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My mom has a 15 year old dog who used to have a wonderful disposition but has developed dementia. She walks him 4 times a day and now every time she takes the leash off he bites her pretty hard (he's a 50 pound dog so it hurts). He seems otherwise healthy for his age.
If anyone has experienced this, a couple of questions:
1) Would you put the dog down? It's hard for either of us to imagine doing this, but on the other hand we can't have her being bitten 4 times a day. It doesn't seem to be something a trainer could help with because the dog is not in his right mind anymore.
2) Are there gloves you've used that offer a lot of protection to the hand and forearm but also the dexterity to clip the leash off?
Many thanks for any advice, I love this dog and am beside myself.
-Switch to a harness and just leave it on the dog most of the time. She can unclip the leash on the dog's back rather than by it's face. In my border collie's final days, we left a harness on her at all times so we could easily help her get up and down the porch steps.
-Distract the dog with a treat. Move the collar so that the clip is at the back of his neck and unclip while holding a treat in front of him.
-Or just leave a short length of leash on the dog at all times, and clip the longer leash to that instead of his collar.
Time to put the dog to sleep. You simply can not have a dog that bites around. I suspect that the dog doesn't know what he is doing. 15 years is a good long lifespan for a dog and I suspect that he has enjoyed a very good life.
One stop before that, though. Have his thyroid levels checked and make sure they are not out of whack. There's a small chance that will fix the issue, but I really suspect that there is some sort of brain tumor to cause the dog to act so unbalanced. And no, there is nothing you can do about a brain tumor so save your money.
It's sad to see a dog succumb to the ravages of Alzheimer's. They have the same sort sort of brain lesions that people have from it.
I've dealt with two dogs who started biting in old age. I've been careful and never had that much of a problem. I lost a dog two years ago who was in a fog. I had to help him come into the house and he sometimes grabbed me. He developed a huge tumor on his spleen at the end. I'd rather be bitten every few hours than betray a friend who only wanted to love me and be loved in return. They are so wonderful and have no malice whatsoever.
Dog is physically healthy.
Dog is mentally not healthy.
Dog used to have good disposition.
Dog bites familiar caretaker four times a day now.
Assuming your vet has ruled out the fixable things, such as low thyroid that oregonwoodsmoke mentioned, putting the dog down would be the sanest thing to do. Your mother should not have to be bitten every day, period, and if the dog has dementia his or her quality of life is already trashed.
Has she tried petting the old guy before she tries to take the leash off? Maybe the hand suddenly being by his head frightens him. Is there a fenced yard the old guy could use to do his business off leash?
-Switch to a harness and just leave it on the dog most of the time. She can unclip the leash on the dog's back rather than by it's face. In my border collie's final days, we left a harness on her at all times so we could easily help her get up and down the porch steps.
-Distract the dog with a treat. Move the collar so that the clip is at the back of his neck and unclip while holding a treat in front of him.
-Or just leave a short length of leash on the dog at all times, and clip the longer leash to that instead of his collar.
It's sad to see a dog succumb to the ravages of Alzheimer's. They have the same sort sort of brain lesions that people have from it.
I've dealt with two dogs who started biting in old age. I've been careful and never had that much of a problem. I lost a dog two years ago who was in a fog. I had to help him come into the house and he sometimes grabbed me. He developed a huge tumor on his spleen at the end. I'd rather be bitten every few hours than betray a friend who only wanted to love me and be loved in return. They are so wonderful and have no malice whatsoever.
Agree 100%. I can't imagine she'll put him down because of the biting. Very difficult to deal with on all counts. Wish I could transfer some time off the end of my life to this dog.
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