Change in temperament after accident

[pambo4214]

My boxer,Camilla,was paralyzed after being struck by a car. This only lasted about 2 months. She is now walking (wobbling) but still has bladder and bowel issues. Ever since the accident, I had to pay extra attention to her, changing her bedding,packing her downstairs,massaging,etc. Now,she attacks my 3 shih tzus as well as my labrador if they come near me. It has gotten to the point she will lunge across the room to get to them. If I make her sit at my feet so I can grab her. To me it only instills in her to be more protective.Someone please help. My lab is old and morbidly obese. My husband and I are feuding over her behavior.Before the accident, she was very obedient and responded to hand signals. Now she will turn her head to purposely not look at my hand. If I stick my hand in front of her face to use the sit command she turns her head the other way. I am no Caesar but I will try anything.

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

I think ... she has claimed you. Boxers are dominant by nature, working dogs, protecting & etc. How old is she? What was her pack rank before the accident? If she is mobile I would set up a baby gate. Put her on the wrong side of it, as you interact with the others. Small first. You are instilling in her that the small ones are alpha to her, and your 'favorites' which they may or may not be, but she has to think they are. They eat first, with her watching through the gate, getting the play time. Then you stop. If you have a small expen, put them in the expen, go over the gate and sit on the floor with her to give her some play time. No toys, or anything special and not for any period of time. Just to let her know her positin in the pack. Your old lab is alpha to all the canines. This can be taught, and I did it myself, with my NanaDog, to whom ALL dogs both my own and every single foser are submissive.

I think she got this idea because of her elevated pack status. There are also calmer downers orally that you can talk to your vet about, but they will want you to work on the behavioural aspects first.
Also, a paralyzed or infirm dog in the wild is a dead dog in the wild, and the best defense is a good offense . She may be preventing what she perceives as a given attack by attacking first. So my advice would be the same. Desensitizatin and verbal correction, strong verbal correction and punishment by either going on the other side of the baby gate, or you completely ignore her.

[pambo4214]

Thank you, she is 3. The was the largest but lowest in the pack, since she was technically the "baby". I JUST had to go pull her off my lab, which breaks my heart. KC is my girl! She doesn't deserve what she putting up with. I made Camilla lay down while I loved on KC right by her. Her behaviour is getting worse.I have 10 horses for sale. A family came by earlier to look at them. The lady was holding a newborn baby so KC was going over for a look. Camilla bolted and planted herself between the lady and KC and started growling which scared the lady. I had to explain to her Camilla was keeping KC from her, not growling at her. What's going on?

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Again, just a guess, but I believe her job is protection and she is taking alpha from KC. For some reason, she perceives KC as a threat. There are some great behaviourists out there. If you can find a board certified (at a veterinary hospital) that would be best, but expensive. Any animal trainer will talk to you, and there are desensitization exerices you can do. They take time, and will power. I'll walk you through more tonight, if you are interested.
In the meantime, she has to be separated from KC. She is not to be trusted and KC doesn't deserve this.
I have chaos right now in my home because of a severely dysfunctional little foster pup who is deafblind, blunt force trauma fho, mangled teeth, flooded colon, inflamed 3rd eyelids, full blown OCD, and exploded aggression.
OH! Get some LTryptophan from any drugstore and dose by weight. That is an amino acid which promotes production of seratonin, the feel good neurotransmitter!
3 YO is the age where oftentimes, if this is going to happen, it happens. I am leaning toward the alpha issue.

What does your vet say?

[critters]

I wonder if she got some head trauma when she was hit? It can cause personality changes in humans, and, therefore, probably critters.

[pambo4214]

We live in a very rural farm area. So, I had to wake my vet up at 12pm the night of the accident. It was like a let's hurry up and get out of here kind of thing. She was there 4 days . I just looked at the bill and was only charged for 1 radiogragh, I assume of her spine. I don't understand,her right pupil was dilated and the left wasn't. There was also a scrape about the size of a dime over her eye. The eye itself stayed solid red for 2 wks. I know horse anatomy but am unsure if dogs are made the same. Right over her eye if a horse is deydrated or as they get old it will sink in. Camilla's is like that only on the side that she had the hematoma.This showed up about a week ago. I don't want to have a meltdown on here.But I can't let anyone think I don't take care of my animals so here goes....Camilla getting hit is only the beginning.In the last 3 wks,my schnauzer had an allergic reaction to anesthesia, which led to liver failure,which led to a tiny grave right outside.TOTALLY UNEXPECTED! My husband is a police officer who was permanently disabled in the line of duty, his partner lost his life, now the insurance won't pay for the surgery he needs. Plus since he was in law enforcement he doesn't qualify for social security so we will probably loose our home. That's why any other vet bills are out of the question. I love my dogs with all my heart, I'm just at the end of my rope! Not to mention, our daughter's wedding is the end of Sept! Lord Help Me! I'm sorry, I didn't want to go there, but you have to understand,my whole family counts on me for everything because of my husbands situation. I will try the turkey stuff! Thank you!

