Dogs & Aggression

[crabcake]

Recently, Sammie has begun showing signs of aggression toward other dogs when they sniff her goods. And when I say "agression", I don't just mean nipping; I mean she all but mauls them. Tonight, there was a bit of commotion, all four dogs (my two and NP's two) were in a small area along with NP, Hop, DQ and I. We think DQ tripped on one dog, and Jake was by Sammie, and she just went off on him. I had to pry her off him (literally, open her mouth to let go of him).

I don't know where this is coming from. She's had the same reaction to a couple dogs at the dog park who are just smelling her goods. In their defense, she lays down (submissive), they come over to sniff the , and she goes after 'em ... kinda like a tease.

Any suggestions/explanations? I won't tolerate this for long. If she continues to show this type of agression, she WILL be gone. It's a risk that I will NOT take. Her agression is always toward other dogs (though not at all Emmitt); not humans ... yet.

 

[Geek]

Recently, Sammie has begun showing signs of aggression toward other dogs when they sniff her goods. And when I say "agression", I don't just mean nipping; I mean she all but mauls them. Tonight, there was a bit of commotion, all four dogs (my two and NP's two) were in a small area along with NP, Hop, DQ and I. We think DQ tripped on one dog, and Jake was by Sammie, and she just went off on him. I had to pry her off him (literally, open her mouth to let go of him).

I don't know where this is coming from. She's had the same reaction to a couple dogs at the dog park who are just smelling her goods. In their defense, she lays down (submissive), they come over to sniff the , and she goes after 'em ... kinda like a tease.

Any suggestions/explanations? I won't tolerate this for long. If she continues to show this type of agression, she WILL be gone. It's a risk that I will NOT take. Her agression is always toward other dogs (though not at all Emmitt); not humans ... yet.

Watch the Dog Whisperer I used his methods when my two dogs started out of nowhere beating the crap out of each other. He even has clips online. http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/channel/dogwhisperer/

 

[dustin]

Maybe she needs some doggie lovin :shrug:

 

[crabcake]

If it were just the usual dog fighting, I wouldn't be as concerned. But she is literally almost mauling other dogs. She drew blood on Jakey tonight.

 

[dustin]

If it were just the usual dog fighting, I wouldn't be as concerned. But she is literally almost mauling other dogs. She drew blood on Jakey tonight.

Does she immediately stop after you pull her off or does she want to get back into it and keep biting?

 

[cattitude]

Isn't she just about a year old?

 

[crabcake]

Does she immediately stop after you pull her off or does she want to get back into it and keep biting?

No, she stops ... but it's an all-out attack when it's in progress. I had to pry her jaw open to let Jake go tonight.

Isn't she just about a year old?

She'll be 2 on Easter.

 

[crabcake]

And this has just started happening in the last couple weeks.

 

[cattitude]

I have a dog that doesn't like other dogs. My old lab/hound. When I brought Buster in here, it was awful. They do fine now but I really had to work at it. Multi-dog households need to run with a firm hand. You did some training with her, didn't you? You really need to continue with that and have control over her. I just went through some of my bookmarks and found the sites that were helpful to me.

When you and NP are together, there are four dogs and the hierarchy is confused.

http://www.cal.net/~pamgreen/family_feuds.html

http://www.leerburg.com/dogfight.htm

 

[dustin]

Could she be in heat?

http://www.seefido.com/html/aggression_by_female_dog_in_he.htm

 

[cattitude]

I had forgotten about the advice in the second link. You have to scroll down to the "dog park" section.

 

[crabcake]

I had forgotten about the advice in the second link. You have to scroll down to the "dog park" section.

I'm reading that one now. At the dog park, I would expect this to happen on occasion. While she might see those dogs from time to time, it's in short spurts and I doubt she really remembers any one dog. But since she's had two run-ins with dogs there that have bordered on mauling type fights, I haven't had her back there. With family dogs though (e.g., NPs dogs), after they've all hung out for awhile again, I'd think they should be okay.

It's hard to explain, but when it's your dog, you kind of know something is different; even if you don't know what. Well, something is different. I can't figure out why all of a sudden she's acting out like this, but I do think there's something wrong/different.

 

[crabcake]

Could she be in heat?

http://www.seefido.com/html/aggression_by_female_dog_in_he.htm

No ... she's been fixed since she was 6 months old.

Is it possible for her to have the equivalent of "PMS" still, though?

 

[krazd_kat]

If she's just started this get her to the vet for a checkup, make sure there isn't anything wrong. Get her thyroids checked.

Some dogs can't go to the dog park this might be one of them.

 

[dustin]

No ... she's been fixed since she was 6 months old.

Is it possible for her to have the equivalent of "PMS" still, though?

Not sure. But she could have "false heat". Something to keep in mind...

