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agression in my 9 yr old bassett

19 14:50:20

Question
I have a basset that is almost 10 yrs old, he is getting aggressive, he has bitten my son and tried to bite his wife, we keep him confined in his pet porter of anyone is visiting, i am going to have to make a decision whether to put him to sleep, because my 2 yr old granddaughter cant visit us anymore, my daughter in law fears he will bite her, we never allow him around her. I am just devastated because we have had him since he was a puppy. I take him to the vet regularly and he isn't ill, I really don't know what is wrong with him. is he to old to get some obedience training, he will play with us and the second we put him in his pet porter he starts to growl. do you any suggestions

Answer
Hi Donna,

I'm sorry to hear of your trouble...especially such uncharacteristic trouble in a Basset.

Truth be told, dogs don't just 'turn' aggressive.  Some dogs, as they age, do get a bit curmudgeonly...only because they are elderly and don't appreciate attention like they used to.  :)  He may not be ill (are you positive about this?) but that doesn't mean he wants fussed after.

What happened when he bit your son?  What led up to it?  Dogs don't bite for no reason.  There may not have been a reason that you understood but there was a reason.

Did your dog have a toy?  Was he eating?  Sleeping?  What was he doing just prior to biting your son?  Did your son pet him?  Reach for him?  Please provide as many details as you can.

I'm a bit confused.  You say that you keep him in his carrier when people are over...why would you have to put him to sleep?  I don't know where you live, but short of living in an open space w/out doors, there's no reason you can't confine him to a room when visitors are with you.

I think that at 10 years old it would be very unfair for you to put him down for something that may not be his fault.  I understand that you don't want anyone bitten, and I don't blame you, however, why not work on his problem (if he indeed has a problem)?  Hopefully this is your first step in doing just that.

If you can give me very specific details of the instance he bit and the instance he almost bit I can try to give you a better understanding of what may have happened.

You can e-mail me privately if you like... nicole@boxerdogplanet.com