Kyra is acting peculiar!

[Mutt_Lady]

Lately, Kyra has been acting extremely odd towards me and my fianc

[courtnek]

it could be a form of dominance behaviour...she may need demotion.


:o

PM me if you want suggestions.

[pLaurent]

If she has arthritis AND HD, she must be quite painful. When my last dog got old and had arthritis, he got growly too. Maybe getting up from the bed causes her pain and this is a reflex growl, or she thinks the order "GET" is causing the pain and reacting to that?

What kind of meds is Kyra on?

[Guest Anonymous]

Older dogs may become aggressive for several reasons. Aggression may be the result of a medical problem such as one causing pain (arthritis or dental disease), vision or hearing loss, which results in the dog being easily startled, lack of mobility so the dog can not remove himself from the irritating stimulus, or diseases having direct effects on the nervous system, such as cognitive dysfunction. Stresses such as moving, a new family member, or a new pet may make an older dog more irritable and more likely to be aggressive. In a multi-dog household, an older dog who was the 'dominant' dog in the past, may find his authority being challenged by younger dogs in the household.

By determining what factors may be contributing to the aggression, we may be able to eliminate or reduce those factors. Treating medical conditions which contribute to the aggression is paramount. Watch the dog for signs of stress (increased panting), and remove the dog from the stressful situation which could cause aggression. Using a 'halti' headcollar and leash may provide more control over an older dog, especially one who has decreased hearing or vision. In some cases, a basket muzzle may be needed to assure the safety of human and non-human family members. DO NOT LEAVE A MUZZLED DOG UNATTENDED. Medications can be helpful in reducing aggression that may be due to fear and anxiety. As with separation anxiety , medication alone will not solve the problem. Work with your veterinarian and an animal behaviorist to develop a plan that will work best for you and your dog.

[Mutt_Lady]

[quote name='pLaurent']What kind of meds is Kyra on?

Right now, K is only on "Rimadyl". She is having 100 MG Tablets and she has 1 and 1/2 a day.

I just read this one the little booklet that came on the bottle. I must have seen it before and forgot because I read this over when I first got it. It says:

Post-Approval Experience: Although all adverse reactions are not reported, the following adverse reactions are based on voluntary post-approval adverse drug experience reporting.

Behavioral: Sedation, lethargy, HYPERACTIVITY, restlessness, AGGRESSIVENESS.

(I have put the problems we have been having in caps lock.)

Thanks for all your help and I hoped this answered your question.

[Guest Anonymous]

i hope that she is getting better and more back to normal soon :-?

[Mutt_Lady]

Anonymous napisał(a):

Older dogs may become aggressive for several reasons. Aggression may be the result of a medical problem such as one causing pain (arthritis or dental disease), vision or hearing loss, which results in the dog being easily startled, lack of mobility so the dog can not remove himself from the irritating stimulus, or diseases having direct effects on the nervous system, such as cognitive dysfunction.

Now that you mention it, I think Kyra may be having vision loss. When we were on walks in the past, she would never bark at a dog and would see them when she was a mile away. Now they are a few feet away from us when she notices and usually she starts to growl and bark. She also growls at people who are jogging. I'm guessing she doesn't know how to rate the situation because she can't see it all that well. Is there some thing a vet could do about this? Obviously we are going for a trip to the vet ASAP.

Anonymous napisał(a):

Treating medical conditions which contribute to the aggression is paramount. Watch the dog for signs of stress (increased panting), and remove the dog from the stressful situation which could cause aggression.

Kyra has had some increased panting but it is when she is just with me. She is never in a "stressful situation". Hmm, this is all so confusing.

Thanks for all your help, though, Guest. ;)

[Guest Anonymous]

there is nothing you can do if she is loosing her eyesitght. you can get her eyes tested and they will beable to tellyou if she is loosing her eye sight or not, but as far as doing anything about it.. nope sorry. it could be from old age, or just genetic.. get her to the vet soon though ;)

[Mutt_Lady]

Hi Naomi.

Thanks a bundle for all your help and positive thoughts. Kyra is heading to the vet's as soon as I can get her there. You know how concerned mom's can get. :roll: She's been acting so strange lately and it truly breaks my heart. I'm dying to know what's up. :-? I hope some one with similiar experiences pipes up and offers some suggestions/help. Thanks again for being there for us, DAL. :D

[Mutt_Lady]

Hey Divine.

I will definitely take a urine sample, thanks for the suggestion. You've been a great help. And I'll reply to you on the crate thread in just a sec. ;)

[Guest Anonymous]

Mutt- No problem! i know what your goign through i was freaked out after reading more and more info onthe lethal whites and at one point cody seem'd to have issues with his eyes.. but he has great eyesite excpet on his sides he doesn't have great perfiial visson on his right side so sometimes he gets starteld easily. but other then that his eyes are GREAT! there is nothing they can do about his eyesite on the one side, but as long as he's got great vison other wise i'm ok with it!! please keep me updated on K and how she does at the vet!

[pitbullEmily]

I was at a Suzanne Clothier seminar in which people were demonstrating the behavior their "aggressive dogs". One participant brought out her border collie, saying he snapped at her when she tried to pet him. Clothier had her walk the dog up and down the room. She said "look at his hips".. we could ALL see that the dog was moving awkwardly. It was only then that the dog's owner could see it for herself and mentioned that the dog only snapped when she touched his hind end.

So do have your vet check out your dog thoroughly for any conditions that might be causing it pain.

While you still don't want the dog to be growling at you, you can surely make some accommodations if it has some physical conditions causing it pain.