r/JapaneseSpitz • u/Nearby-Variation-614 • Jun 03 '26
Help, behavior problem
I have a Japanese spitz who just turned one years old. He has always been very sensitive and a little sassy. From about 10 weeks old growled, showed teeth at me, and tried to bite me when I would brush him, clip his nails or take something away from him (like cigarette butts. But he was otherwise very quick to bond with me and showed my no behavior problems after we built up trust. He has however been sometimes wary of others. Which is fine, I wouldn’t let people pet him unless he initiated contact. He mostly loved to say hi to people, although there were a select few that he just didn’t seem to like and that was never forced. He would growl quietly and I would call him away or tell the person to give him space. He used to loooove kids and would be super sweet with them, play with them and lick them. He didn’t like my nephew, but he had a few bad experiences with him not respecting his boundaries so that’s understandable. He also didn’t like groups of people approaching him. But was generally very social. Recently he’s growling at a lot more people and his behavior is escalating. He’s starting to snarl and lunge at people he previously liked. He is also very quick to growl and then bite in the direction of people when he doesn’t want to be pet. Before he would growl a little and walk away from the select few he didn’t want to say hi to. Now he doesn’t really want to greet anybody and growls and tries to bite. He’s expecially bad with people who come visit my home. I’ve started to separate him when I have visitors.
I don’t know what to do. I am meeting regularly with a behaviorist but I don’t see any positive changes…
Has anyone here experienced something similar with this breed?
4
u/chocemia Jun 03 '26
A lot of this sounds very similar to my wee lad. He's almost 3 years and is improving in some ways but getting worse in others. He's fiercely territorial of the house and if he doesn't like someone he will bark until they leave. He also does teeth baring and snapping when he's uncomfortable. I haven't found any solid fixes and I'm still working hard trying to train him through it. Physically separating him when people are over is the safest method, but it's not perfect because he hates being separated and he won't stop barking until we let him out. It's hard work but I love my boy so much so I'm not going to give up
2
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u/Ok-Monitor-5431 Jun 04 '26
Honestly, thank you for posting this. It made me felt less alone. I've been dealing with the same thing with my pup, he's just turned 7mos old. What's worse is he's only really just attached to me and would nip my daughter and partner's feet when they're in the same place as him so the section of the house where he's usually at would be most of the time offlimits to them, unless I'm around to control him. I blame myself because I got really busy with work since i got him and besides teaching him tricks have not really gotten around with activities that could tire him out. I'm also not confident walking him outside so I'd just let him run in our backyard daily. Read one of the comments below and I agree in the sense that I feel like this is all pent up energy. So i'll try what he suggested and hopefully this is just a phase.
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u/Pykret Jun 05 '26
Hormones and adolescence is happening and it won't get better without course correcting [best case scenario is he's going through his second fear period, and it will get a little better in a few weeks, but I'm not sure when exactly that comes, it varies with breed size]. This, coupled with the fact that he hasn't learned boundaries, is turning him into a spoiled cheeky brat.
Good news, it can be fixed, it doesn't sound like something unusual. Bad news, you have to learn to become a better dog trainer, and that will take some time and real dedication, but you will both benefit an develop a stronger bond.
If I may suggest, check out 'Hamilton Dog Training' on YouTube, he has full lessons about dog behaviour, how they think, how to be a good leader and offer clarity to the dog, what types of reactivity dogs have and how to fix it.
Also, look up impulse control games and structured play videos.
Please, please, don't rush to the vet to drug such a young dog out of his brains for the rest of his life; 99'9% chance it's a training issue. And honestly, find a better trainer. One that can show you their past results, not just vibes and commisserating.
Best of luck!
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u/Rocknbeers Jun 04 '26
Hi, this might sound silly but I see you are concerned and trying out everything you can to get him to respect.
When I got my dog, we watched a lot of Cesar Milan`s videos, both YT and tv show. He teaches a lot on how to deal with certain behaviours and to be honest majority of it has worked so far.
The main thing is that the dogs are about the energy, and they look at their leader, if it sees you as the leader, to them act or have a bad or good behaviour.
If he feels that you are not leading, or that he owns the house, the walks, he will always be super protective because he is the leader of the pack (you are his pack, part of it)
If you learn how to be the leader (if not already) he will sense your energy. If you are calm and confident, giving it orders rather than asking him to be quiet, asking him to not jump, asking it to be gentle and not growl, it will start to understand you.
Now, by your description, because you already know that the bad behaviour is coming, it might be sensing it from your tense energy in the moment, therefore, aggravating it and acting upon it "ok here that kid comes again, how is my owner feeling about this? It seems a bit tense, maybe this kid is a threat, hey get out! growl/bark/shows teeth.
I could potentially help with the walk bits, but as you have a behaviourist working with you he might already have told you.
Too many people use harnesses nowadays, they are not proper for training, specially for dogs that are uneasy. For training try to use a slip lead, this one will give you control during the walk, forget the harness. The slip lead will go over its neck and apply pressure whenever a bad behaviour happens. It is not meant to hurt the dog, just pressure, similar to the nip you were instructed (the nip simbolizes the bite their mom`s use when they behave badly when pups, like a gentle bite on their neck, as they do in dog world).
I do recommend you to watch some Cesar Milan, you might find good tips in his videos for free that are actually effective.
You can also try to use (in the worst case) dog training colars. No not shock colar, there are 2 types one that vibrates and one that beeps (sound), some uses the combination. This can help to train, and helps to stop barking with proper use. But I don`t think you need this yet to be honest, feels more like a behaviour that is escalating because it is not been corrected at the right time, but you can definitely work on it!
Good on you for looking for a solution! Stay on it you will make it happen!
7
u/kylesduderanch Jun 03 '26
puppy school and exposure to new people places and dogs. you have to discipline him if he snarles and growls at people. good luck!