You know, when you think about it, man’s best friend isn’t much different than its owner. As we age, certain things become less tolerable to us. Our patience can run thin, especially when it comes to situations we are unfamiliar with. The same goes for man’s best friend. A dog can be a aggressive puppy, trained to be docile, and then turn aggressive with age but on the same token, a dog can be docile from the get go and turn aggressive, or be docile and remain that way throughout its entire life. Part of a dogs temperament has to do with breed, and another part of it has to do with its surrounds, owner, and how it was raised. If you raise a aggressive dog you can count on it being aggressive in old age.
As dogs grow from puppies to adult dogs, so to will their confidence and understanding. They understand where they fit in most canine interactions, and may develop behaviors such as possessiveness once they get used to the fact that they can actually claim toys, food or certain areas as their own.
As a dog gets older, it tires easier so being around a puppy or kids full of energy can be frustrating for them. It is common for a tired dog to growl, snip, or bark in warning to a puppy or others to back off when they are tired.
An older dog may become less confident in its hierarchy due to feeling weaker and less mobile. Medical conditions such as arthritis can compound its frustration and due to the discomfort cause your dog to be less tolerant of what is going on around it. This can cause your dog top lash out to both other animals and people. When it comes to medical issues that are causing your dog pain, aggression issues can appear in even the best-trained dog. Severe aggression results from a dog that has been neglected or abused, or as stated earlier, trained to be aggressive in the first place such as in dogs trained for dogfights. These aggression issues are solely the fault of an abusive owner. If your dog begins to show signs of aggression look at what is new in your dog’s life. Is there any thing medical wrong with your dog? If your dog is aging, did you recently add a new addition to the household either in a new puppy or family member? Look for clues as to what could be bringing on the new aggression. Once you locate the trigger, you can help your dog by correcting the situation or giving extra support when it is a situation that cannot be resolved.
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I agree. Of course, I'm a bit older than my dog and I know I'm crankier about certain things that used to be OK by me. Neither one of us like crying babies very much. Older kids that are self sufficient are OK because they don't bite us!
ReplyDeleteBoy, that picture tells it all. It's how I feel now with pain in my hip. It only makes sense that dog parts wear out the same as ours do. I know I'm crankier than I used to be and my dog is too. In dog years we're the same age.
ReplyDeleteI have been wondering what is wrong with my dog. Thanks for helping me narrow it down.
ReplyDelete