Wworm

i go to the school down the street & play almost every nite there. we have 10-15 dogs that r there.

but one of my pals (or ex-pals? well he is ok) is a 14yo golden retriever, who has apparently never been aggressive in the past, per the owners. but suddenly has become aggressive a coupla times in the past 2 months.

first i got bit in the jowl w/2 puncture wounds. bleeding but did not need stitches. he & I went under the table the same time, & perhaps 'cuz the waiter was bringing food too? is what his owners thought, was the reason for the attack.

second, my puppy friend a Bernese mountain 3 months old got bad puncture wounds, same exact place as me in our mouffs, & needed staples. owners of retriever said it was because said puppy was mounting him & he didn't like it. but it actually took place near the table (no food this time), so we began to think it might be a 'resource guarding under the table' type thing.

third, this past week my choco retriever pal, who is quite big, got attacked also. this time, no table involved. golden's parents said it was because choco retriever sniffed/licked his piddler. now choco retriever sniffs pee pees alls the time, pretty common thing that all of us dogs do to each other. anyway, choco pal did fight back so it was a big aggressive fight that was hard to break up. no one had to go to the vet. but choco had blood on his lips too, like the other 2 dogs. and maybe other places. in this time the golden does too.

anyway, anyone have thoughts about this & what to do? we actually do like this golden a lot & his parents too. but us at the dog park are a bit concerned, and of course we are wondering if he'll do more attacks. of course, for us, first priority is Worm & keeping him safe. which is basically to keep a close eye & make sure he does not approach the golden. (the golden is usually retrieving, anyway, so they do not have that much contact)

others have known them for 3-4 yrs, said this has never happened before. does this happen where an older dog suddenly becomes aggressive like this? does the dog need to see a vet? is there anything anyone can do so this dog can safely & non-aggressively still play at the park?

thanks in advance for any ideas/suggestions,
Worm

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see what the Worm is up to: http://bassetworm.blogspot.com/

Annie714

We have a dog that comes to our park that elicits immediate leash-age for Annie, and a few others as well. This dog cannot be trusted. She is a beautiful senior rottweiler called Hope. Generally she is kept on-leash by her owner, which is a good thing, when she is off-leash bad things happen. Well...more scary really than bad. I put Annie on-leash without making a big deal about it the minute I see Hope out and about.

So unless the vet says there is something else wrong, perhaps the dog should be kept leashed for a while until she earns some trust back? that way she can still come out and see her friends but in a more controlled manner.

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Blog about the antics of Annie and I. http://thechickandthehound.blogspot.com

Mikey T

Senior dog Behavioral History Form


Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome in Dogs (CDS)
Or Dog Alzheimer's

Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome in Dogs

murraysmom

My pet therapy organization re-evaluates our therapy dogs every three years because behavior changes can occur with age. Last summer I helped with a routine re-assessment of a 10 year old dog who was always one of our sweetest dogs- she was fearful and snappish at the evaluation, and we had to retire her.She had become partially blind due to cataracts and we think this may have been a factor in how she was reacting to unfamiliar surroundings. It was sad for us and the owner to have to retire her, but necessary for the safety of other dogs and our clients.

AmyB

As Spencer aged, his behavior changed & he would growl or snap at people/situations that had never bothered him before. He was diagnosed with CDS (doggy alzheimers) & he had vision problems too. I would suspect something similar is going on with the Golden. Spencer took medication for his CDS, which did help some, but I still had to keep him out of situations that I knew would upset him - no more letting the neighborhood kids pet him, no more trips to the park or pet store, etc. During the last couple of years of his life, his world became very small, & included just a few family members that he trusted, but I felt it was necessary for his happiness & the safety of everyone. I wonder if the Golden's parents even know something like this may be going on? The Golden may need a vet visit & a change in lifestyle.

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Amy, mom to
Sadie (ATB, 6/9/06) & Spencer (ATB, 8/19/10) - always in my heart
and Clifford (gotcha date 7/2/11).

Mikey T

The goldens owners seem to be in denial and making excuses foir the dogs behavior, in such situation the behavior is only going to get worse not better.

Pricey

I couldn't agree with this more, I think the first step is the owners admitting there is a problem somewhere only then can they start working towards a solution.

henry'smum

I think in our dog park rules there is one about nipping or biting dogs having to wear a muzzle or not being allowed in with other dogs. Does your dog park have a committee like ours? If so i would consult them

paisleysmom

I so agree with all of the above -- the dogs owners seem to be in denial -- trust me I was once there too! I am sure you remember my story about our Springer Sam -- it takes sometimes a very LONG time for an owner to admit his beloved family member has a problem after all we all want our pets to be perfect... and in our eyes Sam was perfect at the time .. We had a very hard time believing that he had rage syndrome after all in our eyes he was still our dear pet .... so what if we had to follow "rules" set out by the dog....believe me we found every excuse to explain his behaviour -- I guess mostly to ourselves since our friends and vet weren't fooled. Now looking back I can see were were just prolonging our problem and fooling ourselves. It will be very hard convincing the owner that the dog is the problem.
Wworrmmie, Annies advice is VERY good... please keep away from this dog and have your friends do the same because it is only a matter of time before he may actually do serious damage to one of you!

Herzo

I agree also with all of it. I have nothing to add but Wormy stay safe will ya guy. He's trouble this Golden.