Dog Bite...

[RacheH]

Hi guys...

Got a bit of a problem here... As i mentioned my mom has a GSD Sparky whom she rescued from an abusive home. Now yesterday night, i was in the kitchen with my fiancee and he was in there with me. I was reaching into the box where i keep my blender parts cause i wanted to whip up something up for dinner... and as i was handing my fiancee the appliance, Sparky turns around and bites me on my free hand, TWICE! Luckily i don't have much meat on my wrists, and his teeth didn't really penetrate. Sparky has always been a nervous dog but this is a real no no for me and my mother. My mother also had an incident with him (he sleeps in her room on the bed) a few days ago. She was asleep and accidentally flopped her arm onto him. Next thing she knew he had caught her hand in his mouth and he was standing over her on the bed and growling and tense for about 5 mins. She was terrified but ignored him and went back to sleep and then he settled down again. But this is a dog who we feed, who we play with, etc etc... Mom and i are really shocked and upset and at a loss for what to do...?

[Duramax]

i agree with tina, it can take along time to get over the abuse. how does he act after he bites you??

[RacheH]

Hey Guys...

Sparky has been with us for 2 years now...as i said he was always nervous and would growl if he ever felt threatened or uncomfortable. Today he acted totally normal with me, so i am really perplexed. About a behaviorist, the closest thing i have to that in my area is a trainer... and i doubt he can do that much with him!

[GoldenPyrs]

I agree with everyone that based upon the abuse in his  background, it's probably behavorial, poor guy.   However, if this just worsened dramatically (if I'm reading this correctly), you might want to take Sparky to the vet to rule out any physical problems that might be exacerbating the problem.     Just a thought.   

[RacheH]

hey guys,

His last check up at the vets was about a week ago. He had his deworming and update of all his shots, so that rules out his being physically unwell or uncomfortable. Sparky is known to get a bit edgy when he has a sore ear or leg or something, and it's really hard to give him medication etc as he starts to growl quite loudly and aggressively, but we always associated it to pain and past abuse..

I'll tell my mom to restrict him on the bed, put him on the floor or get a doggie bed for him to sleep in, as we've done for Beau (although the little sucker always tries getting up on my bed!). I doubt she'll be able to do that though as with Sparky the slightest bit of pulling or tugging or anything that has to do with physically trying to get him down and to stay down puts him into Defense mode and he starts to growl... I'll tell her to try it tonight...

I'm really upset. The trainer is supposed to come in today for a session with Beau and Rocky, so i'll make it a point to switch the session from them to sparky...

Thanks for all your help guys. I hate it when things like this happen...

[sc.trojans]

hey guys,

His last check up at the vets was about a week ago. He had his deworming and update of all his shots, so that rules out his being physically unwell or uncomfortable.

An abused dog will always have sensitivities to feeling threatened and a lower tolerance threshold, so this comes as no surprise really.  But I was reading your posts and wondering about vaccines to myself when you just offered it here - and just a week ago!!!  AND you say "ALL" - sounds like he got more than one at one time - something the AVMA doesn't even condone anymore.

So let me explain - if he got one of the neurological vaccines:  distemper or rabies - then behavioral changes are common with these.  These two disease are neurological diseases and by definition attack this system - the vaccines are designed to do the same thing obviously (they contain the disease) - so neurological side effects are possible.  If you do some research, you can find several studies that document the known side effects from vaccines, and these two inparticular have a long list of aggression and other behavioral side effects.  Rabies is best known for behavioral problems as side effects.

So now let's back up:  we have a dog with abuse in his background who has been working to overcome his emotional trauma and has a naturally low threshold for defensiveness. Then he gets substances injected that are designed to target his neurological system, and if they overwhelm his immune system, can result in the exacerbation of behavioral issues or onset of aggression - I have to say that you have a strong likelihood of seeing increased aggression with further vaccines and that you should keep a journal tracking substances injected with behaviors you notice in an effort to identify.

I recommend you do some research on vaccines and their cautions as well as possible side effects so that you understand what is possible in the future should you vaccinate again. Vaccines do cause discomfort, pain, swelling, internal inflammation, auto-immune reactions, anaphylactic shock, brain swelling and a host of other problems so please never assume they are benign substances. Also understand that once a dog has had his initial puppy shots, he is good for life just like we are....I haven't had a vaccine in 30+ years.  Mounting vaccines do not provide more protection - you either developed immunity upon exposure or you didn't - the immune system doesn't need reminding.

I think this is a medical problem mounted on a behavioral problem and will require a multi-pronged approach in an attempt to resolve.