Change In Behaviour

[oakeydoak1]

Roy is a 5 year old Border Collie - he has always been my little sweetheart best temperament you could ask for. My vet even commented that he is the best temperamented border collie she has ever met.

Then a few weeks ago he started to growl - not very often and not very much - at first I was just thought it was just him making a funny noise with his throat as he sometimes does that when he gets too excited.

Then today he was sitting down and my 4 year old daughter was standing about 2 feet away from him - not doing anything to him - just playing her own game - nothing to do with him - all of a sudden he started to growl and then he snapped at her!! I was mortified. I quickly grabbed him, pulled him away and put him in his yard.

I dont know where this has come from or why. Does anyone have any suggestions? I dont know what to do. There is no way I could trust him again around the kids.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[KitKat]

I'd be getting a full vet check and then a canine behaviouralist (sp) to check him out to...and then go from there.

[mita]

I'd be getting a full vet check and then a canine behaviouralist (sp) to check him out to...and then go from there.

Couldn't agree more with this advice. And go quickly!

The great thing is that your vet knows what your dog was like.....before this sudden change. So she'd be a great place to start for a full vet check...& refererral to a dog behavioralist.

Think about what specifically your daughter was doing at the time. Was she handling a toy/or food....or has she been ill so her scent would be different to the dog. Was she making a different noise, as little children sometimes do, as they play.

Has your dog been ill or had an injury. Also search your memory for anything that's changed in your dog's life...& your family's life... at this time.

Would be info of interest to the vet/behavioralist.

[gundoglover]

Agree with the other posters - full vet check. There can be a number of organic conditions that could cause a sudden change of behaviour, eg, brain tumour, thyroid imbalance, partial complex epilepsy, etc. A degenerative blindness or deafness can also contribute to sudden behaviour changes around children who move quickly & talk in high voices. This can be frightening for a dog slowly going deaf or blind.

[persephone]

How frightening

definitely get a THOROUGH check done- bearing in mind that the vet needs to be checking for neurological probs/tumours as well as endocrine probs, and sources of pain!

I hope the cause can be found and treated .

Edited March 6, 2010 by persephone

[newfsie]

How frightening

definitely get a THOROUGH check done- bearing in mind that the vet needs to be checking for neurological probs/tumours as well as endocrine probs, and sources of pain!

I hope the cause can be found and treated .

I would have to agree with all the posters....I hope they find something simple to fix (sore ears, painful tooth or something like that)

[Jed]

What everyone else says - full vet testing. I'd discuss thyroid tests with your vet too. Thyroid problems can present like this.

Good luck.

[dancinbcs]

How frightening ;)

definitely get a THOROUGH check done- bearing in mind that the vet needs to be checking for neurological probs/tumours as well as endocrine probs, and sources of pain!

I hope the cause can be found and treated .

Definitely sounds more likely to be neurological rather than behavioral to me. Having been badly attacked by one of my own dogs that turned out to have brain damage due to bacterial meningitis, I am always very wary of odd behaviour changes. My dog, also a 5 year old BC at the time, had done a few weird things over several months but nothing to ring alarm bells until he attacked me. The pressure build up in his brain must have caused excruciating headaches. A few minuted after the attack he had no idea what all the fuss was about, I'm sure he didn't even know he had done it.

Do not take any chances with this dog until you can get him checked out thoroughly. If it is a neuro problem you may have to opt to pts because even if you treat him you will never be sure he is cured and that you can trust him again. Dogs have no way of telling us if pain in their head has gone away or not.

[Turkey Trip]

He sounds a bit old for onset but perhaps check with your dog's breeder. CEROID LIPOFUSCINOSIS IN THE BORDER COLLIE

(CL or Storage Disease) will cause various neurological symptoms including behavioral changes.

It's fairly rare I gather, but registered breeders have been testing for this ever since the DNA test became available - that was probably less than five years ago.

Good luck, hope its not that.

[Janba]

He sounds a bit old for onset but perhaps check with your dog's breeder. CEROID LIPOFUSCINOSIS IN THE BORDER COLLIE

(CL or Storage Disease) will cause various neurological symptoms including behavioral changes.

It's fairly rare I gather, but registered breeders have been testing for this ever since the DNA test became available - that was probably less than five years ago.

Good luck, hope its not that.

Symtons of CL usually appear when the dog is just over 12 months and affected dogs are put down by about 3 at the latest. Roy is a bit old for CL to start showing. It is more likely some other problem.

I would also take tha dog to the vet for a thorough check up and see a behaviouralist if the vet finds nothing.

[bluecollie]

I totally agree, you need to have a vet check him right over.... do you have any other dogs or have you had any major changes in the household pushing him down in rank?

[dancinbcs]

He sounds a bit old for onset but perhaps check with your dog's breeder. CEROID LIPOFUSCINOSIS IN THE BORDER COLLIE

(CL or Storage Disease) will cause various neurological symptoms including behavioral changes.

It's fairly rare I gather, but registered breeders have been testing for this ever since the DNA test became available - that was probably less than five years ago.

Good luck, hope its not that.

As far as we know 5 is too old for CL, but it has different ages of onset in humans, so there is a very slight possibility that it could occur in an older dog. We just have never seen a case. If Roy does not have one parent DNA clear for CL it would be worth DNA testing to rule it out 100%. All registered BCs should by now have their CL status confirmed. There has not been a case in a registered dog in Australia for many years but it does still occur in unregistered dogs here.

Brain tumours, meningitis, fungal infections and other brain trauma can all have similar syptoms to CL. My dog that had the meningitis was by a CL carrier so despite his age we did supect CL at first, but the pathology and later DNA testing of his mother, ruled that out completely.

Sometimes there is just no answer. I remember one young dog in the early days of CL research being put down with all the symptoms at the right age. Despite the efforts of two pathology labs and the Uni that was then the main research point for CL, we never found out what was wrong with the dog. The professor doing the CL research thought it may have been some sort of toxin that had affected the brain but left no residue. The brain appeared perfectly normal but the dog had all the physical and behavioural symptoms of CL, together with one other symptom that did not fit in.

[ozjen]

I'm no expert but have read that dogs of this age that suddenly change temperment wise can be having thyroid issues, but hopefully your vet will check this out.

If its not a health issue has your dog had any runins with your child lately? If the child has accidently hurt the dog the dog might be defensive.

Was there anything about that the dog might have wanted to protect? Food, toy ect, sometimes it might be something that the human hasn't seen because it is under something but the dog knows its there.

Hope you can work it out and feel safe to have your dog and child (with adult) in the same room again.

[oakeydoak1]

Thanks for all your responses. Unfortunately i have been layed up in bed for 3 days but it has given me time to think. As to change in circumstances.

We have a new puppy - it hasnt seemed to have bothered im at all however we have changed the sleeping arrangements (which happened before the puppy came).

Also at the beginning of the year he did his first natural mating - could this make any difference to him.

Will still be going to get him checked out at the vet but can not drive at the moment.

Also if you think the above has affected him, how do I reverse it??

PS - he has been DNA tested for CL and CEA and is clear

Edited March 8, 2010 by oakeydoak1

[persephone]

I would still suggest a vet check- AND a behaviourist assessment/session to help you understand the whys, and give you some things to help restore harmony.

[JulesP]

Getting my new pup has subtly affected my older pets. My very well house trained boy decided to do some marking in the house. Poppy is a bit sulky. One cat refuses to come into the garden but appears to get on well with the pup. The Birmans were more silly than usual for a couple of days. So yes a new arrival can cause issues.