Aggression caused by pregnancy??

Well a half of a million years ago, I used to be active on all of these boards but not no more.. (Who is all here that I would remember??) Anyway.. To update anyone who does remember me, I still have Saige and Jekkyl. They are getting lazy as ever now!! But they say age does that to one. Anyway. I will make this easy so people who don't know me can help out.. I am six months pregnant. Jekkyl, my two year old neuetered male Boston Terrier x Pitter has always disliked men and beena real Momma's boy. Well, for the past, oh almost two months, he has started being VERY protective. He was before but it is worse now. He has gone as far as biting two separate men who were walking towards me. his nerves are all over the place. He is on the edge. Well, I am really wondering if anyone has dealt with this before? Saige is fine, she don't care.. same old lap dog as ever, but Jekkyl is really getting bad. He is a toy and bone hog, he is not aggressive but likes to keep them to himself. Now he is bringing them and putting them on my belly, then curls in a ball and rests his chin on my belly. He wants no cats around me or strangers or men. He is very alert and always watching me. I know he senses the pregnancy and that I am not able to stand up for myself as I used to, but will this pass??? Jekkyl is turning the tables with this pregnancy. He is just going back in time with training. If we close the door, he will pace and cry and lay on the floor by our door and whine all night long. He is back to peeing and pooping on the floor if he gets closed out of our room. If we leave the door open, he is fine. He will lay on a blanket on the floor in our room and sleep, no problems what so ever. We are trying to get him used to not sleeping in our room because the baby will be in there. We want to keep the dogs and cats out. We also just moved, so I think that might be stressing him out a bit as well. But they never had any interest in our bedroom before why is this starting again? Is it because of a new home and he just doesnt feel comfortable or what? He only does this when I am here. If I leave the house completely, he is fine. But he acts up when he cannot be in sight of me and watch me. Why the panick?? Any help is greatly appreciated... Angie

 

It sounds like both dogs have experienced a lot of changes. Moving to a new house, being excluded from a room that they never were before, and a new baby on the way is a lot to handle. Try to make sure any old routines they are used to are maintained and that you are spending enough time with them.

I think I would be inclined to find a good, positive trainer to help with the aggression. Guarding you can be a very serious thing. Make sure you find someone who uses POSITIVE methods, though. Alpha rolls and leash popping and all that stuff will only make it worse.

The standard answer to this sort of thing is usually counter-conditioning and desensitization. You do this by helping the dog gradually get used to the things that are setting him off. For instance, you have a man get within his sight but far enough away that he doesn't react. You treat him with something very yummy. When he gets to the point that he is looking to you for more treats, have the man come one step closer and repeat. Keep doing this. If at any time the dog reacts, you have gone too fast and have to back up to the last successful point. Some dogs can advance very quickly and some take a long time.

You may also be communicating things to your dogs without knowing it. Stress or nerves about the baby or feeling like you can't defend yourself anymore can be communicated to the dogs and then they feel like they have to step forward to help. If you are walking a dog and someone else is approaching, you can step in front of the dog and say, "I'll handle this" to let him know it is not his job. You should try to keep your distance from any triggers, though, while you are desensitizing.

A few good books you can get at amazon.com are "Feisty Fido", "Cautious Canine", "Dogs are from Neptune", and "How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong: A Road Map for Rehabilitating Aggressive Dogs."