What's going on with my dog???

[hillbillygal]

We have a five year old mut named Moses. He has been with us since he was 5 weeks old. When we brought him home we also brought one of his brothers but the brother had to be put down two years ago because he had aggression problems toward people. Moses and his brother were fixed as soon as they were of age and have had no health issues. Moses has always been a big sweetheart with us and anyone we brought into the yard with us.

For the past year he seems to be getting grumpier with our other two dogs. One of the dogs is small and has been with us 3 years. The other dog is twice his size and has been with us longer than Moses. Moses was always submissive to the older dog and even to his brother that was the same size until recently. Everytime he gets the chance he is pinning the larger dog down and refuses to let him eat at the same time. Sunday night I went outside to gather wood and heard the dogs fighting with what I believed to be a wild animal due to the noise that was going on. I grabbed the spotlight and went out to see what was going on. Moses had the larger dog pinned between two tress and would not let him up. He was biting him hard and the big dog was crying like he was dying. I yelled until Moses let him up. Now, the larger dog's ear is injured and both of the other dogs are avoiding Moses. The only time they'll come near him is if I am out in the yard with them.

Moses has never been like this and its worrying us. He has always been the best mannered of the dogs but we are afraid that its only a matter of time before he shows aggression toward us or our kids. Does anyone have an experience like this with your dog?

[edward_4576]

If this has been happening over a ear or so then I would rule out distemper, but you may want to have a vet check him out anyway. Knowing what type of dog he is would help, is he an aggressive breed? Once a dog gets the idea that he's alpha you'll have troubles with him. We ahd a Chow that went alpha on us. It's not their fault really, in our case we spoiled the dog and he needed training not spoiling. One other thing, are there femailes around, I don't know if a that would have any effect but it's something to consider.

[hillbillygal]

We really have no idea what breed he is. When we got him from the animal shelter he was billed as a saint bernard mix but he is obviously not. He is not a large dog by any stretch of the imagination. The small dog is a female but she has been spayed.

[edward_4576]

Is his tongue have any purple or black spots, that would indicate he's part chow which could look a bit like a bernard. The reason I ask is that Chows and some other dogs are very Alpha. You could get a book on training and see if you can do some work at home.

[fizzle7033]

I would recommend having him checked for arthritis or joint pain. Our late english bullie did almost the same thing and we found out he was arthritic. We started treating him and he turned back to his old loving self. We lost him to cancer a couple of weeks ago. I miss that little guy.

[darlaonmac]

Ok I am new so bear with me here. From the sounds of your posts, it sounds like your moses has become the "alpha". This needs to be changed asap. Unfortunately it won't happen overnight. I don't know your situation. But dogs/animals have a pecking order. Moses thinks he is at the top. You need to be at the top. Take him for a walk. If you are in the front (you need to be) you are the alpha. If moses is in the front he is the alpha. There are many other ways to work with him on this. He could be in pain also. But my guess would be that in his head he has become the boss and he is letting everyone know it.

[hillbillygal]

Well, I'm glad to report that everything has mellowed out here between the dogs. It seems that now with the weather being warmer and the dogs not having to argue over who gets which dog house and just being able to lie on opposite sides of the yard if they want, they are much happier. Maybe the weather was playing with Moses' head and he had the winter blues. I'm glad he's more content now. 8)