Old Dog has gotten aggressive
 

Twinkie is my senior Chihuahua, 11 years old. I know he's not a Yorkie but I know someone will help me if they are able to.

He has always been "grumpy". In fact, his nickname is "Grumpy Old Man" since we got him many years ago.

The past couple of months, he has gone from grumpy to growling at George and I and the other dogs, ears back, showing his teeth. He has started to go after the other dogs for no reason at all. I am so afraid he will hurt one of the other dogs. My Chins have bulgy eyes and my little long haired Chihuahua is very small, under 5 pounds. Twinkie weighs about 11 I would guess. I know he has arthritis but he doesn't limp or anything most of the time. But is he in pain? I know dogs try to hide it.

If this had happened when we got Zachary, I would say that was the problem. But it is just the last couple of months that it has gotten really bad. I am terrified that he will hurt my other babies but I love him too.

I don't know what to do. We have always been able to handle the "spats" between dogs, having 5 or 6 you are bound to have some. But this has changed to true aggression. I don't want anyone hurt but I don't want to lose Twinkie either.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would sure appreciate it. I am just sitting here crying knowing that we may be losing him soon. I just had to put my 15 year old Chinese Crested PTS a few months ago and it still hurts from that.

Thanks,
Louise

I would take him to the vet first. Make sure his behavior is not medical. He might be in pain or something else.

Dogs often don't show anything but sudden, surprising or acute pain so his attitude change could be from the stress of living in pain. Have the vet check him out and see what is going on with him. It may be nothing more serious than bad arthritis but having very painful joint(s) can be so irritating when it goes on and on. Pain causes so much stress. In people, pain alone can cause high blood pressure and depression, among other things. If it's not pain, he could be getting senile and dealing with dementia and the vet may have something to help with that. Or, he could have any number of things causing this. It is definitely vet time. Plus, if you have other dogs, it is probably a good idea to keep them off him and let him live in peace, unless he goes to the dog or dogs himself. It's so sad to see our babies get old - it shouldn't be! Dogs should be exempt from ageing.

He was checked by the vet about 6 months ago and was diagnosed with arthritis in his back legs. We couldn't feel any lumps or anything. I deal with arthritis myself big time and I know I get depressed and grumpy. Never thought about senility.

We are taking the girls in for nail trims Wednesday and I will talk to the vet then. I am starting to give Twinkie Cosequin DS Plus. Maybe it will help if he is in pain.

I don't want to have him PTS if I don't have to. I love him so much. I am still greiving over my other two babies I have had to have PTS this past 2 years, one blind, deaf and senile and the other with cancer.

Louise

Yeah, just let the vet check the old fella out and do some labs to see if it's a swollen liver or something else besides his arthritis. At his age, you never know what can be starting to go wrong and the grumpiness advance to other, severe things quickly. A change in behavior to me always warrants a trip to the vet to catch any new disease process early unless you can otherwise easily account for it, such as the furnace exploded in a loud bang, fire and the dog is scared for a while after that - something so very obvious. Otherwise, I vet the dog and get a physical, hands on exam, tests.

I aggressively with the advice you have received so far. If nothing turns up maybe you could put up gates to keep him separate from the others?

I also have a grumpy ole man.. My lasha Sam who's 9 years old. When He gets really grumpy I check his ears ..he gets bad ear infections.

I agree with what the others have said. Get him checked by the vet again... I would definitely suggest getting him on something to help with the arthritis pain. Poor guy. I also think maybe baby gates would help? If you can keep him away from the others, he can't go after them.

I also deal with a grumpy old man.....and he's only 9. He is an only but I worry about him around the grandkids. Good luck

Lol..agree not aggressivly:eek:

Taffy is 12 1/2 yrs old and hurts alot. She takes tramadol and Temeral P twice a day. After I had gotten the pain under control ,my vet said to try tramadol once a day,NOPE. She went back to charging the other dogs if they got to close. As long as she gets her pain meds twice a day she is even happy enough to prance,ask to play a bit and will spin for us (she is a Pom,its her thing). Hope that your baby will feel better.

You have gotten the advice I would have given. I just want to offer a ((hug)) to help with your worry. We love them so, young or old, and the older they are the more time we have had to love them!

Good luck it's hard when the dogs get old