[Dailydrool] Basset Aggression

[Elsamarie5 at cs.com]

Hi to all,
On the subject of Basset Rage, I am reminded of a Basset I got as a puppy 
that came from a backyard breeder and was sweet as they come for about the 
first year. Wendy was "raised" by my doxie, Elsa and they seemed to get along 
fine until Wendy matured, then she wanted alpha position and would challenge 
Elsa and the other dogs. One day as Elsa was coming through the front door 
from the yard, Wendy attacked her and pinned her on her back against the 
tile floor. I intervened in time to prevent any serious injuries, or so I 
thought. 3 days later, Elsa woke up with paralysis from mid-back all the way to 
her tail. I panicked, took her to the emergency Vet Hospital and was told 
that to relieve the pressure on her spinal cord would take major surgery. Since 
it was a holiday weekend, I had to wait 3 days before I could get her to a 
vet who finally did the surgery (ka-ching$). She recovered mostly, but is 
still incontinent of bowel and bladder and walks a little stiff in back legs.
I had Wendy put down, since I couldn't trust her not to attack again. 
Later, when I did my homework for another Basset, I learned that poor pedigree 
does make a difference. I made sure Archie's pedigree didn't include any 
inbreeding and have had no aggression problems with "Mr Personality".
It is so disappointing to have to lose a dog (esp. a Basset) due to 
aggressive behavior, they are famous for their layed back and loving personalities. 
I had a Springer Spaniel/Aussie mix who was very aggressive and bit both 
humans and other pets, the animal behaviorist I took him to agreed it was hard 
wired into him and couldn't be treated. In every way, both these dogs were 
perfect otherwise and the behavior didn't manifest itself until they matured 
and, of course, I had bonded strongly with them, making it so hard to make 
the right decision for them.
I felt like I had failed both these dogs, maybe it was me that caused their 
unruly behavior, but reading of all your experiences tells me that there's 
more to it than how they are treated. My heart goes out to anyone in this 
predicament, but thanks to all you on the Drool, I now have more peace of 
mind. You are a great bunch of "slave persons" and I thank you all for your 
entries, sometimes the smallest piece of information can be very helpful.
Drool, (Preferably peanutbutter-flavored) to all who are grieving and to 
Nigel, Elsa says, "Don't give up, you can do it."
Judy, Archie and Elsa in Fresno</HTML>