My dog wants to cuddle but growls or bites when I try to pet him. Why?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | 11 months and 23 days old | 25 lbs
My dog will act like he wants to cuddle and come lay his head under your chin, but when you pet him he starts growling. He paws at you like he wants you to pet him but will growl and eventually snap and try to bite you. I can't figure out why he does this.
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on January 25th, 2017
It might be that Chunk is in pain, and that's why he growls and snaps at you when you pet him. I recommend booking an appointment with your veterinarian, so that he or she can make sure there is not an underlying medical cause for the aggression.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
-
Published on October 4th, 2017
This is really concerning. I’m sure it is scary too. I think you need to seek out a veterinary behaviorist ASAP. Please call your veterinarian tomorrow and ask for a referral. Please be careful. Dog bites can be really dangerous, even small dogs. In the mean time you should be doing all of the feeding. Also, don’t allow him on any furniture or beds. Good luck, this many take quite a while to fix. Be patient, but be careful.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Training & Behavior
concerned out my dog he has been biting more and more recently, he will come up to you for a cuddle then snap at your hand. wondering what the problem could be
Hello, and thank you for your question. If Fleck's biting is a recent behaviour, I would first want to rule out any pain or discomfort that is eliciting this reaction. For this purpose, a vet visit should be the first step. The vet can perform a full physical exam to check for any areas of pain, and may recommend further testing such as x-rays or blood work to pinpoint a diagnosis. Appropriate medication can be dispensed if a diagnosis is found. If the behaviour is not due to a medical issue, then I would focus on finding out the source of his anxiety, and subsequently work on training. I would suggest getting help from a certified behavioural trainer for this purpose. I hope this helps, and that Fleck gets better soon!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My 1 1/2 year old chihuahua randomly gets aggressive with me (his owner) at nighttime. He will be in his bed, I’ll call his name so he knows it’s me, he will look up at me and as soon as I try to pet him he growls at me. This is the 2nd night he is d
Any continued abnormal symptoms (longer than 24 hours) warrants a vet exam. I cannot tell you what is wrong with him just by your description. I can tell you that you need to be diligent about getting weird behavior changes checked out . Behavior changes could be due to an underlying medical issue (pain somewhere in his body, vision problem, etc) or a behavioral issue. It is always best to rule out an underlying medical issue first before just assuming it is behavioral. I suggest you get him to a vet for an exam.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My Dog was cuddled up on the couch. I come lay next to her to pet her. However, I try to pull a blanket over her and her snarles and begins to bit me. From there when I tried to move away or free my hand she but a growled harder. So much so I had to
I can't tell you exactly what happened, but I have noticed that often when we snuggle on the couch with our pets, especially in the winter, static electricity can build up and little movements trigger shocks. It is possible this is what happened, but I can't say for certain. If this behavior becomes a pattern for Cassidy, you may want to seek veterinary attention. Dogs with behavior changes may be experiencing pain from arthritis, dental disease, or another source. Hopefully, it was an isolated event, and you can go back to cuddling with your girl.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is 1 year old next week and lovely and behaved in almost everyway but every now and again unprovoked he will just growl and attempt to bite you. Eg. He can be lying next to you and just suddenly turn and bite you. There doesnt seem to be a tri
I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem! Aggression is a complex behavioral issue, so it's often hard to give a succinct answer in this format. It would help to have more information about what kinds of situations seem to trigger the aggression, as well as some details about how your dog acts in other contexts. In general, I can tell you that most cases of owner-directed aggression like this are related to insecurity and guarding behavior over resources - like resting places, and sometimes food bowls or chew toys. Many of these dogs will bite somewhat unpredictably when lying next to their owners on a couch or bed. If you want to try and address this behavior, I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate your dog in person and help you determine what is causing the aggression, and also give you a detailed treatment plan to work on the problem. You can search for a behaviorist in your area here: www.davcb.org In the meantime,
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has become aggressive towards me but not anyone else in the house. He comes up to me and wants me to pet him then he growls or tries to bite me. I'm not mean to him. And have tried rewarding good behavior but nothing has worked.
