Behavior issues?

NightSwan

I'm going to have to get rid of him.

Firstly, I have to say that I am not a fan of this way of thinking.  You may need to "rehome" him if he is not right for you and your family.

Secondly, vet check now would be advised.  Don't wait until time to neuter.  Make a special trip. 

Thirdly, why is he coming to you with his tail between his legs.  Is this something he has always done.  Sounds like he is frightened of you.  If this is the case...there may be a trust issue.

How old is your dog?  Why kind of training have you and he had?  Does anyone in the household treat him in such a way that he is frightful?  This kind of behavior is hard to diagnose here on an internet forum.  A behaviorist may be in your best interest.

I'm glad you have reached out here.  There are lots of good people who can hopefully offer some insight and or advice.

1. Do the vet check sooner rather than later.

2.  You say this is happening at night and he's coming up to you....not really sure where you are and where he is when this happens but can you leash him at night and keep him with you?  Maybe keep some treats on you and drop him one every few minutes.  I don't really get why he would cower and growl when approaching you but it sounds like for some reason he is afraid (maybe he can't see? see #1) so if you can keep him right with you at that time of day maybe he will learn there's no reason to be scared.  Otherwise if you can't, maybe put him in a crate or somewhere before that time of day, just something to alter that routine and prevent the same thing from happening.

Liesje

1. Do the vet check sooner rather than later.

Ditto! 

 Nah, at night it just means I'm going to take him up to my room to sleep. I don't know why he would associate that as a bad thing.

 The other night when I tried to leash him, he freaked out. He was growling and trying to bite me, and when I held him he kept growling and trying to bite and even started to do a growling yelp. I guess I could leash him before hand...

No, tail between his legs just started. Normally he would be confident. This all started when I tried to scoot him over in my bed so I could lie down, and he started snarling and biting. When I pushed him off my bed (it's just 2 mattress on top of each other, so a very short fall) he just went into the corner of my room, shivering and scared. Whenever I tried to get near enough to put a blanket on him, he would snarl and bite at the blanket.

He's a little over a year, and I admit I haven't done any training (except potty training,) but Thursay we're going to go for our first obedience class. I don't think anyone treats him in a way he should be frightened, though I'm usually one to discipline him (he's my dog,) though my mum will scold him for long periods of time after he does something wrong. He only acts afraid of me, though, and only at night. Because he came when my mum, someone who doesn't particularly like him, and would follow her, but was afraid of me. She even admitted he was acting really weird. 

 Yeah, I always announce myself. Call his name, try to coax him towards me, and the like.

 Yeah, that's what I'm starting to lean towards.

 Yes, I agree, I'm just afraid my parents won't, because such a visit would probably cost money -sigh- I'll call the vet today and ask her what she thinks, and if it does cost then how much.

NightSwan

I'm just afraid my parents won't, because such a visit would probably cost money

Yes, it will cost money.  Maybe you can cancel the obedience class and still get a refund and that money could go toward a vet visit.  Owning a dog is a responsibility and this dog is helpless to help himself.  Whether his problem is medical or a behavior problem he has only the humans in his life to help him.  I'm not trying to come down on you like you're a bad person.  Obviously you care or you wouldn't have come here for some advice.  Maybe you could do some extra chores for your parents to "earn" the money.   I really hope you can talk to your parents and convince them that getting rid of him is the wrong option and getting him checked at the vet is the right thing to do. 

What breed is he?  How old was he when you got him?  Where did you get him from?   These can all help to figure out why he's biting and growling at you if it's a behavior issue.

He's biting out of fear but that fear could be caused by undiagnosed pain and any advice on a possible behavior problem has to wait until any health issue is ruled out by a vet. 

If you can't convince them to take him to the vet ASAP,  come back and we'll try and help you get a handle on it from a behavioral point of view.  But please, please try hard to get him to the vet.

 I care very, very much for him. Sadly, the doing extra chores wouldn't convince them. However, I'm getting $300 whenever I finish a tiger painting for a friend, so perhaps I could convince them in that way... But he would be getting fixed Friday, or Saturday. 

He's a mini dachshund. He was 2 months old when we got him, and it's been little over a year that we've had him. We got him from...oh, from a friend's parent's friend. They also got a dog from them, and as far as I know, he's never been aggressive. To be honest, though, they've had lots of dogs and have lots of experience. I've only had one dog...so it's probably my own fault. I don't really know how to treat a dog. Maybe I'm intimidating him unknowingly? I don't know. I've just recently tried to be more dominating over him, so he knows I'm the alpha. Mainly just eating before he does. Would that make a dog this afraid, though?