Biting Problems

[Guest suenotto]

My little greyhound Lily who is nearly 16 years old has been snapping at me and my husband. She's been doing this for maybe a year? something like that. She has never actually bitten either of us but has tried. Biting seems to now be the way she copes with everything. She doesn't want to be picked up (like to get in and out of the car) so she snaps. She has lost her coordination and sometimes is falling off her bed, well, she doesn't want her rear lifted and put back on the bed. Even during walks, if its time to go back to the house, a gentle nudge back in the direction of the house is met with a snap. My husband gets snapped at more than me, but I get snapped at plenty. Most of the time the snapping seems half hearted, as if she is really not trying to bite rather just letting us know her displeasure..I can lift her, but I have to do it slowly and l reassure her, and she will accept me lifting her. Sometimes she really does try to bite. We had an incident where Lily stepped too close to our other dog Trixie in the middle of the night and Trixie jumped up and bit her. We needed to put compresses on the wound and at first she really did try to bit us. Now she is ok with us putting a compress on. We just wait until she is nice and calm and do it very gently. We are now keeping Lily away from the other dogs at night time to make sure that never happens again.

 

Anyhow, I assume its age/pain related, but is there anything I can do to correct this behavior and let her know this is not ok with us? we have some pain pills but she hates taking them they're bitter.

 

[Sambuca]

I would also assume they are age and pain related. I would try positive reinforcement when handling her. Practice lifting her or whatever else you need to do that is met with a snap and go very very slowly. Every time you make a move and your not met with a snap, give a treat.

Also, get her pills in her. Make a ball of peanut butter and give it to her plain then make another ball with the pill and give it to her then give her another plain one.

[a_daerr]

Well, congratulations on Lily making it to the ripe old age of 16! That's quite an accomplishment.

 

IMHO, this behavior has to be attributed to arthritis and pain. I would definitely have her on some type of pain management not only for her wellbeing, but for the safety and wellbeing of your family and other pets. There is a lot of build-up happening before a dog actually snaps/bites, which makes me think she must be in a lot of pain. If she doesn't like taking pills, try giving them to her inside a mini (cooked) ravioli. You can also get liverwurst/braunschweiger (I get the Oscar Meyer brand from the grocery store) and make little pill pockets. The smell is very strong and the consistency is like paste, so you just roll it into little balls and put the pills inside. If all else fails, you can get the liquid version of the medication and mix it with a little canned food.

[jamngrey]

My vote is for pain. Is she on any type of Pain meds

[Guest suenotto]

Is there anything we can do to correct her? I'll say NO! but she pretty much ignores whatever I say to her. She follows me all over the house/yard, waits for me at the door, etc, but does not do what she's told (doesn't come when called, etc..) I really don't care about commands at this point in her life, but I do care about all the snapping. Is there a way to let her know this behavior is not ok? Like I said, it seems to have become her way to communicate with us.

[a_daerr]

Dogs do irrational things when they're in pain- things they would never do normally. I would NOT try to correct her until you get the meds under control. The biting is most likely due to a medical reason, not a behavioral problem.

[Sambuca]

Reward the good behavior and especially until the pain is under control, ignore the bad. She may also have doggy dementia, which doesn't help matters.

[Guest kkaiser104]

I also vote for pain management. I understand she might not like the pills, but it will put everyone in a much safer environment. Once you get the pain under control, it will be much easier to appropriately react to her behaviors. Right now, telling her "no" isn't going to mean anything. It would be like you having a broken arm and yelling and someone asking you to be quiet. You're probably not going to listen.

[Guest Gemma]

I agree that the focus should be pain management. She is likely growling because she hurts. If you can control her pain, I'd expect the growling to stop.

[Fruitycake]

Do not correct a dog for telling you (and pretty darned politely since she isn't making contact) that she's in pain. If she wanted to actually bite, she'd have her teeth on you unless she has really severely slowed down and you have exceptionally fast reflexes and needed to get out of the way because her teeth were closing where your body was. Unless she has actually made contact, she has NOT "tried to bite." It's a warning. You must get the pain under control so she doesn't feel like she needs to tell you "OUCH! That HURTS! Don't HURT me like that!"

 

Move more slowly when you are around her, pay very close attention when you touch her so you don't trigger the pain (watch for any flinching, tensing of muscles, pursing of the lips, dropping of the ears or wrinkling of the brow/narrowing of the eyes) and stop when you see any of those warning signals. Try to make it easier for her to make her own way into the car (steps or ramp) so you don't have to pick her up (which is scary even for a dog not in pain). Alternately, minimize the amount that she needs to go into the car as much as possible. If you need to change directions, use the leash and lead her - if necessary, lure her with really good treats. At 16, I think she's allowed to be a little crotchety and have treats to lure her where you think she needs to go, especially if pushing her hurts her or irritates her.

