Not sure if this is aggression or not

[sierra52703]

I have a two year old male Rottie. We have had him since he was eight weeks old. This past jan. he had to go into quarintine for 120 days because of where we moved. He got out May ninth which was his two year old birthday. Ever since then he has been growling/grumbling at me whenever I go to pet him, unless he is in a good mood, which is only like 20% of the time. But at night he wants to lay with me in bed like old times. He does not do this to my husband or to my daughter. So I am thinking he may be mad at me or something. We did get a new dog for him to play with when he got home too, since he loves other dogs so much, and he will do that to him too only if my other dog comes near his food or toy. This is all really odd for me since this dog was my best bud before he went into quarintine, and now I feel like he hates me. I am thinking about doing some classes with him, and just spending as much time as I can with him.
Any advice would be great

[BrandiJ]

He had to go into quarantine for 120 days, just because you moved?!! Why is that? Wow, that must've been tough, being apart for that long. Did you have any contact with him during that time at all?

[Sargeant_C]

Classes would be a great idea and not allowing him to growl at you would be an awesome idea too. Get it under control and do not baby him.

[miccmill]

I'm not as experienced as others so keep that in mind while reading my response.

If I brought my dog home from a 120day quarantine and noticed those behavioral changes I would do the following:

Get on a NILIF or modified NILIF routine
Get in class right away
Never up on the furniture or beds

I'd put some structure around this boy's life at home and use classes to rebuild the bond of trust and leadership.

He's not miffed at you for the quarantine, that's a human emotion. He needs his world to make sense and I think classes with a dog trainer can help you understand how to do that for him.

[Judi W]

The 120 day quarantine was not necessary. The requirements to qualify for a 5 day quarantine are quite reasonable and easy to meet and just a small amount of preplanning could have saved the dog from this experience at an impressionable age. Done is done, but be aware of your options in the future.

If you are worried that he might be "mad" at you, then you are also most likely pampering him and trying to make it up to him. A very bad idea. He needs rules and structure and yes, to be in training - which is something that should be taking place whether he'd be in quarantine or not. So, quit pampering, yes off all furniture and yes get signed up and in training classes, train daily and don't miss any classes.

Getting another dog for him to go to for entertainment does not help him to know that he must depend upon you. Another dog is not going to require anything from him, whereas you would (should) require a certain amount of compliance. I would suggest that you severely limit his free time with the other dog to an hour or less a day. Beyond that keep them separated.

Get busy and work hard and he will be fine.

[sierra52703]

Originally Posted by BrandiJ

He had to go into quarantine for 120 days, just because you moved?!! Why is that? Wow, that must've been tough, being apart for that long. Did you have any contact with him during that time at all?

I saw him every day of the week except for mondays and fridays when it was closed to visitors. Its a rule where I moved to, and since my husband is military, we did not get enough of a notice to prepare.

[sierra52703]

Originally Posted by Judi W

The 120 day quarantine was not necessary. The requirements to qualify for a 5 day quarantine are quite reasonable and easy to meet and just a small amount of preplanning could have saved the dog from this experience at an impressionable age. Done is done, but be aware of your options in the future.

If you are worried that he might be "mad" at you, then you are also most likely pampering him and trying to make it up to him. A very bad idea. He needs rules and structure and yes, to be in training - which is something that should be taking place whether he'd be in quarantine or not. So, quit pampering, yes off all furniture and yes get signed up and in training classes, train daily and don't miss any classes.

Getting another dog for him to go to for entertainment does not help him to know that he must depend upon you. Another dog is not going to require anything from him, whereas you would (should) require a certain amount of compliance. I would suggest that you severely limit his free time with the other dog to an hour or less a day. Beyond that keep them separated.

Get busy and work hard and he will be fine.

I do not know how much you know about the quarintine where I live but you need at least a four and a half month notice to get the bloodwork and tests done before your animal can come here. Since my husband is military I did not have that option, so the five day program is not an option for most military.
I do not pamper him at all I am really stern with him because I do not want my Cane Corso to pick up this trait. I got the other dog, right before he got home, as a compainion for my Rottie, I think its nice for them to have a buddy to play with when we are not home, plus I love dogs and can't get enough of them :)
I am hoping these classes will help, I guess I will just have to wait and see how it all goes.

[Judi W]

The classes will help. I would still separate them as much as you can so that you are the only game in town for him. That will increase his need to and desire to please you. It won't need to last forever, but will help him learn that he needs to be pleasing you if he wants to have fun. You be his training partner, but also his source of a good time.

Don't worry about him being mad at you as that is not the case. What has likely happened is that during this very important time of his becoming an adult, he was left pretty much to his own devices without too much of anyone giving him more than minimal instructions in order to care for him. I'm sure he was lonely, but also he got out of the habit of obeying.

Hawaii has a 5 day quanantine program. The dog must be chipped, must have had at least two rabies vaccinations in its lifetime and the most recent one within 12 months. the following link outlines the requirements to qualify for this.

http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/ai_aqs_faq5.htm

He will come around, it is just going to take some work to change what is going on in his head.

[BrandiJ]

Originally Posted by sierra52703

I saw him every day of the week except for mondays and fridays when it was closed to visitors. Its a rule where I moved to, and since my husband is military, we did not get enough of a notice to prepare.

Okay, I'm glad it wasn't COMPLETE separation! I'm sure it was rough anyway though, on you AND him.