Advice For Aggressive Older Dog

RE: Advice For Aggressive Older Dog Post by Stngray (14) | (08/11/2007) Contact I would advise definitely checking with your vet. I had this problem with 2 females who were puppies together. All of a sudden, at about age 5, they started to fight and it kept getting worse until they were trying to kill each other and had to be separated permanently. It was horribly stressful and bloody if they accidently got together. One was a german shep and the other was an akita/shep mix. They were big dogs. I loved them both, and we very sad about the problem, but we are sure we did something wrong. Most likely, they didn't see the human as Alpha. Good luck. RE: Advice For Aggressive Older Dog Post By Maryanne (Guest Post) (08/07/2007) First, make sure she has no medical problems. Animals camoflauge their pain better than humans. My vet explained that in the wild, if an animal shows pain, it makes them more vulnerable to predators which makes them a target. So it is built into them, to tolerate more pain than us. I can tell you how true this is because our one dog had cancer in her leg and never showed any signs of pain. When the vet showed me our dog's slight reaction when she pressed on her leg, I couldn't believe how quiet our dog was but I could see the pain in her eyes. Within five weeks, the cancer did eventually take her from us but she never showed any signs of pain until the moment she passed. I could not believe how active she was until the day she died -- we were hoping the vet was wrong. It had eventually spread to her lungs. She died in my arms. She was a wonderful dog and we miss her dearly. I have tried this following method and it worked. I read a newspaper article explaining this and is was written by a vet. Our younger dog, who was about 75 pounds larger than the older dog, starting showing aggression towards the older one. The instant I saw this happen, I firmly pushed her -- the agressive one, down by her neck to the floor and screamed "No" at her. This showed her that I was the boss and that I make the rules not her. This is what the doctor suggested and it worked for me. I only did this one time and never ever had to repeat it. I basically put her in her place. You, the "alpha dog", must be the leader with your dogs. Remember you are in charge, and don't let any dog think they can change this. Good luck and I hope this works for you. RE: Advice For Aggressive Older Dog Post By (Guest Post) (08/07/2007) Perhaps you could contact The DogWhisperer, Caesar...or maybe view a few of the shows and this behavior might be addressed...he is very good RE: Advice For Aggressive Older Dog Post By U*u*U (Guest Post) (08/06/2007) Just a shot in the dark..... the other suggestions are certainly sound, but if the change was sudden, and the aggression real, perhaps your younger dog has developed an "adult dog" scent, which the older dog is reacting to (?) She might not have felt threatened by a pup or an adolescent companion, but maturation occurs in some breeds as late as 2 1/2 - 3 years. Please ask your vet. RE: Advice For Aggressive Older Dog Post by kimhis (178) | (08/06/2007) Contact At the least you can put a sock type or cage type muzzle on the big dog for the safety of the small dog. It will still be terrifying but at least there won't be injuries. Some aggression is just pack behavior, and an obedience coach that can help work with aggressives, as posted, would be the best advisor. Please let us know what happened. RE: Advice For Aggressive Older Dog Post By Me (Guest Post) (08/06/2007) I agree with the others but even if it turns out to be just aggression & no physical issue you can completely turn the dog around by taking obedience classes from instructors who specialize in training aggressive dogs. They can work magic. RE: Advice For Aggressive Older Dog Post By Carol in PA (Guest Post) (08/06/2007) I suggest having your older dog examined by a vet to rule out an illness. We all get cranky when we dont feel well. RE: Advice For Aggressive Older Dog Post by dpool from memphis (35) | (08/06/2007) Profile | Contact Have you had the older dog checked at the vet. Like humans with age dogs attitude and dementia change. The older could feel threatened, protective or feel as if her time is ending and is prcieving the younger as a cause. Call you vet and ask before getting rid of her. He may have other ideas, it could be a illness like artitis or heat or any number of things not even related to your other dog,just the older using the younger as a scape goat. My fear would be that the kids mght get caught in the cross fire and get hurt when it could be someting minor. Good Luck! :)