree to the reading. I stated that it was always said at our house to check with the owner first to secure the dogs. I also stated it was the electric company that was unwilling to move the meter to a accessable part of the house without going in the fence. I told them they always had me secure the dogs, and unpadlock the gate.. Finally one of the managers contacted me and he stated all "meter readers" were told to not enter a fence- either pad locked or shut in the known pressence of dogs. I ended up with the apology on the incident..

[Flutterby]

Kids crawl over my dogs all the time - no problem. But a stranger approaches the house/yard - watch out!! Especially Akina, my 5 year old Weimaraner. She is extremely defensive, and does NOT like people she doesn't know entering our territory. She got out the door and went after the Schwan's man a few years ago. Didn't bite, but sure scared him to no end! I'm not sure that she would ever bite, unless really threatened, but I don't want to take that risk.

In the case of Rocky, I wouldn't worry about it. He was protecting his turf, and his people, and didn't bite - just a strong warning. I believe the reason he turned on your husband was he was all hyped up and confused and expected him to be the meter man. He did back off once he realized it was your husband, right?

Unless this happens often, or Rocky begins to exhibit any other abnormal behaviors, I really wouldn't worry. Just make sure the kids know that if there's someone around the house, to be extra careful about making sure the door stays securely shut until the person is gone.


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