Why is my pregnant dog aggressive, biting, and missing heat cycles?

It could be because Lily was pregnant and now has puppies. Some dogs can be very protective when pregnant. After her puppies are weaned, I would have her spayed and put into training with a professional behavioral expert.

Hello. I’m sorry to hear about the trouble you’re having with Little Miss Blue. Is there any chance she could be pregnant? I noticed that you listed her as not spayed. Pregnancy can cause aggression especially if they are close to having puppies. If she is not pregnant sometimes dogs that are painful will start showing aggressive behavior suddenly. I would have your vet examine her and make sure that she is OK and not suffering from any thing painful, also it may be good to have them run for blood work and make sure nothing else is wrong. I would start there and if she’s healthy and not pregnant I would try to find a behaviorist to work with to alter these aggressive tendencies.

If this is real aggression, you may need to separate them until after the heat cycle and hope for the best. Sometimes problems can persist beyond that. Typically, households with altered dogs will have a lot less conflict than households with intact dogs. There are many benefits to spaying and neutering and I recommend to discuss this with your veterinarian: https://www.petcoach.co/article/spaying-ovariohysterectomy-the-benefits-in-dogs/ Canine aggression is a complex behavior as it can stem from dominance, possessiveness, fear, anxiety, resource guarding or a combination. Most people are not familiar with reading canine body language and training. Because of this, I recommend to work with a professional trainer. Researching on your own will also be helpful. Familiarizing yourself with canine body language and dog training can help you to recognize what your pet is trying to say. You can find many books written on the topic and there is a trainer named Victoria Stilwell who I think is particularly helpful. Best of luck.

This would be very uncommon 2 weeks after heat but could be related a false pregnancy (generally seen around the time a dog would be due to give birth). Hormonal treatments may help to reduce the symptoms - contact you rvet for a full assessment

That’s hard to say. Certainly her hormones can make her more unpredictable and prone to mood swings. If only she could talk and tell you! There could also be an element of her maturing into an adult dog now and this will sometimes change things in her idea of the human pack structure. Because of situations like this, I recommend to spay or neuter all pets who are not intended to be breeding animals. It tends to keep them more even keel and generally exhibit less signs of aggression or dominance. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Congratulations on your pregnancy, and I would like to help offer some suggestions to help you with your dogs new behaviour concerns. Dogs and humans share a very close bond, especially when you have had them in your life for as long as 6 years. Though your dogs may not understand the exact details of what is changing with you, they are aware of a change. This is causing Kaygee to feel unsettled. This is not abnormal at all, and I can suggest a few tactics to try; Dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) adaptors in the house DAP collars for the dogs Increased excercise Increased interaction and positive connection with you, including extra cuddles, walks, or even indoor games like hide and seek Thunder coat Positive reinforcement of positive interactions I would suggest trying a few of these tactics over the next few weeks. Please report back with your progress and we can help you further if needed. Best of luck.

She could be having a false pregnancy but that would be extremely unusual in a 6 month old puppy. This could be an indication that she has a severe hormonal issue. I suggest you get her to the vet for an exam. You need to get his under control as soon as possible before he actions turn into serious aggression.