[Dailydrool] Aggressive seniors

[Jane Hay via Dailydrool]

Oh Melissa! Do I ever know what you're going through! Our Ginger has always
been aggressive. She's possessive of her person, her toys and extremely
food aggressive plus she hates strange dogs. She is wonderful with people
and has never shown any aggression towards a person or we would have ended
this a long time ago. We had a trainer come and work with us at one point
many years ago who gave us a lot of great tips on managing her and the tips
worked for a long time. We know her triggers and do everything we can to
avoid them. However, as she has gotten older (she's ten now), her
aggression has really ramped up. My vet likened her to a Pit Bull. No
warning and she's going for the kill. A month prior to her last attack, she
attacked Suzy and my (adult) daughter got caught up in it, fell and broke
her ankle. Well, in her last attack she tried to kill Toby and I had had
it. To the point where, if I had taken her to the vet when I took Toby for
his injuries, she would not have come home with me. Our last ditch effort
has been to put her on Prozac and, fortunately, it is working. She grumbles
and yells at the others but she's back to giving warning when she's upset
with something, not just going into a rage that is unstoppable. I NEVER
allow her in the kitchen when we're doing anything with food, the dog's or
our's, and she is tied up to our pantry during her meals or put in a room
behind a closed door. We had to do a lot of soul searching when we decided
to go with the Prozac. The question of how are we going to feel if it
doesn't work and she hurts one of the others even worse than she already
has is always present. We have been lucky so far and the medication seems
to be working so it might be worth asking your vet about. It's very cheap
(about $12-$14/month) but it's a very personal choice to have to make. One
of the side effects was her being sleepier but she's a ten year old basset
who sleeps a good share of the time anyway so I wasn't worried about that
and I really don't see much difference. Having an aggressive hound in the
pack when you have multiples is extremely difficult and truly life
changing. We have three great hounds who love other dogs and never try to
fight. This one aggressive hound has changed everything in our lives. We
have to either ship her out to my daughter's house when we have company who
brings their dog with them or keep her behind gates and do what we call the
Ginger dance. I can't walk her anymore because of how nuts she goes when
she sees another dog. Keeping her out of the kitchen when I'm cooking is a
constant battle. I could go on and on. Do I love her? Absolutely! Will I
make that horrible decision if her aggression gets out of control again.
Unfortunately yes. It will break my heart but I have three other hounds who
deserve better than to live in fear all the time. It has definitely been
worth using the Prozac here so I would talk to your vet about trying it. It
took probably a month for it to really kick in but I'm very glad we decided
to give it to her. Good luck!

Get well and heart healing drool to all in need.

Jane, Toby & the Houndettes
Shadow, Suzy & Ginger
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