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

I am stunned by your abililty to move forward when most of us would be having trouble simply standing still and holding our ground!

Sometimes, the best thing we can do besides make suggestions is listen, and let another let the worries and tears flow. Please know that I send you a HUGE HUG



I will write tonight and give you some training options and in the meantime, talk to doc and explain the aggression issues, how frightening it is and potentially dangerous. On my aggression journey, I have found that doc simply REFUSE to acknowledge aggression issues to be anything but behavioural (in otherwords, our fault, yours, mine, the dog owners).

How much does Camellia weigh? 70 or so? Possum was getting 2 a day at 30ish pounds, so 4 a day would be the equivalent. You can tell doc what you are doing, but if your doc is anything like my doc, he will say "Oh, that's just a fad!"
I yelled back "WELL WE'VE HAD A 90% DECREASE WITH IT!"

So I truly think it works.

I am so sorry for your husband, his partner and your beloved schnauzer. Sometimes when it all hits at once, that is the only reason you get through it, because you are too slammed to think.

We are all here, we will hold your e-hand, and we will get you through this. You are the BEST mom in the world, look at where you have come to find the answers that cannot be found elsewhere!



As the old-timers (and I do mean old ) here will tell you, I do love me some piggies!

[critters]

I don't understand,her right pupil was dilated and the left wasn't.!

That's a sign of head trauma.

You have A LOT on your plate, for sure. Sounds like you have a very kind vet, though!

[pambo4214]

Yes, I do, however, I just called to talk to his assistant and he didn't radiograph Camilla's head after I pointed out her pupils were unequal. I don't understand, it seems like that would be a standard thing to do.I worked in a hospital ER until 2000 so after we stabilized her back, the FIRST thing I checked was her pupils for a head injury and I was the telephone operator in the ER and picked up that much. So I can't comprehend how come he didn't xray her head when there was obvious signs of trauma. And why would this show up now?

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Pupils can mean (but don't have to) concussion (and the cure for that most times is sleeping it off) or bleeding in the brain, and I think if you had that issue, it would have been serious and obvious before now. My son suffered head trauma and I got a few myself. While neither of us was 'treated' for those particular injuries, as there were others that were being treated, we both came through well. A brain injury can be catastrophic, but doesn't necessarily have to be.

When I get home tonight, I'll merck some other signs and see what I can find.

[critters]

You know, I think I'd consider a trial of phenobarbital in case there's a seizure component to it. Phenobarb is old and should be pretty cheap. At best it helps and at worst it makes her a little druggy, which, in these cases, doesn't seem like much of a minus at all!!

I'm NO radiologist, but I wonder if flat skull xrays would show anything but skull fractures anyway? I don't think so.

[pambo4214]

In my best Southern Drawl, a big "Thank Ya'll". My daughter is taking us to Florida tomorrow for a couple of days.She thinks to relax and relieve stress but I'm so stressed about leaving the dogs, I don't know if I can go.The vet just called back and suggested that I start crating her,especially while we are gone. My dog sitter(free) is very shy and submissive and I think Camilla is going to take advantage of the situation. When she stays here while my hubby is in the hospital, Mill is always in her lap when I come home. Either she swings her or rocks her, so she will have to understand she can't do that for now. I will leave this site info for her if she needs help. She will be logged in as me.I love you Kirby,Thanks a million!! Now, that's out of the way, the vet also recommended starting her obedience training over from the ground up.Fun, fun!! She is very stubborn. I love her dearly but I have always had labs or German Shepherds. There is a WORLD of difference!!! Camilla has a funny side,I have peed my pants laughing at this dog, she's one in a million but, I wouldn't trade her for a pot of gold! Thanks again!

[pambo4214]

We are back home and Camilla got one of our shih tzus and the papillion while we were gone. Both are going to be fine.I don't know whether to send her to my mom's while I start her obedience training or keep her here.Any suggestions?