Posted by Jane
on February 25, 2009, 6:11 pm, in reply to "Re: Old dog aggression"
Hi Imogen
Thanks for your encouraging reply. Goldie was rescued by a vet when the former owner went to him with Goldie (then 41kgs!) to ask to him to put her down because she could no longer afford to feed her! We don't think she was ever walked because she did not have a muscle on her and panted after only a few yards of walking. Now she's getting fit and has lost 11kgs. On the lead she barks, growls and lunges at other dogs (protecting mum?), off lead she does the same.
I have only met her twice with my dog Tasha because we live 90 miles away so can't drop in for an hour or two. My dog has been with us nearly 3 years and was 7 months only when we 'rescued' her. I wanted the two dogs to meet on neutral ground, go for a walk etc. before going to mum's house. Unfortunately my mum is sometimes a bit stubborn, didn't want to, leaving me with no choice but to go straight to the house. Somebody had suggested the pebbles in a jar routine (rightly or wrongly) but my mother refused to do that either so I did it. It did help to stop the behaviour but it scared Tasha and surely would have come better from my mum than me!
Tasha was the first dog that had come into Goldie's new home and she reacted by growling and barking. Tasha raced out, tail between her legs, so I left her to have time in the garden. Eventually she came in but raced out again every time she saw Goldie and heard her growling. In the end I took Tasha upstairs where she stayed for much of the weekend - Goldie couldn't climb the stairs.
Goldie is spayed and I think it was done by the dog charity that eventually rehomed her with my mum. She is also quite arthritic - she is having hydrotherapy to help this
I have only been to my mum with Tasha one other time and it was equally upsetting so I don't want to go again or have my mother to stay unless we can crack this problem. Any suggestions? Thanks so much, Jane (What's the address for your web site please?)
--Previous Message--
: Hello Jane,
: Thanks for your question. I would strongly
: disagree that you 'can't teach an old dog
: new tricks' - it might just take a little
: more patience. What actually happens with
: other dogs? Is she 'aggressive' both on and
: off the lead? What have you tried, if
: anything? Is she spayed, and if so, do you
: know when?
: The Sue Clothier article on my website might
: suggest some reasons.
: Sorry to answer your question with more
: questions, but to do something about this we
: need to try to understand what and why it is
: happening.
: Best wishes,
: Imogen
: PS I put 'aggressive' in inverted comas
: because this is a human interpretation and
: might not be accurate; oh, and an 8 yr old
: dog is hardly 'old' in my book.
:
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