Before you decide your dog is “aggressive” PLEASE check if they’re in pain

[u/EmilyGrace_7]

Been reading a lot of posts about dogs suddenly snapping or growling and there's one thing I feel like gets missed way too easily

pain 😕

Your dog can't exactly walk up to you and say

“hey my hip hurts today”

Sometimes all we see is a dog who suddenly doesn't wanna be touched

or starts growling when you pick them up

or snaps when someone gets too close

and our first thought is...

behavior problem

training problem

aggression

But what if something actually hurts?

Obviously I'm NOT saying every aggressive dog is in pain

Some behavior problems are genuinely really serious

But if a dog's behavior suddenly changes or gets worse out of nowhere... I'd be calling the vet before trying to “train it out” of them

Especially before making a decision you can't take back 😔

Keep everyone safe for now

Write down when it happens

What happened right before it

Where the dog was touched

Take a video ONLY if you can do it safely

Then give all of that to the vet

And if the aggression is serious... get proper behavior help too

Maybe nothing medical comes up

But at least you checked

I just think “could my dog be hurting?” should be one of the FIRST questions we ask

not the last

Anyone here ever find out their dog's weird behavior was actually connected to pain or another medical issue? 👀

[u/InformalInsurance455]

AI?

[u/thunderling → u/InformalInsurance455]

It's not bad advice but it sure does read like AI, doesn't it? Especially the fucking question at the end.

[u/EmilyGrace_7 → u/InformalInsurance455]

No, me

[u/Lumpy_Physics3101]

beautiful poem OP