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#1
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Advice needed
Some of you may remember me. I posted here quite a bit in my grad school
days. I have three dogs: a 10 year old shar-pei/APBT named Clay, a 9 year old boxer mix named Romy, and a 3 year old terrier mix named Jock. My current set of problem is with Clay. Over the past two years, he has developed an incurable Pseudomonas infection in his ears and bad skin allergies. We have tried a number of treatments, including elimination diets, etc, but it seems that the shar-pei genes just waited until his middle years to express themselves. Clay has always been something of a high need dog. He has separation anxiety, a high prey drive, and is a very powerful dog. When distressed by being alone or something going on outside of the house, he "vents" by destroying objects (Mostly stuffed things). We have dealt with this for the past 9 years by confining him to the kitchen when we are out, not getting nice things, and, more recently, in using Clomipramine for the separation anxiety with good results. In the past few weeks, his behavior has gotten worse. I don't know whether it is due to his health problems, or not. He destroys the kitchen while we are gone--opening the cabinets and dumping out the contents, climbing on the counters, dragging cast iron pans off of the stove and around the room, etc. He has attacked Romy for being in the same room with him when something upsets him, i.e. the doorbell, and is reacting to more things. All of a sudden, this week, the phone is a reason to go berserk! Last week, he attacked Romy while we were gone, giving her two puncture wounds, some scrapes on the top of her head, and a Roman nose. We have ceased keeping him in the same space with the other dogs while we are gone...at least, we have tried. He has destroyed two baby gates and most of a doorway when confined alone. We tried crating in the past, but he destroyed crates and hurt himself. Outdoors is not an option, since he is an escape artist, and I can't keep him on a chain. Oh, and, of course, I am seven months pregnant. I have made an appointment next Monday to see if we can find a physical reason for his behavior. I hope that we can, and that it is treatable. If not, I am in a quandry. It isn't fair for Romy to be the butt of his temper, and, although I have always had a low opinion of people who have gotten rid of dogs because of a new baby, I have to honestly say that I would be very wary of him around a baby at this point. He has always been tolerant of babies and toddlers in the past, but he has also exhibited some mounting behavior, etc. I worry about him attacking a baby because it happens to be there when he gets upset, like he has attacked Romy. (I do not have any plans to leave any of the dogs and the baby alone together, of course, but I don't relish the idea of constant vigilance JUST IN CASE, either). If it is not a medical condition, does anyone have any suggestions? My husband is ready to have him put down, but he was my very first dog, and I see his problems as my failures. I love him. I am just very confused as to why his behavior would be getting so much worse at 10 years old. If anything, we are home more now than we were before, since we are trying to save money for the baby. The dogs get walked regularly, which we were not that good at before. Most dogs I have known slow down when they get older! In our house right now, it is kind of like living with a large, powerful, senile old man. --Deirdre |
#2
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I'm sorry to see that you haven't gotten any responses yet. I was curious
about the Pseudomonas (remembering the vivid photo of it in my college microbiology text) so I looked it up on the web as it relates to dogs, and it looks pretty scary! Don't you think the pain (and perhaps hearing loss, vertigo,or whatever else might be going on ) from having an infection this long might be driving him bonkers? I had a bad case of swimmer's ear (most often caused by the same bacteria) once and I wanted to rip my head off! Senility may also be a factor, I'm not very familiar with senility in dogs however. If he's as volatile as you say, the stress of having a new baby in the house might be too much for him. Good luck and let us know what the vet says. Deirdre Edwards wrote: Some of you may remember me. I posted here quite a bit in my grad school days. I have three dogs: a 10 year old shar-pei/APBT named Clay, a 9 year old boxer mix named Romy, and a 3 year old terrier mix named Jock. My current set of problem is with Clay. Over the past two years, he has developed an incurable Pseudomonas infection in his ears and bad skin allergies. We have tried a number of treatments, including elimination diets, etc, but it seems that the shar-pei genes just waited until his middle years to express themselves. Clay has always been something of a high need dog. He has separation anxiety, a high prey drive, and is a very powerful dog. When distressed by being alone or something going on outside of the house, he "vents" by destroying objects (Mostly stuffed things). We have dealt with this for the past 9 years by confining him to the kitchen when we are out, not getting nice things, and, more recently, in using Clomipramine for the separation anxiety with good results. In the past few weeks, his behavior has gotten worse. I don't know whether it is due to his health problems, or not. He destroys the kitchen while we are gone--opening the cabinets and dumping out the contents, climbing on the counters, dragging cast iron pans off of the stove and around the room, etc. He has attacked Romy for being in the same room with him when something upsets him, i.e. the