Max went for me.

[cj-sharpy]

Not sure what to make of it but last week max went for me. We were play fighting and he will normally mouth my arm, and I intentionally put my arm too his mouth but not in it to teach him mouth play is not okay, when he changed.
I know my boy and I know how he plays. For a moment he changed and went for my arm like he truly meant it. He wasn't playing.
This lasted for just a moment before he realised what he was doing and ran away. He hid in the corner and wouldn't come near me until I offered him a prawn cracker.
I didn't think much of it until tonight when he did the same.
He's been great all day visiting pet shops and his regular pub spot. He took treats and lay belly up for tickles from people he knows and he does this most weekends.
But when we got home again we were just playing in the garden, this time clicker training to target a soft toy, when he flipped.
Again it was just for a second. Like his kind was play play play play KILL play play play. He didn't even realise he'd gone for me but his whole focus went from his bear to my arm and he didn't go for a gentle touch he went for a bite. Only when I reeled away for him did he change and go on the defensive of me like "who's scared my dad, I'll kill them".
I've got no idea what's going on with him.
I know he's old and pray this isn't strokes. He's got a health check next week so will mention it to the vet.


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[PrinceLorde13]

How old is he? he may just be starting to get a little confused and reverting to instinct suddenly. Unfortunately it may be time to retire rough play with him, I know how sad this could be as I love to wrestle around with my guys and they love it too! Would just hate to see something happen that you both regret as it sounds like as soon as he snaps out of it he realizes what he's done and feels bad.

 

[DDSK]

Time to end the rough play or get a substitute for the arm.
Maybe a long retrieving dummy.
I'm assuming you want to keep your arm so play time has to change and evolve.

 

[cj-sharpy]

It's not so much my a I'm bothered about. If he wanted an arm or a leg I'd hand it over cos I love him.
My concern is that he can go from one mind set to another so quickly.


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[PrinceLorde13]

The more intense a situation is, whether play, danger, etc makes a dogs brain have to work faster and harder, with age this can become harder for the brain to handle, just like people can become "confused" as they reach higher ages so can dogs. I would still def talk to the vet about it just in case there is more going on then just his age

 

[DennasMom]

Poor pup! It must be confusing for him when he sees himself go for your arm as he snaps out of it.

Our first dog would wake up from nightmares and not know who we were for quite a while... him being ~200lbs made those very scary situations.

Hopefully the vet will have something more constructive to add. Maybe a CoQ10 supplement or something to help brain function?

He looks like such the perfect gentleman in your avatar picture! Love those frosty mugs!!

 

[Liz_M]

Sounds like over-stimulation is some sort of a trigger for him. Maybe tone down the heavy socializing and games until he's been evaluated by your vet and keep his environment relaxed. Since he is an older gentleman, it may just be that you need to start changing how you interact with him a bit? Being an older lady I can assure you my responses (both physical and mental) are not the same as they were 20-30 years ago!

 

[cj-sharpy]

He seems fine in himself. I had a good go over him this morning manipulating all his joints and rubbing all over to see if he was in pain and maybe that was why but he seemed okay.
I hope the vet can spot something I can't and that's why he's reacting like this.


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[gilles]

stop rough playing with him for a while and watch him see if it repeats even if you dont play with him. this way you will know if his aggression is triggered by rough playing which can easily happen with any large dog or if it happens because of some medical issue.

 

[Smokeycat]

One thing I learnt from Kryten is that even with something that causes serious pain they don't necessarily react if you cause it but will if someone else does the manipulation.
Hope everything works out positively soon.

 

[teodora]

can it be an association with something new... a word or a specific movement of the hand? A trigger?
One of my Dachshund females had hips surgery and the doctor called her "hey, little mouse" before and after the surgery - weeks later, at home, one of us used the same when calling her and she went for him. She really did. It was the ONLY time she showed aggression: and she lived 16 long happy years...

 

[cj-sharpy]

Little update.
This morning I opened the door for him to go out and do his business and wen to make his breakfast as usual. Normally he's out two seconds then straight back in. I shouted of him and no dog showed up. When I went to the back door he was staring at the wall. No bug on it or anything. I gave him a little tap as he was fine again and straight back in for his breakfast.
Strange that.


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[cj-sharpy]

The GF keeps saying dementia. Do dogs even get that? My nana had it and she was never fine. Max seems to be fine most of the time and just has these little episodes.


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[tlov]

Sounds like it could be the beginning of dementia. We had a dog that got that and he would get confused. Sometimes sitting in a corner staring at the wall like he didn't know what to do. He was also mostly blind so that made it worse. We had to approach him slow or he would get confused and snap at us like he didn't know who we were for a minute.


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[Boxergirl]

Keep your eye on that staring thing. Pay attention and see if it's happening other times. My boxer Greta used to do that. We laughed and joked saying she was "seeing dead things." As it turned out, those staring incidents were petit mal seizures. She had triggers (Sympathy for the Devil was one, just that beginning) and was very likely to lash out if it was a small seizure. The grand mal seizures didn't happen until she was older. The guessed diagnosis was idiopathic epilepsy caused by a benign brain tumor. I never had it officially diagnosed at Purdue University because I was told that if it were a tumor it was likely in an inoperable area.

 

[Liz_M]

Yes dogs can get dementia, and there's even medication for it (Anipryl, here in the US.)I had an elderly GSDx get like that, with the staring and getting "stuck" at walls and corners. But she never got snappy or seemed bothered, just mildly confused some of the time. Could also be some sort of mini-seizure too. Definitely warrants a vet visit. I hope they can get it figured out!

 

[Hector]

Check out the brain.

 

[cj-sharpy]

It's the lashing out that bothers me. I'm scared he'll hurt someone, me, or himself.
So far his "episodes" have only lasted a second or so. Except the staring which lasted longer but he snapped out of it as soon as I touched him. I'll be honest and say I was a bit timid touching him and was ready to jump back if he turned too quick. But he was instantly just daft old Max again and trotted inside with a look of "you'd better have made me tripe for breakfast" as usual.


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[Lisa P]

Our old Rottie in his later years would forget where he was at times,I would find him on the deck stairs and have to bring him back down.
My Great Pyrenees in the last year of his life suffered a few small strokes that completely changed his personality and he began lashing out.
Please talk to your Vet about his recent behaviour,hopefully you can determine what is going on with him.
Keep us posted

 

[TricAP]

So sorry to hear Max is having some sort of lapse - I love to hear about his adventures to the pub. Glad to hear you are going to the vet. I recently read an article on possible supplements to help with aging dogs cognitive challenges for our boxer girl who is showing some signs already at age 8. Might be a good starting point for conversation with your vet.

Common Conditions in Senior Dogs and How to Treat Them


Keeping our fingers crossed for you!