There is a condition in female dogs and cats known as "ovarian remnant
syndrome" in which a spayed female continues to exhibit signs of estrus
(heat periods. Usually this occurs because a portion of an ovary was left
in the abdomen during the spay surgery. This can happen several ways --
sometimes the surgeon doesn't have a clear view of the ovary for some
reason (obesity, not having a big enough incision, bleeding, etc.) and a
portion is simply missed, other times it is a piece of the ovary is
accidentally dropped as it is removed and reimplants in the abdomen. I have
had a couple of patients in our practice that appeared to have small pieces
of ovary near the normal ovarian tissue but separate from it. So far we
have seen these pieces and removed them but I tend to think that there are
times when there is just extra ovarian tissue. Dogs that have ovarian
tissue that is not removed during a spay tend to show all the normal signs
of heat -- swelling of the vulva, bleeding, attraction of male dogs and
often false pregnancy signs. These usually occur at the same interval as
other estrus periods, roughly seven months. Cats tend to have normal estrus
behavior for their species, too. This can be crying, rolling on the floor,
overly friendly behavior and attraction of male cats at about 3 week
intervals. The only treatment I know of is to find the ovarian tissue that
remains and to remove it. This is easiest to do when the pet is in estrus
because the ovarian tissue is active and easier to find.

In a dog that has already had exploratory surgery once I think it would be
a good idea to do hormonal testing prior to considering another surgery.
Sometimes it is possible to tell that ovarian tissue remains just by
testing progesterone levels in dogs but only if the progesterone levels are
over 2ng/ml. A hormonal response test that starts with administration of
HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) during estrus behavior and then is
followed by measurement of progesterone is more accurate. This test works
for cats, too.

 

[Sadysue]

Recently, Sammie has begun showing signs of aggression toward other dogs when they sniff her goods. And when I say "agression", I don't just mean nipping; I mean she all but mauls them. Tonight, there was a bit of commotion, all four dogs (my two and NP's two) were in a small area along with NP, Hop, DQ and I. We think DQ tripped on one dog, and Jake was by Sammie, and she just went off on him. I had to pry her off him (literally, open her mouth to let go of him).

I don't know where this is coming from. She's had the same reaction to a couple dogs at the dog park who are just smelling her goods. In their defense, she lays down (submissive), they come over to sniff the , and she goes after 'em ... kinda like a tease.

Any suggestions/explanations? I won't tolerate this for long. If she continues to show this type of agression, she WILL be gone. It's a risk that I will NOT take. Her agression is always toward other dogs (though not at all Emmitt); not humans ... yet.

I would call your vet and tell him about the situation and see if she needs a checkup. Other than that, when she attacks a dog, you need to throw her on her back and let the dog she attacked stand over her. That makes her physically submit to the other dog. You need to do it every time she attacks and make her stay on her back for a good 2 mins. Good Luck.

 

[cattitude]

I would call your vet and tell him about the situation and see if she needs a checkup. Other than that, when she attacks a dog, you need to throw her on her back and let the dog she attacked stand over her. That makes her physically submit to the other dog. You need to do it every time she attacks and make her stay on her back for a good 2 mins. Good Luck.

 

[bresamil]

Our dog doesn't like to be touched or have her belly rubbed to low. She'll give the warning growl, bark, or nip. At first we thought it was the scarring from her spay surgery, but after a sonogram we discovered she has little cysts on her bladder. They are benign but it just makes her sensitive to touch. Since they removed some when they did her initial surgery, the doctor thinks she's just prone to them and we should leave it alone.

 

[crabcake]

I would call your vet and tell him about the situation and see if she needs a checkup. Other than that, when she attacks a dog, you need to throw her on her back and let the dog she attacked stand over her. That makes her physically submit to the other dog. You need to do it every time she attacks and make her stay on her back for a good 2 mins. Good Luck.

No ... usually, she's already in the submissive position. She sees other dogs, she runs over, lays down, bares her belly, they sniff her, and she goes apeshiat on 'em and tries to maul 'em.

 

[Cowgirl]

I would call your vet and tell him about the situation and see if she needs a checkup. Other than that, when she attacks a dog, you need to throw her on her back and let the dog she attacked stand over her. That makes her physically submit to the other dog. You need to do it every time she attacks and make her stay on her back for a good 2 mins. Good Luck.

Definitely don't do this...you can't interfere with the dogs heirarchy, unless it is to re-establish yourself as dominant. Dog experts say that when it is a minor scuffle, don't feel bad for the dog that 'lost,' but sort-of 'congratulate' the one that 'won'....as in, just giving them a small pat and not make a big deal of it.

I definitely suggest getting or watching The Dog Whisperer....he is very good, and handles this sort of thing all the time.