doorbell, and is reacting to more things. All of a sudden, this week, the phone is a reason to go berserk! Last week, he attacked Romy while we were gone, giving her two puncture wounds, some scrapes on the top of her head, and a Roman nose. We have ceased keeping him in the same space with the other dogs while we are gone...at least, we have tried. He has destroyed two baby gates and most of a doorway when confined alone. We tried crating in the past, but he destroyed crates and hurt himself. Outdoors is not an option, since he is an escape artist, and I can't keep him on a chain. Oh, and, of course, I am seven months pregnant. I have made an appointment next Monday to see if we can find a physical reason for his behavior. I hope that we can, and that it is treatable. If not, I am in a quandry. It isn't fair for Romy to be the butt of his temper, and, although I have always had a low opinion of people who have gotten rid of dogs because of a new baby, I have to honestly say that I would be very wary of him around a baby at this point. He has always been tolerant of babies and toddlers in the past, but he has also exhibited some mounting behavior, etc. I worry about him attacking a baby because it happens to be there when he gets upset, like he has attacked Romy. (I do not have any plans to leave any of the dogs and the baby alone together, of course, but I don't relish the idea of constant vigilance JUST IN CASE, either). If it is not a medical condition, does anyone have any suggestions? My husband is ready to have him put down, but he was my very first dog, and I see his problems as my failures. I love him. I am just very confused as to why his behavior would be getting so much worse at 10 years old. If anything, we are home more now than we were before, since we are trying to save money for the baby. The dogs get walked regularly, which we were not that good at before. Most dogs I have known slow down when they get older! In our house right now, it is kind of like living with a large, powerful, senile old man. --Deirdre |
#3
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I'm sorry to see that you haven't gotten any responses yet. I was curious
about the Pseudomonas (remembering the vivid photo of it in my college microbiology text) so I looked it up on the web as it relates to dogs, and it looks pretty scary! Don't you think the pain (and perhaps hearing loss, vertigo,or whatever else might be going on ) from having an infection this long might be driving him bonkers? I had a bad case of swimmer's ear (most often caused by the same bacteria) once and I wanted to rip my head off! Senility may also be a factor, I'm not very familiar with senility in dogs however. If he's as volatile as you say, the stress of having a new baby in the house might be too much for him. Good luck and let us know what the vet says. Deirdre Edwards wrote: Some of you may remember me. I posted here quite a bit in my grad school days. I have three dogs: a 10 year old shar-pei/APBT named Clay, a 9 year old boxer mix named Romy, and a 3 year old terrier mix named Jock. My current set of problem is with Clay. Over the past two years, he has developed an incurable Pseudomonas infection in his ears and bad skin allergies. We have tried a number of treatments, including elimination diets, etc, but it seems that the shar-pei genes just waited until his middle years to express themselves. Clay has always been something of a high need dog. He has separation anxiety, a high prey drive, and is a very powerful dog. When distressed by being alone or something going on outside of the house, he "vents" by destroying objects (Mostly stuffed things). We have dealt with this for the past 9 years by confining him to the kitchen when we are out, not getting nice things, and, more recently, in using Clomipramine for the separation anxiety with good results. In the past few weeks, his behavior has gotten worse. I don't know whether it is due to his health problems, or not. He destroys the kitchen while we are gone--opening the cabinets and dumping out the contents, climbing on the counters, dragging cast iron pans off of the stove and around the room, etc. He has attacked Romy for being in the same room with him when something upsets him, i.e. the doorbell, and is reacting to more things. All of a sudden, this week, the phone is a reason to go berserk! Last week, he attacked Romy while we were gone, giving her two puncture wounds, some scrapes on the top of her head, and a Roman nose. We have ceased keeping him in the same space with the other dogs while we are gone...at least, we have tried. He has destroyed two baby gates and most of a doorway when confined alone. We tried crating in the past, but he destroyed crates and hurt himself. Outdoors is not an option, since he is an escape artist, and I can't keep him on a chain. Oh, and, of course, I am seven months pregnant. I have made an appointment next Monday to see if we can find a physical reason for his behavior. I hope that we can, and that it is treatable. If not, I am in a quandry. It isn't fair for Romy to be the butt of his temper, and, although I have always had a low opinion of people who have gotten rid of dogs because of a new baby, I have to honestly say that I would be very wary of him around a baby at this point. He has always been tolerant of babies and toddlers in the past, but he has also exhibited some mounting behavior, etc. I worry about him attacking a baby because it happens to be there when he gets upset, like he has attacked Romy. (I do not have any plans to leave any of the dogs and the baby alone together, of course, but I don't relish the idea of constant vigilance JUST IN CASE, either). If it is not a medical condition, does anyone have any suggestions? My husband is ready to have him put down, but he was my very first dog, and I see his problems as my failures. I love him. I am just very confused as to why his behavior would be getting so much worse at 10 years old. If anything, we are home more now than we were before, since we are trying to save money for the baby. The dogs get walked regularly, which we were not that good at before. Most dogs I have known slow down when they get older! In our house right now, it is kind of like living with a large, powerful, senile old man. --Deirdre |
