Why is my dog aggressive towards me & other dogs after vet visit?

Poor thing. My two top would be that he was really sore before and/or after the surgery and remembers that being traumatic. Fear-based aggression is very common in dogs. Your comment that he seems worse than before the surgery makes me think perhaps he never loved having his feet touched, and if that's the cause, having an injury could have caused him to think "see, I was right! awful things happen when people touch my feet!" even though I'm assuming the injury itself was unrelated to a person. Since he's gotten to the point of biting, I would recommend talking with his vet about some medications (such a prozac and/or trazodone and gabapentin) to help him calm and then working with a very qualified trainer on desensitizing him to having people touch him. I would also recommend never letting kids interact with him until he's more comfortable, so that no one is in danger. Good luck with this very difficult problem.

First off, if you require medical care for your hand, please seek care immediately. If the blood is coming from Skyler it would be best to close the kennel door and use that to transport him to an emergency vet clinic ASAP without having to handle him and risk being bit. The vet can safely sedate Skyler and examine him for injuries or illness and provide treatment for him.

Poor Rocky! I'm sorry to hear that he has this problem. To get a veterinary check-up, I would recommend calling your vet to discuss your concerns and make a plan for how to have him seen safely. This may involve having you train him to wear a muzzle at home, so that you can put this on before he arrives at the veterinary clinic. The veterinarian may prescribe some anti-anxiety medication for you to give prior to coming in, and he may also need injectable sedation once he arrives at the clinic so that he can be handled safely. For the future, I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can help you put together a detailed training plan to work on his aggressive behavior. Most aggression towards strangers is fear-based, so this normally includes using positive reinforcement (food rewards, etc.) to help the dog learn to be more comfortable with the things that scare him. Punishment-based training (prong or choke collars, shock collars, etc.) are NEVER recommended for the treatment of aggression issues, as this does not address the underlying problem and has a high risk of making the aggression worse over time. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org or ask your regular veterinarian where the nearest one is located.

Sometimes dogs don't like the change in smell when another dog comes back from the vet. You may want to wipe down the older dog with a damp cloth and brush her to get the vet smell off her. It also can be that he now sees she is weak and he wants to take over being the top dog. This can be dangerous as he could fight with her and hurt her so you are right to keep them separate when you are not there to monitor their behavior. If your younger dog is well trained I would make it clear to him that this is inappropriate behavior by your voice and placing him in a crate or outside when he exhibits this behavior. Hopefully in a few days things will settle back into the normal routine. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.

This is quite strange behavior. It sounds like it is mostly anxiety and stress related due to the change in environment and care givers. I would have your girlfriend try to give him some treats and feed him to help "win him over" again as long as he isn't being too aggressive. I do not want her to get bit again. If this behavior continues on and off, I would consider putting a calming collar on her like adaptil and giving him a calming chew like vetriscience composure. Finally, if that doesn't help, I would talk to your vet about starting him on an anti-anxiety medicine like fluoxetine. I hope this helps and he starts to get back to normal soon!

Oh dear! I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem with Onyx. Human-directed aggression in dogs is a complex behavior issue that can have many different causes, so I'm afraid it's difficult to say what might be causing this without a full behavior history and an in-person evaluation. This sounds like a very dangerous situation for you, so if you want to keep Onyx, I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate him in person and help you determine what is causing this behavior. Aggression issues like this can be treatable in many cases with careful management and a good training plan to work on the problem, but this should only be attempted with assistance from a trained professional. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

Hello, I would recommend having your vet check your dog, it could certainly be behavioral but it could also be something medical going on by your description, such as an infection or a rash. Your vet will start with a good physical exam and be able to get some answers for you.