Saint with sudden agression toward "brother" dog.

[carendt0]

Alright, I was calmly watching TV about an hour ago, Sophie (my saint) and Bo (my Aussie, Sophie's brother) were laying in the living room- everything was great. Bo came over to get attention from me and my mom and Sophie got up and bit him a few times (she has been pretty aggressive toward him since she had been sick) and Wylie (my cat) ran up, I guess trying to protect us, and started attacking Sophie. Me, being afraid Sophie would kill her, tried to grab her up but could only grab her by her skin... when she turned around and clawed me a few times, in my... mouth (my gums and my lip) pretty bad, my cheek, and arms - anyway not the point. We finally got her out of the room and put Sophie in the laundry room as punishment for the rest of the night.

Since Sophie has been sick, (its been a while and she has been well for a few months now) she has been aggressive toward Bo. Even now that she is better, she is still aggressive toward him.

Let me explain- she isn't crazy aggressive, they can be around or near one another... she just runs up to him and like bite/nips him and growls at him when he is getting attention she doesn't want him to have... like a territorial/jealous thing. She does this like once a day. We just started putting her in her room when she does it. The only mind boggling thing is that Sophie (always has been alpha BUT) has always gotten along with Bo and they used to play and socialize, like they were friends. Since shes been sick she has treated him like a stranger and has been aggressive toward him, mainly when he is getting attention or something of that nature.

What can cause this sudden change? She had a full blood panel and urine anal when she was sick and she isn't gaining tons of weight could it still be thyroid?

HELP!!! PLEASEEEEE!!!!

[Christine]

You have probably been searching the internet for answers, but just in case you have not seen this Tufts site about the subject, maybe something will help.

I know when my Bailey first began losing her sight, she did some strange things and one of them was to nip at us occasionally. I now know that it was because she did not see us coming to touch her. Have you had Sophie's sight checked?

[carendt0]

No, but she shows no signs of vision problems. She plays fetch and catches treats in her mouth. I think it might be a dominance thing.

[Christine]

I'm sorry...I forgot to give you the link http://www.k9aggression.com/Aggression- ... ssues.html

I was thinking too, that you might check out Cesar's site about how to treat aggression. I almost wonder if putting her away as punishment is confirming the feeling with a negative. I am no trainer, but it seems like I saw or read that interrupting the action and rewarding when she stops works. Again....I am just trying to remember..I will see if I can find anything to help. Karen Anderson (gabrieldeafblindfamily) is our resident dog whisperess..maybe she has some ideas.

I hope someone can get to the bottom of this...I know this must be hard on all of you.

[carendt0]

Thanks!

What is bothering me is wondering if its Behavioral or Medical aggression. We cannot afford a bunch of tests, we just CANNOT which is just terrible. But She is only aggressive in a social setting, like when they are both getting attention, or when she is getting attention and he walks up. I have no idea how to treat her when she is aggressive... we used to say "No, Sophia!" in a stern voice and I used that "grip" that Cesar Milan uses to grab her scruff. Sometimes it works, most times she stops and then runs and nips him again. Since her "time out" last night, she has not been aggressive to Bo' today. In settings when she normally acts aggressive, she hasn't been. She looks at Bo like she wants to be, but then I say "Sophie, be a good girl." in a loving but stern tone and she doesn't act on it.

I feel sorry for her, because we adopted her, and before us she had been in five different homes by the age of one. She was like 13 months when we got her and she fit into our family wonderfully but showed signs of possibly being mistreated; like cowering down when we went to pet her and running and hiding when she knocked something over, or did something that made noise. She gradually warmed up to us and became comfortable when she realized that we would never mistreat her.

It is terribly hard, because I want her to be happy and calm like she use to be (she still is happy and all, but she has these moments of jealousy that make her act out I think, or it seems that way) and I don't know how to go about making her that way again, but at the same time, I don't want her to hurt my other dog, Bo'.

Sorry for the long post, I am just worried! Anything you might know about this and especially how to correct this would be a god send!

Thank you or !!!

[sdrakkan]

With what has been happening with her, it's hard to know which way it could be. Normally the nipping and such actions towards another dog is nipped in the bud by mom, but since most puppies are taken from mom too early and their new pet parents don't know how to handle it, it's hard to break late in the game. 5 homes by a year old...wow. Sad. Abuse sucks, I have one that was very severely (he has a healed jaw fracture from a kick) but with learning his signals and what made him uneasy it's been worked through. When I work with dogs that have been abused I CANNOT dwell on the past. I can't treat Charlie any different from my girls. Dogs read our body language very well, much more so than the words. Tone makes a huge difference in what your dog will pay attention to and listen to when you are vocal. So be mindful of how they are standing, and keep an eye on Bo. We tend to get on the dog who actually acts on something rather than looking at body language of the other. Just a slight look, lip licking, ect can cause her to get nippy. Dogs that have been pushed and pushed tend to use their mouth to get their point over since most people cannot fully read a dogs body language.