#4
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I'm sorry to see that you haven't gotten any responses yet. I was curious
about the Pseudomonas (remembering the vivid photo of it in my college microbiology text) so I looked it up on the web as it relates to dogs, and it looks pretty scary! Don't you think the pain (and perhaps hearing loss, vertigo,or whatever else might be going on ) from having an infection this long might be driving him bonkers? I had a bad case of swimmer's ear (most often caused by the same bacteria) once and I wanted to rip my head off! Senility may also be a factor, I'm not very familiar with senility in dogs however. If he's as volatile as you say, the stress of having a new baby in the house might be too much for him. Good luck and let us know what the vet says. Deirdre Edwards wrote: Some of you may remember me. I posted here quite a bit in my grad school days. I have three dogs: a 10 year old shar-pei/APBT named Clay, a 9 year old boxer mix named Romy, and a 3 year old terrier mix named Jock. My current set of problem is with Clay. Over the past two years, he has developed an incurable Pseudomonas infection in his ears and bad skin allergies. We have tried a number of treatments, including elimination diets, etc, but it seems that the shar-pei genes just waited until his middle years to express themselves. Clay has always been something of a high need dog. He has separation anxiety, a high prey drive, and is a very powerful dog. When distressed by being alone or something going on outside of the house, he "vents" by destroying objects (Mostly stuffed things). We have dealt with this for the past 9 years by confining him to the kitchen when we are out, not getting nice things, and, more recently, in using Clomipramine for the separation anxiety with good results. In the past few weeks, his behavior has gotten worse. I don't know whether it is due to his health problems, or not. He destroys the kitchen while we are gone--opening the cabinets and dumping out the contents, climbing on the counters, dragging cast iron pans off of the stove and around the room, etc. He has attacked Romy for being in the same room with him when something upsets him, i.e. the doorbell, and is reacting to more things. All of a sudden, this week, the phone is a reason to go berserk! Last week, he attacked Romy while we were gone, giving her two puncture wounds, some scrapes on the top of her head, and a Roman nose. We have ceased keeping him in the same space with the other dogs while we are gone...at least, we have tried. He has destroyed two baby gates and most of a doorway when confined alone. We tried crating in the past, but he destroyed crates and hurt himself. Outdoors is not an option, since he is an escape artist, and I can't keep him on a chain. Oh, and, of course, I am seven months pregnant. I have made an appointment next Monday to see if we can find a physical reason for his behavior. I hope that we can, and that it is treatable. If not, I am in a quandry. It isn't fair for Romy to be the butt of his temper, and, although I have always had a low opinion of people who have gotten rid of dogs because of a new baby, I have to honestly say that I would be very wary of him around a baby at this point. He has always been tolerant of babies and toddlers in the past, but he has also exhibited some mounting behavior, etc. I worry about him attacking a baby because it happens to be there when he gets upset, like he has attacked Romy. (I do not have any plans to leave any of the dogs and the baby alone together, of course, but I don't relish the idea of constant vigilance JUST IN CASE, either). If it is not a medical condition, does anyone have any suggestions? My husband is ready to have him put down, but he was my very first dog, and I see his problems as my failures. I love him. I am just very confused as to why his behavior would be getting so much worse at 10 years old. If anything, we are home more now than we were before, since we are trying to save money for the baby. The dogs get walked regularly, which we were not that good at before. Most dogs I have known slow down when they get older! In our house right now, it is kind of like living with a large, powerful, senile old man. --Deirdre |
#5
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On Tue, 9 Dec 2003, Deirdre Edwards wrote:
Some of you may remember me. yep, i remember you. i'm sorry Clay is having such a hard time. getting Clay to the vet to rule out a physical cause is important. his behavior could be caused by any number of things, but senility doesn't sound unlikely. or, as Dejablues pointed out, pain could be the root cause. whatever it is, i hope the vet is able to find a cause and that it's something treatable. if his vet can find no physical cause, i would get a second opinion. if that turns up nothing, you've got a hard decision to make. i would be wary of rehoming a dog with Clay's behavior, if for no other reason than that you could be held liable if he *did* harm someone. hard as it would be, if no cause can be found and you can't manage Clay's behavior, you may have to consider euthanizing him. i really can't think of anything you can do in the meantime, since Clay won't tolerate crating. is it possible to temporarily empty a secure room so that there is literally *nothing* he can destroy? or, is it possible to board him during the day with his vet? -- shelly (perfectly foul wench) and elliott and harriet http://home.bluemarble.net/~scouvrette |
