Suddenly aggressive

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ski
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Suddenly aggressive

Post by ski »

We have a male chow, Loki and a male Newfoundland chow mix, Frisco. We have had them for oVer ten years and they have always gotten along. Both are rescues. Recently we have noticed some aggression in Frisco. Not towards Loki, but towards us! While grooming him he became aggressive and tried to bite. Last night he went after our grandson who is four. I am not sure of the circumstances as I was sitting on the sofa and my view was blocked. I think Frisco may have been asleep and he was startled. I was able to grab my grandson and keep him safe. Frisco never growled...just went after him. Scared me so as Frisco has always been gentle . He has always been in the room with our grandson and has never been anything but protective and loving, even sleeping under his crib when he was an infant. I plan on getting Frisco to our vet to rule out any physical problems but, in the meantime, I am so frightened and refuse to have him any where near our grandchildren. For now, when they are here, I will keep him in another room but it is painful for me to think that Frisco could be dangerous. Can a dog suddenly turn aggressive?
Rory's Dad
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Re: Suddenly aggressive

Post by Rory's Dad »

At 10 years of age, I would guess that it's not a personality issue or a sudden turn. More likely you are right that its medical. A bunch of possibilities. Could be that is eyesight or hearing is going and he was surprised, or perhaps arthritis, joint pain, or something similar where an approach that used to be OK suddenly caused him some discomfort.

Either way, I understand your concerns. You need to be certain that he is safe to be around the young folk. Hoping the vet can find something and can help.
ski
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Re: Suddenly aggressive

Post by ski »

Thanks for your reply. I was fortunate to get an appointment at my Vet yesterday. You were right..the Vet thinks he has severe arthritis in his hip. Also, they are treating him for Lyme. He has had Lyme in the past so they had to do a more sophisticated blood test and we won't get those results until next week but they have put him on 30 days of antibiotics. We live amongst the deer so I would 't be surprised. He is usually such a sweet boy but I owe it to him to watch over him carefully and keep the little ones out of harms way. With three senior animals in the house (two chows and one cat), not to mention the owners(!), life is never dull.
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