Aggressive Stray at Home

Dice75

Got a stray from the Pound, 1yo Terrier cross. Have him home 2 days now, first day fine bar a bit of whimpering at night. Very food aggressive & had a snap at me yesterday while eating. Fine when out walking but now very aggressively chasing tail & snarling most of the time in the house (hours on end). If you go anywhere near him in this mood he will really go for you. Was neutered a couple of days before we took hiim home.

Any ideas what the best way to deal with this is?

(Have to go back to Pound today so will be asking there anyway but thought I might try here aswell).

DBB

OP, first of all, credit to you for taking this fella out of the pound.
However, he is in urgent need of the vet. He has pain somewhere, maybe as a result of the operation, or maybe from something else. There's also a chance of a neurological problem.
But tail chasing and constant growling are not normal behaviours... Food guarding is normal though not necessarily acceptable, but is a side issue compared to the other problems you describe.
A thorough work-up, including bloods, with a good vet is vital here, it would be madness to try to address any of these issues without first ruling out medical causes.
Good luck.

PS which pound is it? I know one that neuters dogs pre-homing (Leitrim), so I'm curious to know!

Toulouse

Thought I heard something about Ashton now neutering before rehoming so maybe there either? Would be interested to find out, curious now too!

Dice75

DBB wrote: »

OP, first of all, credit to you for taking this fella out of the pound.
However, he is in urgent need of the vet. He has pain somewhere, maybe as a result of the operation, or maybe from something else. There's also a chance of a neurological problem.
But tail chasing and constant growling are not normal behaviours... Food guarding is normal though not necessarily acceptable, but is a side issue compared to the other problems you describe.
A thorough work-up, including bloods, with a good vet is vital here, it would be madness to try to address any of these issues without first ruling out medical causes.
Good luck.

PS which pound is it? I know one that neuters dogs pre-homing (Leitrim), so I'm curious to know!

Thanks, its the DSPCA. I did a bit of investigating on the internet last night & it did say about learned/medical reasons so I'd be leaning towards medical. Have to bring him up to the vets in the DSPCA today anyway to check his disolvable stitches so I'll talk to them. Have a video of him in action to show them. Cheers.

Toulouse

Ah right, the DSPCA is not a pound, it's a rescue

Best of luck today, hope you get to the bottom of it and best of luck with your new pooch!

Dice75

Just an update on this -

Saw the vet last Friday who put him on a weeks dose of antibiotics & painkillers as stiches had become slightly infected. also fitted with lampshade thingy around his neck (dunno technical term!). This seemed to dissuade him from the tail chasing & snarling 99% of the time

Took it off last night to bring him for a long walk (he didnt seem to want to go too far with it on). On arrival back from walk it all started again, very aggressive & viscious. At one stage caught my arm as i was picking something up off the ground & luckily I had a heavy jumper on to prevent damage but took a good 5 secs to release.

Brought him back to Vet today for a scheduled review & he started the same antics up there. Vet seems to think its a neurological problem which is unlikely to improve. Brought him home for weekend on a course of tablets to see if they make any improvement but tbh its getting worse.

Looks like he'll be going back on Monday as there doesnt seem to be any options for us left and its not fair on him either. They'll probably assess him there but I dont see what they can do either. Such a shame as when hes good hes a brilliant little lad

ShaShaBear

The poor pet, such a shame

January

You've brought the dog on a long walk while he still has stitches after an OP? Give the dog a chance to recover! It could be that the walk is hurting him too much...

SpyderCats

Hi OP, poor you and him I really feel for you as this must be very upsetting for you. I wish I had some great advice I could give you but, from the behaviour you are describing it really doesn't sound like you little dog was suitable for re-homing, at least not yet anyway

I could be wrong but I was under the impression that dog's from rescues are assessed before being re-homed?

Best of luck tomorrow and remember whatever the outcome you did a really great thing by offering a home to a rescue dog and as much as we all love to hear success story's, its doesn't always work out that way.

I for one really admire people like you.

Whispered

SpyderCats wrote: »

I could be wrong but I was under the impression that dog's from rescues are assessed before being re-homed?

As far as I know most are but there is a world of difference between kennels and a home. Then there is settling time for the dog too, it can take a few days for its real personality to come out. There is also the fact that the dog could be totally disorientated and scared. Then there is the issue of how they are assessed, like I know of rescues who have dogs in foster for a certain length of time so they can properly judge how they are in the home environment, how they get on with dogs/kids/men/women etc. Then you have "rescues" who take a dog from the pound, pass it on to you and charge you for the pleasure (I'm not for a second suggesting that the DSPCA does this).

OP, best of luck with it, sometimes things just don't work out so don't blame yourself. If you were willing a behaviourist could help you (so long as it's not a physical problem), but it's a lot to ask I suppose.