aggression

[splitz831]

Hi guys,

My husband thinks my 1 1/2 year old boston terrier needs a shrink, but I thought maybe someone here knows what's going on. Luci is a year and a half and lives with her litter sister and a bernese mountain dog. We also have a ferret, bunnies and turtles. Luci loves to watch all the other animals but lately she's been really snippy with them. She's always been easily annoyed by the Bernese because he steps on her but lately he just walks by and she "attacks" him (turns around and bites at him but never hurts him) same with her sister. With the other animals she's been snarling and cranky. She's fixed so it can't be PMS lol. any ideas?

 

[snooks]

have you gone to the vet and ruled out a medical cause like pain from injury or arthritis or some disease process? with such a sudden change she could be sick poor pup. other hormones like thyroid and cortisol can cause drastic sudden changes. If you haven't I'd also get a full blood and fecal and just do a broad spectrum sweep. Include a physical exam for any pain responses. dogs are sometimes so good at hiding pain-a survival mechanism-that they don't show pain.

we also did a lot of mini obedience/trick sessions with our older dog that got snippy with his new puppy sister. we'd leash both up and go off or a fun positive food rewarded training session for about 3-5 mins and sort of break up whatever it was they were thinking about. it took a few months to recondition but one of the dogs was a 3mo puppy.

last you could try a canine behaviorist who will ask if you tried the vet yet. that's where we got our obedience idea from. best of luck. it's no fun when the zoo isn't happy. you sure have a houseful. :dogsmile: