Jack Attack!

[Pendlewitch]

Jack has always had a tendancy to have a go, he once pushed pacifist Jumble into a serious relaliation that left Jack unconcious for a few seconds. He has recently started attacking both Jumble and Cecil again and he really means business, he goes for the neck and bites hard. Different things set him off, letting them out, someone at the door or even one of the other two just standing up or moving. Cecil is old and doddery and can't defend himself, a couple of years ago Jack would would not have even tried it as he knew Cecil was very much top dog and could quell him with a look, he concentrated on attacking poor Jumble.

 

Jack has been really awful tonight, barking and then attacking, Cecil got quite distressed and Jumble was hysterical so I brought them both out of the kitchen and left Jack in on his own for a couple of hours. That of course stressed him so he was gibbering when I went back in, then the first thing he did was try to have a go at Cecil! How on earth do I deal with this, crating Jack is not an option as he would panic and rip his bedding up, then spend the rest of the night licking the crate floor and yikking. I can't leave him on his own as he panics, Cecil is restless out of the kitchen and wary or frightened in it. Jumble is permanently on edge and hyperventilates, I'm worried he will be pushed into retaliation again and I end up with a big scrap.

 

Any ideas would be most welcome.

[Fee]

I'm so sorry you are going through this, it must be very distressing for you and the dogs ):

 

I have no advice, I'll leave that to people with more experience, but it really does sound like a situation where professional help might be needed. Have you tried anything like TTouch with Jack? He sounds like a very stressed dog.

 

If you can't crate Jack, could you crate Cecil to keep him safe for now? Would Jack accept a baby gate to separate him from the others at least for short periods to give them (and you) a chance to relax?

[merledogs]

Having lived with a dog agressive GSD who had to be kept separate from my other dogs, I totally sympathise

 

It's not fair on any of your dogs to have to live with such stress - I agree that professional help is the best way forward so they can be assessed in their own environment - you can't really tell over the internet what the triggers are, it really needs to be done face to face

 

Good luck, I hope you get it sorted soon.

Edited November 26, 2010 by merledogs

[Mrs Mop]

For the moment I would keep him seperate from the others, this will also reduce all their stress levels which is important, as well as keeping your other dogs safe.

 

I suspect this isn't a behaviour problem but could be wrong, I would have him checked by a vet, there are many reasons why a dog attacks others like this and it could also be a health problem of one of the other dogs. When Ellie's breathing was bad Bonnie would attack her, she was always right, once this had been solved Bonnie was lovely with Ellie. As Ellie had breathing problems by killing Ellie she was stopping her from suffering, Bonnie didn't know that vets could help Ellie.

 

By having your dogs checked you will know if it is or isn't a health problem, if it isn't you can then start to work on the behaviour.

[celeste]

I'm sorry Jack still has issues, I thought he'd improved .

I'm in agreement with Mrs Mop, his hair trigger temperament could suggest something medical being the cause, although saying that, a friend recently had a similar situation with her GSD bitch Sylvie, she had a clean bill of health, so they got in a behaviourist who said Sylv was trying to be top bitch but her owners weren't allowing her to be, so she was having to crank up the aggression to her two house mates ( male Springers ), she followed his advice to support Sylve in being top dog and the problem is nearly gone.

I could say that if she'd followed the advice her friend gave her she could have saved herself £200, since it was exactly the same advice the behaviourist gave her, but that would just be being petty

[blackmagic]

You need to ask your vet to do a full health check including blood tests and a full thyroid check. A quick once over is not good enough.

 

However, I think it can happen that a dog will turn on an elderly one that they consider weak. In the wild that one would hamper the pack.

 

If nothing medical shows up then you really do need advice from someone who sees the situation first hand.

 

Having lived with an aggressive dog I know it is not easy, but fortunateIy I learned to recognise the very subtle signs before it developed and a stern word was enough to quell it. However I would never leave the two dogs alone.

[Jacobean]

It's difficult to advise from afar when we can't see what's happening. The problem possibly starts before you notice it as their body language says so much to them. I would never leave them alone. It must be very distressing for all of you and I hope you can manage to resolve this as none of you can be happy. I would seek a good behaviourist out that comes highly recommended. That only uses kind methods and knows their stuff. There are some dogs that just won't get on with those they live with. They can be managed but it depends on your set up and whether you can overcome the worst of it. This seems to have been going on an awful long time.

[houndzrus]

I didn't know whether to post as I don't have any tips. Just want to send :GroupHug: for you all, it is a very unpleasant situation.

[suzeanna]

Having been in a similar situation myself..once with dobes and once papillons, of all things!..I'm sorry to be defeatist but I had to rehome the aggressive dog. It wasn't fair on the others to be living in a permanent state of tension. Hope you sort it out without having to do the same!

[Pendlewitch]

Having been in a similar situation myself..once with dobes and once papillons, of all things!..I'm sorry to be defeatist but I had to rehome the aggressive dog. It wasn't fair on the others to be living in a permanent state of tension. Hope you sort it out without having to do the same!

 

 

I have to admit I have thought about rehoming but when I go through his problems I think I would have more chance of being struck by lightening. Apart from being noise sensitive to an extreme, dog agressive, can't be left on his own, very noisy in the car and a serious leg scrabbler it's probably a no go. If anyone saw him in a stress attack when he is trembling, licking the floor obsessively and making his yikking sound I think they would think he was off his head! When he's not being a total nightmare he's adorable but that is not often. Took them all out today and he was fine, didn't attack Jumble who was at his rowdiest and trotted alongside Cecil like a normal dog! I don't think there is a definitive answer to Jack it's just managing the situation I suppose and hope he goes a bit deaf at some point, it would stop him being tormented by sounds. I do get really stressed out with it all at times, OH is no help as all the dogs totally ignore him whatever he does so he has no control at all! All the dogs just say talk to the paw and carry on with whatever they are doing!

 

 

Jack is a a big pain in the butt most of the time, I can't imagine life without him though, when I pick him up and he grins at me I just melt!

[Jacobean]

Have you ever tried calming homeopathic remedies for him?

[Pendlewitch]

I think I've tried everything on the market including a communnicator who said Jack is stressed because he sees himself as having to be in control and it's to hard for him to cope with. He loves the Ttouch but it does not alter anything other than at the time he goes into a trance!

 

I do think more happend to him in his previous home than I was told but it's 7 years ago, we should have moved on a bit by now but we don't seem to have at all.

 

I do love him to bits though and do so wish I could help him more!