As some of you know that Indy growled at me a few days ago......

Well, then on Sunday night, when i went to get the kids to bed...  first, both of the kids and i were in my daughter's room reading a couple of books before bedtime....   Then my son went to his bedroom and saw Indy in the middle of his bed and said, "Indy, Off"  what did indy do?   growled at him! 

i asked Owen was he sleeping,  He said "no" and all i said "indy, off" and i didn't touch him...  and Owen repeatly told "indy, off" so he can go to bed....   So i pointed at the floor and told Indy, "off" and he did.... 

Then last night, my husband went out for a drink and came back home about half an hour later...  no biggie... and Indy heard something and was doing what he natually would do as a dog... barks to alert me that someone is here...  I kept saying, "Daddy's home...it's okay, Daddy's home"... he kept on growling...  then Indy got up on the couch with me and saw my husband walked in the door and continued to growled at him!    John tried to tell him it's okay,just him, but he kept on growling.... a low growl... and then he said "no"...

i do remember that Nora stresses not to something, i have to go back and reread that... 

but this is the third day in a row that he growled at us.....    i don't understand why... and my husband and I are getting very concerned for the safety of our children...   since we are seeing this and i don't know what to think. 

any insight on this? 

So after John told him no... he went into the kitchen and then came back in the room and Indy was fine... and John called indy up to sit with him in the recliner... and he did and fell asleep with him....   

I guess i'm not sure what to think when he growls at my family members...   I just don't want anyone to get hurt. 

that's a good idea... i didn't think of that. 

Indy has been with me since mid December... and he wasn't quite a year old then,     and he is about a year and half old now...    he has been a great dog and still is....   there was no problems at all... no growling, just play and play and play... and sleep and chew...and knows what he can get into and what he can't get into... and does his Indy 500 through-out the house like he always has done...   and he still does that....         he is crate trained, housetrained...  over-all he is a good dog... 

i just want to learn to see what i can do with him before it gets out of hand

but what worries me....   and i try not to read too much into it just yet... and not ready to rule this out....  is the chemical imbalance in dogs...  I have seen that in one of my s-i-l's dog, and it wasn't very pretty.... and like i said.... i am not ready for that and want to see what i can do before it starts to get bad....  and go from there.

I don't know if it's a chemical imbalance, or him just challenging authority... he needs to learn that he is NOT the alpha, that the humans are... he needs to EARN privileges like being on furniture, etc.... there is something I see posted all the time... NILF - Nothing in Life is Free - sounds like Indy needs a refresher course...

he doesn't try to act alpha....   Kasey does that all the time. 

i think the only thing that i can think of is that something flipped/switched in his brain on Sunday when my son fed him in the crate...and it was a one time thing and we don't plan to feed him in the crate anymore because of his mean reaction ....   

but all of the other time, he's a plain goofy boy just enjoying the life of being a dog. 

excatly what i was thinking.....   just not sure which one... and i will pull that info on NILIF.... to refresh myself again... lol  and work with him on that... and if it is not that... then we know it is something more serious. 

I will have to have my whole family work with him on that...   NILIF.  to get him to see that my son and my husband is the alpha, not him.....   and my daughter is too.  

He listens to me very well....  better than my husband... lol... which is nice for a change. 

I always wonder tho - why some dogs need NILF and some don't... must be a canine thing! 

something that is in their brain that is off...  or not right... or forgets that this person is nice....  

like for one minute he's your buddy forever, and then the next minute, he doesn't trust you and acts agressive/defensive toward you....  

it's like a flip/switch in their brain and can't remember you, and gets defensive/agressive toward you and then all of a sudden he sees you and is so happy to be with you...  

which is i am not ready to rule that out yet....    until i try other things first.  but if that was the case....   the outlook is grim.  So hopefully....    he is just "challenging" us. 

I am not looking for a "way out"......   I know what you mean, but that isn't what i am trying to do... i am trying to look for others insight.... which you did, is fine...     I was concerned with what may be causing his to growl at my family members all of a sudden after being with us every single day....   he was fine and then out of the blue for him to be like that...  which was not a problem before. ...   

We are going to work with him and go from there with NILIF, especially by my children and husband. 

however....    if he were to ever cause any harm for any unexplainable reason.......   then I would have to put my family first....   

but for the time being, i am going to keep a close eye on him, and work with him....   and do my best to make sure that everyone including myself and the dog happy

Here is another possibility...could Indy be having seizure activity...not all seizures are the grand mal type, and even the petit mal seizures can temporarily cause confusion and fear.  This could be one explanation for this sudden onset.

Sorry. Don't get me wrong.  I wasn't implying you .  I just meant in general.  I just don't believe that a dog just has an imbalance.  I feel there is always a reason they do what they do and it is our job to figure out why.   I fully agree with trying the NILF method. Here's some good info on that.  If you google it you'll find lots of stuff.

How To Practice “Nothing In Life Is Free:”
• Using positive reinforcement methods, teach your dog a few commands and/or tricks. “Sit,” “Down” and “ Stay” are useful commands and “Shake,” “Speak” and “Rollover” are fun tricks to teach your dog.
• Once your dog knows a few commands, you can begin to practice “nothing in life is free.” Before you give your dog anything (food, a treat, a walk, a pat on the head) it must first perform one of the commands it has learned.
For example: