Older dog becoming agressive....

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L&M

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We took on a rescue dog last year - 10 yr old spaniel. We know a little about her personality and background as belonged to a friend of mine who sadly passed away with cancer. She is a 10 yr old spayed bitch and usually obedient, but has to go on a lead if near sheep as will give chase.

When she first came home, she had a 'go' at our lab over a bone, but just put it down to her adjusting to another dog and being unsettled in a new home. We kept them seperated for a short while when we were not in the house, then gradually reintroduced them and have had no issues since. We even took her on a family holiday last year and she had interaction with a lot of different dogs and was fine.

However a couple of weeks ago she had a 'go' at another dog on a walk with my husband, who says it was completley un-provoked. The dog she went for was quietly sitting at its owners side and hadn't even approached her. Then she had a snarl at one of my liveries dogs this week - she knows the dog and has not had an issue before. Tonight she has had snap at my lab at their feed time, no harm done, but obviously not acceptable behaviour.

As far as I can tell she had settled in well and has quickly became part of our family and has never shown agression to humans. She is in good health and appears happy.

Bar muzzling when around other dogs, I am not sure how to deal with the situation so any advice please.
 
I'd take her to the vet for a check up. She could have vision problems which makes her feel threatened. Has she recently had her vaccination booster? It would be safest in the interim to keep her muzzled when near other dogs. Have you changed her diet at all?
 
Thanks for your reply.

yes she is up to date with vacs etc and she is fed the same as in her previous home. I think I will pop her to the vets to give her a thorough check up, and see if they have any suggestions. if nothing physical do you think 'socialisation' classes would help, even at her age?
 
I think taking her to classes might be putting too much pressure on her at the moment, assuming the vet gives her the all clear. Maybe you'd be better taking her for walks with friends and their dogs to see how she copes, and build it up gradually. If you have any untoward aggressive behaviour, then find a reputable behaviour ist for help.
The reason I asked about vaccinations is that some dogs can gave a bad reaction to them sometimes, which can lead to unexplained aggressive behaviour...
 
The fact that she's had a go at another dog on a walk may indicate that she's feeling a little possessive perhaps of the other dog you have.

We've got a rescue bitch, and she's getting on a bit, and this sounds a very similar scenario to something that happened recently outside our farm gate when someone else & their dog was walking past, and Jessie went out, completely unprovoked, and started pitching into the poor dog in the road - who hadn't done anything!! Luckily no harm was done and the owner of the other dog was fine about it (hers was off a lead anyway), but after thinking it through we figured that she was protecting both us/the house, AND our other dog, which was probably what it was all about.

Think maybe that your rescue bitch OP may be feeling more settled now, and hence she's feeling posssesive and protective about your other dog - and YOU, and this is the manifestation of it.

Don't know what you can do really; other than to always make sure as far as you can that you pet & make a fuss of each dog equally, feed them separately if you can, and don't give treats while they're in sight of each other i.e. until you've separated them.

IF the food issue really takes over and you're aware it may be a trigger, then take them both into another room and feed separately so they can't see each other eat.

Think as regards training etc., its a case of "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" TBH; think its a case of managing this situation rather than trying to change it as such.

If you do need to "punish" any sort of behaviour, apparently (heard this in a training class) the best way is to take hold of the dog with both your hands and physically shake it by the loose skin at the folds of its neck - this is the way dogs understand that their behaviour is unacceptable in the pack environment; as its the place where another dog/wolf will get hold of to exert its dominance.
 
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Take her to the vet, my old rescued gsd with known aggression issues, ( he was fine with strict ground rules) had to be pts after he started biting again with no provacation, vet thought brain tumour, but since the dog couldn't be examined without heavy sedation, it was just an educated guess, his other symptoms included messing in the house and gazing into space for longish periods, the rescue wanted him put back in kennels, that alone would have killed this dog.
Hope you find out the reason for your little ladies change in behaviour
 
Please get her vet checked and if all is OK then get a force-free behavoiurist to help you, do not punish her by shaking her and the dominance theory of training has been disproved several years ago and is seen to be quite old-school now. There is no reason why you can't train her at 11 years old if you use the correct methods and rewards that suit her.
 
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