Anonymous wrote:My daughter works with rescue dogs and one lab mix was acting like this. It turned out he had a huge prickly burr stuck in his ear. They removed it and he calmed down. Good idea to have a checkup.

The only other thing I wondered from your description was if any of the other dogs have been too aggressive and she's feeling intimidated and defensive. Don't stop socializing her, just watch that it's with friendly socialized dogs. She sounds like a great dog! I have a retriever mix too.

Dog parks are open territory and things must have happened to her. Based on the amount of fur on a golden she might have even been nipped with a skin break.

Back pain is my guess.

My very friendly beagle gets defensive and a little growly around other dog when her back is hurting because she's afraid other dogs are going to jump on her back in play.

My daughter works with rescue dogs and one lab mix was acting like this. It turned out he had a huge prickly burr stuck in his ear. They removed it and he calmed down. Good idea to have a checkup.

The only other thing I wondered from your description was if any of the other dogs have been too aggressive and she's feeling intimidated and defensive. Don't stop socializing her, just watch that it's with friendly socialized dogs. She sounds like a great dog! I have a retriever mix too.

Thank you so much! I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't even think of this since she seems fine in other settings. But, yes, of course dogs can't tell us they don't feel well! I love this girl so much

Anonymous wrote:It could be that something is physically wrong and causing her pain or discomfort.

Whenever you notice a sudden change in personality in a dog, it's a good idea to schedule a vet visit.

Basically, dogs don't have a way of saying, "hey, this hurts."

Best of luck.

This is my guess too. Get a thorough checkup and detail all of this to the vet.

It could be that something is physically wrong and causing her pain or discomfort.

Whenever you notice a sudden change in personality in a dog, it's a good idea to schedule a vet visit.

Basically, dogs don't have a way of saying, "hey, this hurts."

Best of luck.

My dog is a wonderful, cuddly and adorable retriever mix. She loves people, especially women and kids. She is high energy and therefore gets 3 walks every day (morning, noon and early evening) plus a run or extensive play time. She's 2-years old. She used to love going to the dog park and running with the big dogs or wrestling with the group. Lately though, she's been barking and baring her teeth at dogs at the park. Basically, she's acting very irritable and cranky. Like a kid that doesn't know that if you keep yelling at your friends, they'll stop liking you or a crabby old lady. Does she need more socialization? Or less? What should I do?