My springador girl was due to be spayed in February but the day before the op she came into her first season. Since the season she seems to either snap at or run away from dogs she doesn't know. She's also started barking at people. I'm just so worried she might bite someone. Before her season she was never like this.
Leigh
We would suggest Leigh gets a vet check to rule out any other health issues as it does sound a very sudden change, and that she gets some help urgently from a good positive dog trainer or behaviourist who can see the behaviour in situ and work with Leigh at changing the behaviour and that using something like a basket muzzle in public until this is sorted would be sensible...
But could we discuss the question - can just having one season ever change a previously happy friendly dog into a snappy, barky reactive one?
Leigh
We would suggest Leigh gets a vet check to rule out any other health issues as it does sound a very sudden change, and that she gets some help urgently from a good positive dog trainer or behaviourist who can see the behaviour in situ and work with Leigh at changing the behaviour and that using something like a basket muzzle in public until this is sorted would be sensible...
But could we discuss the question - can just having one season ever change a previously happy friendly dog into a snappy, barky reactive one?
I don't think we actually know how dogs feel when they are in season. I think that it would however be reasonable to consider that just as in women, different bitches will feel differently too. Perhaps some pain is involved, or perhaps a general feeling of unease, and some women's moods are affected more than others. As the bitch is chemically different, the other dogs round may react differently towards her. It is feasible too that the bitch could associate the feeling with the sight or smell of another dog. If that happens a few times in a week say, then the 'keep away from me' behaviour could start to become a habit. She may well change how she feels about other dogs because she thinks that they are going to cause her to feel badly. Another aspect is that perhaps the bitch was always wary on the lead, was mostly walked off lead, but due to the season was kept on lead. As with any behaviour problem there can be many different causes and frequently although people think something had an immediate/instant start, there have actually been mild signals going on for much longer. Certainly the dog should be vet checked as it's all too easy to presume one cause when actually the root is totally different. A good behaviourist will be able to find that cause and help the dog recover. So can one season change a dog forever - yes, probably. Can one car back-firing or one firework change a dog forever - yes probably. If nothing is done to fix the problem, or the wrong approach is taken then the problem will remain and probably get worse. I'd encourage pet owners to get help quickly for these things. It certainly won't fix itself.
ReplyDeleteI have lived with many bitches, some of which have been entire their whole lives. I've not yet had one which has changed permanently and negatively after that first season. All they have done is grown up and assumed a more adult persona.
ReplyDeleteYes, some have been a bit flakey just before their season and a bit grumpy during it, but once the hormones have settled down again they have gone back to what's normal for them.
The only bitches I've had which have had a permanent negative change, have been two which were spayed at the wrong time in their cycles after their first season and I've had to live with the consequences of that.