agressive dog

[lms]

hi i am new at this so please bear with me. My dog was attacked by a vicious pit bull. he ended

[fullhouse9873]

Welcome! How did the attack happen? Where did it happen? Can you fill us in with a little more details?

[lms]

here are the details:
My daughter (14years) and my neice (10Years) were walking our 2 dogs 3 year old female *****n and 1 1/2 year old male *****n. As

they were walking back to our home a stray dog appeared and went over to my daughter and Petey (male). The dog attacked Petey. My daughter tried to get Petey away but the dog attacked. My daughter was bit. Petey was bit multiple times causing a 4 day stay in the hospital. He has a fractured rear leg which is heeling well. He will back in 2 weeks to see if the cast comes off. At the last radiograph appt it was heeling well. As a result of this incident Petey barks and agresses towards everything-other people or animals. He still plays very well with my female. the doctor and others indicate that he is feeling compromised because of the cast and that once that comes off they will refer me to a behavior specialist. On the day that I first posted here I was very upset and desperate as he had actually snapped at my daughter. We saw no reason why he snapped at her. Yesterday he snapped again. The incident happened 9/4/03. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Petey only came to live with us 7/27/03. He was a stray that someone found and then gave him to me.

[Dawn]

My first thought is that he could be acting different than normal and aggresive because he's in pain. Anyone that's had a broken bone can testify to that. Another possibility is that he feels threatened because of his limited mobility. Another possibility is that he associates the attack with your daughter (not likely.) Let's see...is he on any meds? Antibiotics or the like? They could be altering his temperment. There are so many possibilities. How long will he have the cast on? Of course, you will need to reprimand him for the behaviour, but try to keep the situations from occuring. Keep him in a quiet place with little disturbance until he's feeling better.

[lms]

hi dawn,
thanks so much i agree with your impressions. i guess that if this agressivw behavior towards my daughter occurred right after the incident I would be a lot more relieved. when he came home 9/8 he was on an antiflamatory medication (clava....Spelling? and a pain medication dermax spelling?) he will be reevaluated on 10/28 to determine if the cast will come off. I do believe that i will try harder to keep him quiet and spend more one on one time with him. I just feel so bad because my daughters feelings are hurt and he seems so confused. any other tips you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[Dawn]

Is he still on the pain meds? You might want to ask your vet about giving him half of a baby aspirin or something like that. Don't do it without asking though. It sounds like you have a good plan.

[fullhouse9873]

I'm so sorry for what happened to your dog. I would call the behaviorist that your vet recommended right away. You may not be able to start any serious training - but they can probably give you some tips on little things to do. I would guess that he's still a little afraid after what happened - especially since he's had a lot of changes in the last couple months.

Just continue to give him lots of love (I wouldn't do a lot of hugging - but gentle talking & touching). Just kind of keep him calm - and start him with the behaviorist. I wish I had started when I first saw the warning signs with my dog - but by the time that I actually admitted to myself that he had a problem - it was too late.