Neutering is not going to help - training is. But a good trainer will train YOU to deal with the dog. If a trainer can get him to behave but you can't - there is little to be gained from paying out money. This is something you should never have allowed to happen, but since it has, I think you should deal with it and @JENGOSMonkey has given you a good idea to start you off. Withdrawing treats is a good idea, but also, get up and walk away. He could be biting to get attention and therefore you withdraw the attention at the first sign of a bite, with a firm NO.
Biting and thyroid?
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Cody is normally people-friendly when it comes to those that he knows, and lately he has been semi-friendly with strangers upon first meeting them. Two days ago, since we finally finished Cody-proofing the backyard by fixing all the areas that we had temporarily patched up, my mother let him and Moe outside to play and whatnot, and he was off-leash. When they were both ready to come inside, Moe walked in, but Cody was still standing in the doorway. She grabbed his harness to nudge him further inside so that she could shut the door (which she had seen me do occasionally) and he bit her arm a few times, drawing blood in 4 places. She was a little shaken and wasn't sure what to do, so she put him in his kennel until I got home from work, which was about 1 1/2 hours later.
He hadn't shown any signs of aggression before that, and hasn't since then. He seems to know that he was wrong; he walked around with his head down when I got home and let him out of his kennel, and he seems to show her more affection than before (well, his brand of affection with people besides me, which is mostly sitting at her feet, nosing/nuzzling her legs, and the like).
What I'm wondering is if this is an isolated incident or could it be a thyroid problem? From what I've read on here it seems like with thyroid there is change in attitude/behavior that goes on for a while, not just one episode, but I may be understanding that wrong. Do issues with thyroid start like that, gradually with isolated incidents here and there, or is the behavioral change more sudden?
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My first basenji had thyroid problems but I never noticed any behaviorial changes.
If you suspect this then have him tested. -
Always good to rule out anything medical first… before attempting to deal with a bad behavior like you are seeing.
How old is Cody?
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I think he's about 3 years old, I'm not sure exactly because he was a rescue. I am going to get him checked out, I was just wondering how issues with thyroid show themselves and I had read on here that aggression can be associated with thyroid.
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Thyroid problems can show a lot of different ways.. one thing for sure, when it is a sudden change, always best to check out the health angle first.
