Tim,
Let's look at what you write;
"Pitbull/Boxer/Rott/Timber
Wolf"
Every breed listed here is bred with dominant tendencies other
than the boxer.
"he
would roll on his back"
When a dog rolls over on it's back under stress it is giving
you the submissive side of it's temperment. It is natures
way of communicating the message in body language. " I am
not a threat, I submit to your aggression". You are in charge".
In this case I suspect that once your dog submitted, he was
expecting you to retreat and settle for the submission. Since
you continued to try to bath the dog it realized it wasn't
going to win through submission and immediately decided to
fight back in biting your wife. In this case the dog had no
intention of offering real submission. He still intended to
get his way. Some breeds (especially the northern breeds)
will use the roll over on your back attitude for just about
any command or learning session and will attempt to bit or
nip if you try to physically put them back in an upright position.
With that being said you have to think about the evolution
of the dog's mind. Nature gave it body language to send out
a message. Then nature also evolved this message to a cunning
double message that is not necessarily as it was intended
to be. There are not to many double messages that nature sends
with dog's body language but this is one of them.
There is a lot more I could say especially looking at the
breed mix but I am not at your home to evaluate the dog personally
and it has been my experience that you can not judge a dog
by it's owner's description by phone or from email on the
internet. 90% of the time, it is different than whan I actually
see the dog. video tape your and your family with the dog
and send it to me and that would help considerably.
Not sure what your life style is...where you live or whatever
but sounds like it's the dog or your wife. Personally, I love
my wife and no dog is going to dominate her to the point of
fear. ( Although I would like to see a dog try it and win
with Darr)
Blunt but apparent. Get rid of the dog. I don't mean put the
dog down. Find a more appropriate home. Perhaps as a guard
dog at a auto salvage lot or something similar. I never recommend
someone keep as a family pet a dog that actually put's fear
in the household. Unfortuately I hear about these kind of
situations way to often. cheers;
Jim
Arthritis
causing aggression?
MS
LINDA ...... wrote:
Dear
Jim and Darr,
I
need you to answer a question for me, My dog who is 13, will
be 14 in August this year,has cataract in both eyes but still
sees ok, has arthritis in his legs, but would still set chase
after a cat in the park, his behavior is changing very often,
he gets angry and aggressive towards me for no reason, he
has nipped at me, bit my finger, even when trying to pet him.
He is on aspirin, and a drug uraban a hormone to help with
his behavior, do you think new training would help? Is he
too old? Is it too much for his arthritis. Could he be in
more pain than what I am seeing?. I love him so much. What's
your opinion. I was told he was establishing dominance over
me. Is this true, He was given to me when he was 2weeks old,
he is now 13 yrs.
Thank
you Linda.
Hi
Linda....remember everthing I will say is based purely
on your email and it will never be as good as actually seeing
your dog and you together ok!
No,
I would find it hard at this later stage in life to believe
that your dog suddenly decided to establish a dominance
over you. These things are more if not always the common
thing in the first 2 years of their life. I would 90+% point
to his arthritis as well as any other potential medical
problems. It is to bad but you should try to establish if
he is in any sort of constant pain. You did not mention
what breed or breed mixture your dog is. Is it possible
that there is another problem like dysplasia? Dysplasia
is where the joints don't meet properly especially in the
rear hips. This causes pain and problems in walking. Each
dog is different in it's percentage of pain relative to
walking properly. This is common with the larger breeds
or even some smaller breeds like shelties which are not
so large. Is your dog over weight? If so could a change
of diet to loose that extra weight help? You really should
consult your vet or maybe two vets for two opinions. Whatever...think
about bringing a new puppy into your life NOW...while your
other guy is still around....now because as hard as it is
you will have to let go eventually, ansd a puppy is without
question the answer to your future love of dogs. I know...you
may have said this is my last dog..no one will ever replace
him. Don't wait. But be careful. No dog will ever replace
this one. Every dog just like every person is different.
Even within the same breed. Although you can expect some
common traits familiar to a particular breed. The best way
to explain this is if you went to China...or if a chinese
person came to North America, We like they would have some
familiarities that are familiar and in some way type casted
to that air of familiar things about a nation that we or
the chinese have come to expect from another nation. As
it is with breeds of dogs. Within the umbrella of each breed
is a common ground for temperment as well as physical appearance.
But within each breed each dog is an individual with it's
own unique personality...although not necessarily apparent
from the outside world. So study very carefully...what your
puppy should be and remember...great dogs are not necessarily
purebreds ok!
Lynda..I
wish you the best in this sensitive time and feel free to
reply to this email with more information about your situation.
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