 

(The above is written by someone who also strikes out when in pain, and who also doesn't like being pushed around and will push back. But I'm also pretty crotchety in my "middle age" and can actually use words to warn people when they're bothering me/pushing me/hurting me and are risking a strikeout at them.)

[christinepi]

Have you used Rimadyl with her for pain? It comes as a chewable, and my dog would eat it like candy if I let him.

[silverfish]

 

 

I agree with those who say that she may well be in pain and telling you - as politely as she knows how - that you are hurting her, or that she's afraid you're going to hurt her.

 

Consider also that other medical problems may cause this behaviour.

 

Heart problems are known to cause irritability because of reduced blood flow to the brain. Sight problems or deafness can cause 'irritability' because people are constantly 'coming out of nowhere' and appearing to grab the dog without warning (according to his/her point of view). The kind of anxiety/dementia which can arrive with advanced age plus unsteadiness/loss of balance due to stiffening joints and muscles can also be a factor.

 

The fact that she will accept being lifted or ministered to if you approach gently and slowly and reassure her does make me wonder about sight and/or hearing. But the first thing I'd do, in any case, is take her for a thorough vet check. Get a geriatric blood panel done, get them to check her heart, and see if she has any sore spots. Ask them also to check sight and hearing.

 

One 'quick and dirty' way to check sight is to call her to get her to look at you, and drop a plain, uncrumpled, unscented, white tissue in front of her from as high as you can reach. If you have an upstairs you can drop it from, so much the better. Your dog should follow the fall of the tissue as it zig-zags down, and take avoiding action if it comes too close. A blind dog will have trouble (won't get any clues from sound or smell), and will be startled if it lands on her. Most 'going blind' dogs will see something white, but it should be clear enough by her actions and attitude if all she can see is a dim white blob. Using a coloured tissue will make it more difficult, if you have any.

 

Checking deafness is a tad more difficult, because often you won't know if a dog is simply ignoring you, but maybe approaching her gently and slowly with a vacuum cleaner or noisy carpet sweeper would give you a clue if you watch her carefully. You could also try miaowing like a cat, or playing one of those rooing videos from YouTube.

 

But certainly, approaching her carefully, gently and slowly and making sure she knows you're coming at her would seem to be the sensible way to go. She's an old lady. A very, very old lady. While I would not suggest you ignore her snapping at you, I would suggest you meet her very much half-way and try to give a little in the way you deal with her, which you do seem to be doing already.

Edited December 14, 2012 by silverfish

[Guest june]

As you describe that she lets you do things for her i'd say you are being careful and she is aware of it. Everyone has said to treat the pain and I have to agree. At 16 I'm sure she is in pain. Another thing you can do is put a muzzle on her while you have to handle her. I'd keep her separated from your other animals and maybe find a place where she can be in the same room with all of you, but out of the way of traffic so she feels safer from being stepped on.

 

Another option: I actually set up an x-pen for my friend's dog who was in pain that stayed with me for a while. She was afraid of being stepped on. I put a nice soft bed in there with a small bowl of water and she was much more relaxed in the x-pen. The x-pen was left open so she could come out when she wanted and my dogs were told to stay out which they did. it was a really good arrangement as she could still be part of everything but safe from being josseled or stepped on.

 

Good luck.

[Guest zombrie]

Another vote for not correcting her in this situation. In any other situation, snapping is not tolerated in this house. But pain is a different story for me. It sounds like every time she has a snapping reaction is when you are doing something to her/physically making her do something. That's how dogs communicate. She's saying "hey that hurts, quit it!" Talk with your vet...

[NevadasMom]

At 16 years old she probably can no longer hear you. Thus she cannot follow commands. I've had a hound that almost reached 16- they have some pain due to age. Get the pain controlled & I believe she & you will be happier! Give that pup a cookie......16 is a treasure.

[turbotaina]

You say you have pain meds, but that they're bitter. Have you tried putting them in cream cheese or peanut butter? Yogurt? Liverwurst? If you absolutely cannot pill her, try using a pill gun with the pill lubricated with butter. Works really well.

[GeorgeofNE]

Well, my pills are bitter too, but I take them because I know I need them! Don't let her make the choice since it's rather clear she IS in pain and she needs them!

 

The bitterness lasts seconds; the pain relief, hours!

 

Give her the pills, and some scritches from me! 16 is pretty incredible.