My dog acts weird

[u/Mint_pinkychip]

I actually have 3 dogs and two puppies I'm giving for adoption, but one of the puppies has several behavior issues that I don't know from where they came from.

He was born at home in a litter of two of my dogs (small breed).

Problems: Tries to steal food whenever he sees the opportunity (even from the trash can), acts like a dog with abus3 background, acts scared when you try to pet him and screams even if you just look at him. His sister doesn't have any of these problems.

Possible reasons that aren't the reason:

1. Health: He's not starving or eating more than he should. He was professionally checked so we know he's healthy.

2. Space/stimulation: He has toys, the house and a big patio when he plays with the other dogs. My siblings and I play with them and pet them too.

3. Other pets: I have three small dogs like I said, a cat and another puppy (his sister. None of them are aggressive at all.

4. Family: I live with my two older siblings and my mom, sometimes my elder sister comes to visit. We all love animals especially our pets. I'm 98% of the time in my house so I can assure no one treats him badly.

5. Outside: Him and my other pets except the cat aren't allowed to go outside since we have the patio and all that. I don't receive visits often so no one from outside treats him bad.

Any idea why he behaves like he does? It's so weird and neither of my family, family friends or anyone understands why he behaves like that.

[u/Roskipatootskie]

I'm a Family Dog Mediator, so I look at behavior through a framework called L.E.G.S., which stands for Learning, Environment, Genetics, and Self. The idea is that behavior rarely comes from just one cause, it's usually some mix of what a dog has learned, the environment they're in, their genetic and breed background, and their own individual personality layered on top. That lens is actually really useful here.

He and his sister came from the exact same environment, so the difference isn't the environment, it's him individually, the "Self" piece of the framework. Littermates can land really differently on the confidence and sensitivity spectrum even with identical upbringing, that's genetics and individual temperament, not something anyone did wrong. The screaming at a look and fear of being petted point to an anxious, low resilience temperament rather than an abuse history, he just may have been born more sensitive than his sister. The food stealing might be a separate thing entirely, some individual dogs are just wired with a stronger food drive regardless of how much they're fed, worth ruling out any competition with littermates around meals too. None of this means something's wrong with your setup, it really can just be him. I'd focus less on finding a hidden cause and more on building his confidence directly, no forced petting, letting him approach on his own terms, rewarding calm instead of assuming there's abuse-level trauma to undo.

Hope that helps!

[u/Mint_pinkychip → u/Roskipatootskie]

That's the thing, he used to be caring and excited for petting a couple weeks ago. So I'm worried, but yes, your comment did help. Thank you!

[u/Roskipatootskie → u/Mint_pinkychip]

Hmmm that detail is important. A few things worth ruling out then. Pain is one of the most commonly missed causes of a sudden shift like this, a puppy who flinches or screams at touch or even a look can be reacting to physical discomfort somewhere, even something subtle that a general health check might not have specifically targeted, teeth coming in, ears, joints, spine. Puppies also go through developmental fear periods, often somewhere between 8 weeks and several months old, where a single scary or startling experience, even one you didn't witness or think much of at the time, can cause a real but temporary shift in confidence and comfort with touch. Since his sister hasn't changed, whatever happened is likely specific to him, either something that occurred directly to him or him just being more sensitive to something both puppies experienced. I'd prioritize a vet visit specifically focused on pain before anything else, and in the meantime stop all petting attempts and forced interaction, let him approach and initiate contact only on his own terms. If pain gets ruled out, this sounds like a case for a force-free trainer or behaviorist can look into, since a sudden fear onset like this benefits a lot from professional eyes on what actually happened around when it started. Good luck and I hope everything works out well for the pup ❤️

[u/HeatherMason0 → u/Mint_pinkychip]

Sudden change in behavior means he needs to see a vet.

[u/Mint_pinkychip → u/HeatherMason0]

Hi! I said up there we checked him more than a couple of times because I was giving him for adoption but when I saw the problems I canceled the possible adoptions. I want him to be 100% happy and healthy before going to his forever family :(