Sudden aggression

[tuckersmum]

Hi all,

I am seeking some input. This is regarding Buddy my 3 legged boy. He is a rescue that I adopted in December and is set to be neutered next week.

Recently he has started snapping and lunging at nothing (air), the other dogs when they are coming near his toys or chewy, and at me. The time he did this to me, he was laying on the bed and I was petting him, then I bent over to smell him as i have done before ( they had all just gotten a bath & smelled good :-) ) and he went into this behavior, he never connected but when I went to touch him again he snarled at me (no lunging).

We went thru this behavior last night when I was cutting his nails. THIS is a behavior that is new also, I have to muzzle him, and it's a fight until I do the first one then he is fine, I've never cut his quick, and of course he gets belly rubs and lots of praise and a treat. Other than this aberrant behavior, Buddy is the sweetest most loving dog. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on in his big ol head.

Thanks

[AngelBunny]

How old is he?

There could be at least two reasons for his behavior--ill health or insolence.

Buddy could be snapping because he's in pain and is lashing out to keep things away from him that could possibly cause him pain.

He could be snapping because he's spoiled, has climbed in rank, and gotten too big for his britches. He's being aggressive because Buddy the king doesn't like what his servants are doing.

[tuckersmum]

Originally Posted by AngelBunny

How old is he?

There could be at least two reasons for his behavior--ill health or insolence.

Buddy could be snapping because he's in pain and is lashing out to keep things away from him that could possibly cause him pain.

He could be snapping because he's spoiled, has climbed in rank, and gotten too big for his britches. He's being aggressive because Buddy the king doesn't like what his servants are doing.

He's approx. 20 months old. We've been fighting bouts of colitis and diarrhea with low fat food and pumpkin, no meds. I think you could have hit the nail on the head about him getting too big for his britches. It's the snapping and lunging at air, when nothing is around that confounds me.

[fbkeays]

On another list I am on, a person posted that sudden aggression is a sign of lyme disease. Please get a complete physical, including a tick panel done.

[fostermom]

Originally Posted by tuckersmum

Recently he has started snapping and lunging at nothing (air),

Since he's also snapping at you and the other dogs, I doubt it's this but this sentence sounds like fly biting which is a type of seizure.
Complex focal seizures


Most aggression is a behavior
problem and a behavior specialist
should be consulted.

Complex focal seizures originate in the areas of the brain that control emotions and behavior (the temporal lobes) and are sometimes called psychomotor seizures. When a seizure begins in one of these areas, the animal's consciousness is altered and they behave bizarrely. They may run uncontrollably, engage in senseless, repetitive behavior, or rarely fly into a rage. Other times, we see bodily functions affected and the pet may have diarrhea or vomit. Following a typical generalized seizure, unusual behavior (post-ictal behavior) is common and may go on for hours. Complex focal seizures, like other types of seizures, are typically very brief.

Most often, an animal behaving aggressively or acting strangely has a behavioral problem or some other reason for the change in behavior. If, however, these changes occur as discrete episodes, and the pet also has a generalized seizure, we can be sure that this is a complex focal seizure and treat it accordingly. People with complex focal seizures may experience hallucinations. Some dogs have episodes of fly-biting where they appear to be biting at imaginary flies around their head. Some of these may be complex focal seizures although we cannot tell for sure.