Taking her away from the situation she wants to be in is a good way to make her know you are serious. It's called negative reinforcement. Negative doesn't mean bad, just simply takes away what she wants: you. Abuse dogs tend to glue to their rescuer and we coddle them sometimes a bit too much, making them guard us and keep the good. As much as I love my dogs, I will remove myself if they start messing with each other to get to me. I'm their reward so the reward goes away until the behavior is correct. Just like I don't treat for a dog that doesn't sit, I don't pet the dog that is being a bully to another. Multiple dog households are hard to maintain and I have females of the same age...worst pairing you can ask for. I always have to keep an open mind on what is happening at that moment and not what they have done in the past.

What was the reason she was in 5 different homes before she made her way to you?

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

I could have sworn I had responded to this very subject, but maybe just deja vu or it got lost in space?
Anyway, I would put saint on short lead and tether to one end of couch, you and aussie cuddle on the other side. She watches as he is treated as your family member and it gets through her head that she is NOT top dog. I would also rec. putting her on short lead and tying her to your belt and she gets up when you say, stops when you say, sits when you say. She learns to do what you tell her to do and eventually your simple body language will be all she needs to read to anticipate your moves and your mood.

I swear I've been here before? Hmmm...Having a psychic moment (or psychotic, so hard to tell in this house )

[carendt0]

I have posted a similar post before when she first started being aggressive. This time was... not necessarily worse but a big ordeal (because of the cat). I normally post a new post when a new event happens, because I like to hear more than one persons view on things.

I am not sure why she was passed through the first four homes, but the last home she was in was with a Vet Tech my friend worked with. Sophie was chasing her horses and getting out of the fence and running free for hours at a time (normally wondering into the pastures and such... annoying the horses). The vet tech couldn't find a home for her and was going to put her down because of it. My friend couldn't let this happen and took her home... even though she absolutely couldn't have a dog where she lived. She brought her over with her info and we decided to keep her because of how well she and Bo got a long... it was love at first sight!

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Ahh, big hint there. She isn't getting enough mental and/or physical exercise to start. There is a game, like a kid's concentration game, that even my deafblind excelled at. A box with sliding covers over little 'wells' which hold tiny treats. The dog has to figure out which well holds a treat and then figure out how to slide the cover away to access that treat. I only ever saw it at 4 Paws grooming (they partner at a lot of rescue events, which is where I saw it in action). There are also treat balls you load and the biscuits, because of the shape,don't fall out easily. If she likes to play 'sockies' get a sock, draw it over her nose til she bites at it then put your hands behind your back, ball it in your palm and bring your hands around front. High silly sing song when she bats the right hand (paw ). I'd make up some games for you and her to play in the bathroom away frm the others, because they will want to get in on the act, and most dogs don't want to share treats. If she's up to it, exercise both dogs at the same time. My late great Possum constantly attacked Gabriel, but on a coupler lead, she was PERFECT, she enjoyed her walkies so much. I have an extremely canine aggressive dog who is banned from company for life. A few weeks ago, don't know what possessed me, but I decided Albin (my 4,000 mph mini-eskie) would be a good pairig with her. AggressiveAllicksBlindPup is huge, powerful, extremely fast, but blind as a bat. I have put them together in the yards 6-8 times now, not for longo and when they both come on porch and won't go downstairs, I separate Albin to keep him safe. The porch is a confined space and I won'thave her going territorial on me. She eats on the porch and in her bedroom. Once I let them play in the LR together. Never have had an incident in all my tries, but I know an incident is but a heartbeat away. Downstairs in the yard, Albin FLIES by her, jumping on her, they sniff, her taill is in the HIGH ALPHA straight up position, but I speak to her constantly when she is in striking distance to him, to keep her mind in the here and now. It has gone sooooo well, and I am so happy for her to finally have a playmate. Albin too. My other too just arent fast enough for him to get in a good run. I have wanted to try desensitization on Alicks, putting on short lead and having someone walk Gabriel close by, with me correcting Allicks every breath she takes. No one strong or crazy enough for this experiment. She was attacking Gabriel once and I threw myself on her. She was on the red zone, didn't even realize I was there, she was intent on destroying Gabriel. I mean the ugliest sort of aggression you could ever imagine. Something in her brain popped. Maybe I can pop it back with Albin. I don't know and I won't risk Albin's well-being and would not leave them alone ever ever ever not even to go to the kitchen. But slow and sure is a track I am presently taking with a dog who could kill. And she would in the zones I have seen her in. But I haven't seen the zone in a couple of years, because she's been sequestered. St.JudeMiracleDog could keep her in line, he was an old street dog, crushed and shot, but strong and forceful as the dickens. He died a year and a half ago, so I tried to let her play with AmbrrNanaDog. She totally went into the zone and attacked Ambrr. Took two of us to separate them, as I hung onto Allicks Collar and screamed at Chris to get Ambrr out of the room. That was Allicks' sentence. She has been alone ever since.. Except for me. And now Albin.

[carendt0]

Where do you get this "well" game? Sophie has been very great since I separated her that night. In situations where I know she is tempted to lash out toward Bo, She will look at me and I will say "Sophie, be a good girl" in a stern but loving voice and she moves on... even when Bo jumped on her! So I am seeing alot of positive feedback from that. I walk them together almost every other day depending on my schedule and they do great with that!

Thank you so much for your response!

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

These folks had a booth at a rescue event in Oldfield Plantation last year. LWARC had a booth as well. They met Gabriel and he played with this game. If you contact them, I'm sure they could arrange shipping:

http://www.allfourpawshotelandtreats.com/