Dog poorly and turned nasty

[Olliebaby]

Our (normally) lovely Cocker has been poorly recently, he is 10 months old and been in and out of the vets during the last week having a lump tended to. Anyway, the first day we got him back from the vets, he was just laying down on the carpet when I walked by and he just snapped - NEVER showed signs of aggression before. I corrected him and was a bit upset to be honest as it was a deep aggressive snap. Last night I was giving him his medication (in a piece of bread) and he spat the first bit out, so i gave him another bit and went to pick the other bit off the floor - this time he went more crazy, lots of growling, snapping trying to guard the bread. THEN 2.30am this morning I hear my Mum calling me, he had got on her bed and refused to get off. I went in as I heard him growling at her and I told him sternly to get down. He got down, hesitantly, lip started curing up then lunged and snapped again. We are so worried, the Vet has said "he will return to normal when he is better" but this cant be right, this growl is coming from deep inside and he means business!! My Mum is terrified which is not helping her as he will sense it and I guess play on it. What can we do? The vet says to be patient but we cant risk this turning into a huge permanent problem!

[patsyann]

My Daughter used a crate with her westie from the day she brought him home and he loves it. Takes himself off to bed dragging his blanket at night when he is tired and willingly goes in if the house is going to be empty as he feels so secure in his own little retreat and has a couple of favourite toys in there. He is of a lovely temperament and has the freedom of the bungalow the rest of the time and is much loved and has plenty of love and affection given to him. The bonus when he was a pup was that he never had the opportunity to destroy things when in his crate. I do hope your lovely dog soon recovers meanwhile a crate might help him feel secure.
Pat.
P S Alfie is my avatar.

[Olliebaby]

Hi Pat, our boy is called Alfie too :) Ok well we have put some plans into place to try and knock this on the head, beginning with a stair gate, sleeping area and furniture etc. I think we have been too soft with him if im honest, especially with him being poorly we have fussed around him too much and he needs to be treated like a dog not a baby. He is truly a wonderful dog so fingers crossed we can get this sorted and put him in his pack place, aswell as making a full recovery. Really appreciate the advice and feedback.

[jules77]

What is the medication he is on?

[lipsthefish]

Please don't take the advise of getting him put to sleep, he needs help to overcome his problems, not destroying at the first hurdle. He is poorly so is bound to be tetchy, he is also reaching the 'teenage' stage where he will try to claim top dog position, both these problems can be overcome. Is he insured? Our dog insurance will pay for a behaviourist if the vet says they need it so maybe worth looking into? Good luck, I hope you have your boy back soon. We have an Alfie too :D

[LoftyLottie]

Canary's answers are getting worse!!

My normally lovely husband gets quite nasty when he is poorly too!!

You have some good answers and I am sure your vet is right.

Hope he is better soon.

[andy-hughes]

In the wild, an ill dog would give of vibes of vulnerability, and if they persisted, another member of the pack would probably attack and kill him - that's natural selection.

Because your pet feels vulnerable because he is ill, he will be hyper-sensitive about being approached, hence the warning signals.

Evidence suggests that when his pain and insecurity are alleviated by medication, his normal sunny nature will return, and he certainly deserves a chance to recover before he is put down. That is a final step which you cannot step back from, so it's for a time when you know your pet has gone, and been replaced by a nasty vicious dog that only looks like him, and has his name.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

[lankeela]

For those of you suggesting a muzzle, how exactly do you think they will manage to put this on and take it off every time the dog needs to eat? If anything it will make the dog even less reluctant to be handled therefore probably exacerbating the aggressiveness. Although I would not normally recommend a behaviourist I think you do need professional help but would suggest you get in touch with a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers who use motivational methods to achieve success. Leaving this till the dog is well again is not an option, even a sick dog should not be reacting over food, furniture, etc. Ok if you were trying to treat an injury it might be reluctant to let you but this seems to me that the dog has taken on the role of pack leader and needs some serious input to teach him otherwise. If not, you will find yourselves with a dog that you can do nothing with and then there is only one choice but at ten months you owe it to him to give him a chance.

[lankeela]

Sorry seems they have changed the word 'professional' to 'pet'!
http://www.apdt.co.uk/

[Olliebaby]

Thanks again and dont worry putting him to sleep is certainly not an option without trying to resolve the issue or find out why he is doing it. The muzzle also I think would possible create an ever bigger problem. We sat down last night and agreed things are going to change in how he is treated. our dog walker (also a trainer) had some time with him and tried taking food from him, removing him from the bed - NO problems at all - so the blame lies with us. He slept down stairs last night for the first time in months and was as good as gold, cried a bit about half 2 but he needed to go out for a wee so all was ok. We all went with the no touching, talking or eye contact and for the first time in ages he flopped down and slept on his blanket all evening, even the cat sitting on him didnt stir him :) He is just on anti-histamines now to stop the itching and they are tiny so much easier to hide in his meat. Ill keep an eye on him and let you know how we get on.

[Nosha123]

Wish you loads of luck Olliebaby.. you sound like a wonderful dog owner and Alfie is very lucky to have you! The first signs look very promising.. its upwards form here on now!
If its any consolation too - friends of ours got a dog - and thoroughly read up on training and the breed etc and had such problems with him - got to the limit of almost getting rid.. and a different trainer helped them out - he is now the perfect pet! (at his worst he had the husband pinned up against a wall!!!) He was on the verge of being a very dangerous dog - despite all their efforts to train it out of him - then 'CLICK' he just suddenly turned a corner. They are so pleased they didnt give up on him like many others might have done!

[Olliebaby]

Thanks Nosher, and how fab about your friends dog, im so pleased and well done them for all their hard work!! I always think you must try everything possible before going down "that" route. They dont have a voice to say help me or im feeling like cr*p today etc so we just have to do as much as we can and try to understand them the best we can. I made the mistake of thinking that if i let him do what he wants and give him loads of cuddles etc that he would be happy but thats not how it works. Bring on the structure!! :)

[Olliebaby]

Sorry, I mean Nosha :)

[lankeela]

Hows things with your dog now?