really worried about mollie her temperment has totally changed she growled at me and my dad tonight and has nipped me twice in the last few days

she is also urinating all over the place she went into my room tonight and peeded on the bed she has been doing this on and off all her life but has been worse lately

she bears her teeth if we are playing with her

she is 8 and has never been sick (tip wood) 

she is not her self i am really worried her mum got like this as she got older also i think it is in family ( did not own mum )

please help
one very worried owner

georgina :-(
:-(

Hi Georgina,

I would take Mollie to the vet to have her checked out, as her behaviour changes may well be caused by illness. Try not to worry too much, as it may be a problem easily solved by some veterinary treatment :)

Best wishes,

Lesley

i intend to what would you do about temperment

g

Hi georgina,

Sorry, I was editing my original post, as I posted too soon!  I'm no expert on behavioural issues, but if it was my dog, I think the vet would be my first port of call as illness causing the new behaviour would be my first suspicion in an older dog who suddenly started to behave like this.  I'm sure one of the others will be along soon who can give you advice on the temperament though :)

Lesley

thank you really appreciate it

i am really worried dad dosnt understand he said awh she is fine until he stepped in a puddle and said STORM never acted like this (old dobe)

georgina :-(

That's Dads for you though ;)  Try not to worry unduly until you have seen the vet - cross one bridge at a time. If the vet can find no medical reason, then you can look for other causes for the change and there's lots of people on here who will be able to give you good advice on the temperament change.  Isn't it awful though when one of our dogs is not itself :(

Keep us posted,

Lesley

going to vet first thing in the morning and dad has had dogs all his life you would think he understood he said cross breds are as tough as old boots i hope so

mollie is sitting on chair beside me crying for coffee which she wont be getting

georgina

please can anyone at all give me advice on her temperment

g

Is she spayed ??? Thinking of pyro re the weeing  & she would be feeling off as well my old BC bitch became very off when she had a closed pyro & was soon as she had had the op & recovered from the anaesthetic she was back to normal

nope she is not spayed what are the symtoms last month when she was in season she had a lump when i felt it burst full of pus and then it disappeared

she is fine today

g

pyrometra symptoms

Discharge from the vagina                - Fever
    - Weakness in the rear legs                - Palpably enlarged uterus
    - Lethargy                                            - Septicemia
    - Polyuria - excessive urination           - Endotoxemia
    - Polydipsia - excessive thirst             - Shock
    - Vomiting                                             - Hypothermia
    - Dehydration

With a closed pyro you do not get the smell or the pus as the neck of the womb is closed

The above are the full symtoms but you do not get them all in every bitch

The change in character can be caused by the pain the bitch is in

Any change in temperament must have a reason Ginastarr. Has anything happened which could account for it? Has she been in season recently or anything else different to usual?

Changes in temperament can often be caused by something which is causing her distress. Think how short tempered we can be when we have a head ache! If you can find nothing then it must be a trip to the vet. Something which is giving her pain is a possibility.

Like I said at the start, there is a reason somewhere.

Regards, John

yes john just out of season she really has gonr grumpy over the last 6 months cannot think why have not got pup yet so no changes that i can think of only that her mother was the same as she got older

she is 8 years old since 16th of june

georgina

If she's only just finished her season but has been a bit funny for the last six months then it cannot be related to that.

I was going to say that at 8 years old senility was not likely but you say her mother went like that! What happened to her mother? Did the condition escalate? How did she die? I'm thinking about tumours and the like? The pain thing causing her to be short tempered?

Senility cannot be completely ruled out, it is just brain cells dying and can have a number of causes such as internal bleeding in the brain and just like humans, can start at an early age.

Regards, John

unfortunatly i do not know what happened to her mum beauty my uncle was going out with her owner (that is how i got mollie) and when they split up i lost touch with his ex and therefore the dogs also both mollies parents her mother hated children and mollie is getting like this also
this was about 6 years ago and mollies mum was about 6 then so who knows

do poms have temperment probs as mollies mom was full pom and her dad half pom half terrier

georgina

what are the signs of senility is it fatal she has been so healthy never ever sick i was told by the vet at 6 weeks that she would be dead within days as she was the runt and she turned into a lovely dog i really hope i can get this problem sorted

can dogs get bladder /kidney stones or kidney infections just trying to think what it might be

Yes, they can get any of those.

Regards, John

Sorry Georgina. I've no breed specific knowledge of Poms, It's not a breed I've ever had much dealings with.

Senile decay is just a term used to cover the death of brain cells. It can be anything from natural ageing to serious life threatening haemorrhaging and all points in between. The seriousness would depend on the cause.

One reason for changes in temperament is things such as brain tumours and it was for that reason I asked if you knew what the dam died of. Please don't panic on that score though, the possibility is remote but it is just one more thing to be eliminated. I'm always very aware of brain tumours though because I missed one many years ago in a dog belonging to club member's dog. One I should have spotted!

Regards, John

thank you john really appreciate all the help

will keep you posted

georgina

Hi Georgina
My Staff had very similar symptoms, aged eight, he was always friendly and no problms with urinating in the house EVER, until over a few months he began having accidents and got a bit snappy. We moved house to a Farm and within days realised the problem had become very severe, when we noticed blood in his urine. It turned out that he had a rare form of bladder stones that had been slowly growing inside him, and the discomfort was causing him not to be able to pee properly, or able to hold on for long periods (hence accidents) also as stones were passing causing pain(hence grumpy and snappy). He had obviously been suffering for a long time as stones removed were as large as peas and lodged in his 'shaft' (sorry to be graphic). It cost us thousands of pounds over six months as the stones kept returning and he ended up having bypass surgery. We later discovered a change of diet early on would have prevented this. Im not saying this is what your dog has, but I would have it checked sooner rather than later, as if the uretha becomes blocked you only have hours to save your dogs life. Max is fine now and still passes small stones (two years on). Hope your dog is ok you can PM me if it is this problem and I'll send you some info
best wishes
Kerrie