Why Is My Australian Shepherd All Of A Sudden Dealing With Aggression?

by Courtney
(Texas)

Friends, I have a 5 year old Australian Shepherd, whom I have had since she was a baby. I started clicker training her when she was a pup, and constantly engaged at the dog park. Then, after graduation I moved home after college she was living with me and my family at home.

At home, my mom has a German Shepherd, Rottweiler and my brother has two German Shepherds. She has always gotten along well with them. I lived at home for about 2 years, and commuted to work everyday so I was away from her a lot more during those 2 years. I noticed she started peeing on my bed and acting out, and she was tested for a UTI then which she didn't have either. She was a good dog still, we took her with us everyone, dog parks and to dog friendly bars and breweries in Houston.

After moving out of my mom's house this past October 2018, I changed her food from Pro Plan to Core Wellness. Then around the same time my boyfriend got a new Golden puppy who she did well around too. Then, I saw her begin to change in Nov./Dec. when we took her to breweries and she started barking at all the dogs (not a playful bark). It just continued to get worse, she started acting out when she saw dogs while being on the leash. We always take her to the dog park, and she is just fine still no signs of aggression. So I googled everything about leash aggression, I changed her food to Blue Buffalo, picked up her clicker training again - challenging her more but still I am struggling to get her back to her old self again.

Now, it isn't just dogs that she barks at. She barks at some PEOPLE who are coming up to her while she is on the leash. She is such a people lover and always had been. It breaks my heart to see her anxiety so high and she just isn't her old self.

Has anyone experienced sudden changes like this or have any advice for me?

I just want to do everything in my power to comfort her, though she has been through changes. We don't want to have to leave her at home either when we go to breweries and such but it is becoming very difficult to bring her around anything while on the leash.

Thank you so much!

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