This is really concerning. I’m sure it is scary too. I think you need to seek out a veterinary behaviorist ASAP. Please call your veterinarian tomorrow and ask for a referral. Please be careful. Dog bites can be really dangerous, even small dogs. In the mean time you should be doing all of the feeding. Also, don’t allow him on any furniture or beds. Good luck, this many take quite a while to fix. Be patient, but be careful.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My Chunk today every once and a while when he gets up from lying on his belly helps and cries and seems in pain then walks a few steps and is fine with no other symptoms but he never shows pain so I’m concerned. When I touch everywhere he has no pai
Hello, sorry to hear about Chunk. He may be experiencing hip pain or knee pain. These are typically elicit pain intermittently and is more obvious in certain movements. Other sources of pain could include back pain. Just by touching him you will likely not elicit a response, typically you need to move the joints in questions to get a pain response. Chunk should be seen by his veterinarian within the next week if his pain continues or sooner is the pain is getting worse. Monitor for any limping, dragging of his limbs, low head carriage, or being unable/unwilling to get up and have him evaluated sooner if you note any of these. Hope this helps and best of luck
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Training & Behavior
My dog used to be super nice to his dog brother and to us, but from one day to another he started fighting with his dog brothers daily and when we try to pick him up or pet him he growls at us and tries to bite us . Also, every time we pet or pick up
If this is a sudden or new behavior that happened out of the blue, and Toby is now biting and snapping when picked up or handled, I would be concerned that there is something going on such as pain or illness. Often times, a sudden behavioral change can indicate pain or another underlying condition. A good first step is to schedule an appointment with your vet to rule out any health issues that could be causing this. If Toby checks out healthy and he is still acting aggressive and trying to bite you or other animals, I would seek out the help of a trainer or veterinary behaviorist in person. Aggression is a very serious and complex issue and having someone there in person that can observe, assist and provide a tailored plan to help change Toby's behavior is best. Veterinary behaviorists are great as they are able to prescribe any needed medication in addition to a training routine to help create a safer, stress-free environment. You can visit this site to learn more about veterinary b
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
What could be a possible reason that my friendly loving dog has now become really aggressive towards my other dog and people
There are many possible reasons for this, I'm afraid - aggression is a complex behavior issue, so it can be hard to provide a succinct answer in this format. Many dogs develop aggression issues related to fear or anxiety around the age of 2-3 when they reach social maturity, so it's possible that this may be the issue. Or, since I see that Chucky is a bit older than that, he may have a medical problem causing him to be painful or uncomfortable - this is a common reason for "new" aggression in a previously friendly dog.
I would recommend having Chucky examined by a vet as a good first step - he/she can check for anything that may be causing him pain or making him not feel well, and get him started on treatment if needed. If everything is normal medically, then it would be best to make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist to help you determine what is causing the aggression - he/she can observe your dogs in person and also give you a step-by-step treatment plan to work on t
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
We have a dog who is 5 years old. In the past few months he's been getting aggressive towards us. Like if we were to scold him or even before we would for something that he knows that he's not allowed to do, he would growl at us and he's now starting
Oh dear! That is a worry for sure! It's really important that you don't get hurt, because dog bites can be pretty serious. I would suggest making an appointment with your vet to talk about possibilities. They might be able to link you up with a behaviorist, or dog trainer that could help a lot. There also could be medications that might help. Or, like you said, there could be a medical problem that is upsetting him.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has always been an attention seeker. Always wanting to sit in people's laps & wanting good pat. But recently he's been barking & growling aggressively towards everyone in my family that tries to me pat him. This is very out of character for hi
I would recommend to take Caesar in for an exam to make sure there's no evidence of pain. If no medical reasons are found, then I would suspect this is a behavioral problem. Caesar is now nearing adulthood so he may be trying to figure out where he fits in the pack. I would recommend to work with a professional dog trainer. Aggressive behavior always has the potential to become very bad and you don't want anyone getting hurt. I would start training immediately before the behavior becomes ingrained. Bad habits can be changed but its harder. I hope this helps.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Have A Vet Question?
Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.
