Why is my dog aggressive to puppy after surgery? Pain or guarding?

I'm sorry to hear Brandy is not acting like herself after surgery. If the surgery was recent (say within a week) she may seem aggressive because she is painful. If it has been longer than a week or so, the discomfort from the surgery shouldn't be an issue anymore. If you don't think the surgical pain is the issue, think about other changes that may have recently taken place that could make Brandy feel uncomfortable like a new pet in the household or neighborhood or a lot of visitors or children in the home. We could always set up a consultation to talk more and try to figure out what is going on and a trip to the vet to make sure she is healthy is always a good idea.

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.

A bitch spay is a big operation and it takes a dog a good while to settle from it due to the pain and anaesthesia. This could certainly have put her out of sorts. I would give her another week or so to settle and if she is no better then, it may be personality clash and would be best to speak to s behaviourist.

Arya has been through a lot this week so I would give her a little time as she will still be very sore and disorientated from the anaesthetic. She may need a stronger painkiller so you could ring your vet. If the aggression continues over another week, I would contact an animal behaviourist before it gets out of hand.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question. No, this isn't normal behavior after spaying, and spaying doesn't cause aggression. It could be Clementine saw something at the vet that upset her, and she redirected her aggression at your other dog when she got home. I'd keep an eye on her for now, and if this behavior continues, I'd take her back into the vet. Best of luck.

I am so sorry Bonnie is acting out like this. I am concerned with her being 8 years old and a history of back surgery that she may have developed some arthritis that is making her painful. I would recommend starting a glucosamine supplement (you can find this at a petstore) and discussing different anti-inflammatories and pain medications with your veterinarian. To keep dogs on pain meds and/or anti-inflammatories it is recommend to check blood work and make sure their liver/kidneys are functioning well. If this does not help with her aggression then I would recommend a trainer that comes to your home to see what the triggers are. I hope Bonnie feels better soon and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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.