#6
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On Tue, 9 Dec 2003, Deirdre Edwards wrote:
Some of you may remember me. yep, i remember you. i'm sorry Clay is having such a hard time. getting Clay to the vet to rule out a physical cause is important. his behavior could be caused by any number of things, but senility doesn't sound unlikely. or, as Dejablues pointed out, pain could be the root cause. whatever it is, i hope the vet is able to find a cause and that it's something treatable. if his vet can find no physical cause, i would get a second opinion. if that turns up nothing, you've got a hard decision to make. i would be wary of rehoming a dog with Clay's behavior, if for no other reason than that you could be held liable if he *did* harm someone. hard as it would be, if no cause can be found and you can't manage Clay's behavior, you may have to consider euthanizing him. i really can't think of anything you can do in the meantime, since Clay won't tolerate crating. is it possible to temporarily empty a secure room so that there is literally *nothing* he can destroy? or, is it possible to board him during the day with his vet? -- shelly (perfectly foul wench) and elliott and harriet http://home.bluemarble.net/~scouvrette |
#7
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On Tue, 9 Dec 2003, Deirdre Edwards wrote:
Some of you may remember me. yep, i remember you. i'm sorry Clay is having such a hard time. getting Clay to the vet to rule out a physical cause is important. his behavior could be caused by any number of things, but senility doesn't sound unlikely. or, as Dejablues pointed out, pain could be the root cause. whatever it is, i hope the vet is able to find a cause and that it's something treatable. if his vet can find no physical cause, i would get a second opinion. if that turns up nothing, you've got a hard decision to make. i would be wary of rehoming a dog with Clay's behavior, if for no other reason than that you could be held liable if he *did* harm someone. hard as it would be, if no cause can be found and you can't manage Clay's behavior, you may have to consider euthanizing him. i really can't think of anything you can do in the meantime, since Clay won't tolerate crating. is it possible to temporarily empty a secure room so that there is literally *nothing* he can destroy? or, is it possible to board him during the day with his vet? -- shelly (perfectly foul wench) and elliott and harriet http://home.bluemarble.net/~scouvrette |
#8
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Shelly and Dejablues,
Thanks for the feedback, although I was kind of hoping that I would get a lot of "You moron, why haven't you tried this..." posts, so I would have sometinhg to try . I've ruled out rehoming him. I don't know anyone who could handle him who would want him. Confining him to a room won't work, since he will destroy the doorframe and/or door trying to get out, and we rent. Have I mentioned that he doesn't kennel well, either? When he has had to stay at the vets for medical reasons, they've called us and asked us to take him home as soon as possible. Coming home to a completely trashed house is getting old. He has taken to standing on the dining room table so that he can see out of the windows (the better to freak out?). The finish is completely destroyed. At least with none of the dogs confined, the other two can stay out of his way. I am truly hoping for a medical revelation on Monday. --Deirdre |
#9
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Shelly and Dejablues,
Thanks for the feedback, although I was kind of hoping that I would get a lot of "You moron, why haven't you tried this..." posts, so I would have sometinhg to try . I've ruled out rehoming him. I don't know anyone who could handle him who would want him. Confining him to a room won't work, since he will destroy the doorframe and/or door trying to get out, and we rent. Have I mentioned that he doesn't kennel well, either? When he has had to stay at the vets for medical reasons, they've called us and asked us to take him home as soon as possible. Coming home to a completely trashed house is getting old. He has taken to standing on the dining room table so that he can see out of the windows (the better to freak out?). The finish is completely destroyed. At least with none of the dogs confined, the other two can stay out of his way. I am truly hoping for a medical revelation on Monday. --Deirdre |
#10
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Shelly and Dejablues,
Thanks for the feedback, although I was kind of hoping that I would get a lot of "You moron, why haven't you tried this..." posts, so I would have sometinhg to try . I've ruled out rehoming him. I don't know anyone who could handle him who would want him. Confining him to a room won't work, since he will destroy the doorframe and/or door trying to get out, and we rent. Have I mentioned that he doesn't kennel well, either? When he has had to stay at the vets for medical reasons, they've called us and asked us to take him home as soon as possible. Coming home to a completely trashed house is getting old. He has taken to standing on the dining room table so that he can see out of the windows (the better to freak out?). The finish is completely destroyed. At least with none of the dogs confined, the other two can stay out of his way. I am truly hoping for a medical revelation on Monday. --Deirdre |
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