[Dailydrool] Help for Conley

[Jennifer Martin via Dailydrool]

I wholeheartedly agree with the bloodwork including thyroid panel and check
for any prostate issues. I also like to rule out arthritis, although the
attack on Llewis does not sound like arthritis to me. It is just making
sure the dog isn't dealing with any pain. Bugsey's show brother just had to
be neutered because of a really wicked prostate issue that was making him
grumpy. It wasn't the prostate infection that caused him to be neutered,
but it was making him grumpy. The prostate was exceedingly large and
bleeding after 1.5 months on antibiotics that caused the recommended
neutering.

If all that comes back normal, and maybe even before that, I think I would
keep a collar and leash on Conley so that it is easy to grab him and
redirect him before causing a fight. That also might need to include Doc.
Since I am not there for the fights, it is hard to say on that one. I
woould get a spray bottle and start with water. He gets sprayed in the face
for any unprovoaked aggressive acts. If he decides being sprayed in the
face with water is too much fun, you upgrade to bitter apple. Bitter apple
is a little trickier because you don't want to get it on th eyes or nose,
but you are aiming for the mouth and neck (no, getting the neck only does
no good, but better on the neck than in the eyes). I might also consider
using prozac. I have known several people that had great success with
prozac. I personally have used it three times. The first two times made the
dogs more aggressive because there was an organic brain problem at work
(pituitary/brain tumors). In the third instance, it worked like a charm,
but I was dealing more with neurotic behavior than aggression. I just
couldn't get Browyn calm enough to work on anything with her. We put her on
it temporarily to even her out and worked on building her confidence and
attention span while she was on it. We only had her on it about 6-9 months.

I would definately see about increasing exercise for both Doc and Conley.
If you can't personally walk them, can you throw a ball or a frisbee in the
backyard? I know this has only limited success with a basset, but sometimes
it works depending on the basset. Do you have any neighborhood kids you
trust to earn a little extra money walking the dogs? Or anyone else that
can walk the dogs? A tired dog is a good dog, as long as they are not over
stimulated. That is when I have trouble with Bugsey. An overtired, and
overstimulated Bugsey makes for a very grouchy Bugsey. This is especially
bad if Browyn is underexercised and won't leave him alone. You would think
that he would attack the source of frustration (Browyn) but Bugsey goes for
Beauford every time.

Good luck! PM me if you need any more personalized advice. I just thought I
ought to finally share some of these tips with other people. By the way, a
dog gate works great for breaking up and seperating fighting dogs.

Jennifer with Beauford, Bugsey, and Browyn the Fairy Princess
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