Our old one getting bad tempered or heat ?
Discussion
my old pooch has always slept in with our daughter, we have another dog (his son) there has always been a bit of "grumpiness from the older dog when the other walks in the bedroom. lately though its got a lot worse.
The older dog waits for thew other to walk in & really goes for the younger one, its a real fight & has now spread to him not liking my wife going into daughters room without him growling at her. She went in to stop them fighting & wife separated them but pushed the older dog backwards, he flew at her & would not back down, I had to go in, he would only calm down when I insisted that my wife & other dog left.
About 5 weeks ago he bit my wife on two separate occasions in 1 week ,she still has the scar on her knee.
They are Lurchers/Whippets 5 & 11yrs & generally so placid ,still is with me & daughter, I really am concerned Wife wants him gone but not me pr Daughter, we have owned him since he was 11mths old & the other since birth.
It will really mess up daughter if he has to go ,she adores him & him her.
The older dog waits for thew other to walk in & really goes for the younger one, its a real fight & has now spread to him not liking my wife going into daughters room without him growling at her. She went in to stop them fighting & wife separated them but pushed the older dog backwards, he flew at her & would not back down, I had to go in, he would only calm down when I insisted that my wife & other dog left.
About 5 weeks ago he bit my wife on two separate occasions in 1 week ,she still has the scar on her knee.
They are Lurchers/Whippets 5 & 11yrs & generally so placid ,still is with me & daughter, I really am concerned Wife wants him gone but not me pr Daughter, we have owned him since he was 11mths old & the other since birth.
It will really mess up daughter if he has to go ,she adores him & him her.
Edited by Tirus on Saturday 21st June 11:57
Can't' say I blame your wife tbh. If it were you or your daughter on the receiving end I'm sure you'd feel different.
Firstly you need to avoid the points at which conflict is occurring which may mean altering sleep routines. You also need to get him vet assessed, changes in behaviour especially in an older dog should have medical reasons ruled out (is he neutered?)
Assess if anything has changed recently in the home set up, however subtle may be significant to him.
Unfortunately seeking advice here may mean you will get well meaning but conflicting advice or advice that may worsen a situation, you may need to look into a good behaviourist who can come and observe him in the home and the trigger points so offer more accurate ways to resolve it than we can.
Keeping my fingers crossed you'll find a solution.
Natural products such as ADAPTIL plug in, Zylkene or Kalmaid may be worth trialing.
It's probably a bit too extreme to put it down to heat.
Firstly you need to avoid the points at which conflict is occurring which may mean altering sleep routines. You also need to get him vet assessed, changes in behaviour especially in an older dog should have medical reasons ruled out (is he neutered?)
Assess if anything has changed recently in the home set up, however subtle may be significant to him.
Unfortunately seeking advice here may mean you will get well meaning but conflicting advice or advice that may worsen a situation, you may need to look into a good behaviourist who can come and observe him in the home and the trigger points so offer more accurate ways to resolve it than we can.
Keeping my fingers crossed you'll find a solution.
Natural products such as ADAPTIL plug in, Zylkene or Kalmaid may be worth trialing.
It's probably a bit too extreme to put it down to heat.
Edited by bexVN on Saturday 21st June 12:09
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