Strange behaviour from 1 year old Bullie

abau004

Please help. Recently Jinx have shown strange behavior, almost as if he is irritated being touched or stroked… Two week s ago I found him with his tail hanging and when I tried to touch it he was very aggressive…even towards Jenna(female)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

When I took him to the vet she said he could have overworked his tail…she gave me some tablets and yes two days later sorted…This week end I was playing with him but he seemed almost scared. And when I touched him over his back and his leg he would growl. Took him to the Vet last night and when the vet tried to look for issues and Jinx snapped at him…we could not see any limping or visible issues he just seemed to be  very annoyed with us…I took him for a walk and there he was fine I could pat him all over and he would not show anything….The vet mentioned sometimes at this age they get like a teenager…bit confused with hormones but to me it seems strange…the moment I pat him his skin is tight and he gets that strange stance. As if to say ..I don’t want this..

No one hurt him and he is all active ..just not playfull as always..

Leslie

Was an xray preformed to make sure nothing is broken ?? Is their any swelling, deformity or such??

tazmaniandevil

At last, somebody with the same problem as me!!!!! When vinny hit about 8 months he suddenly hated being touched or stroked he would cower down and growl. Even if he aproached us and rested his head on us, as soon as you touched him he growled. His mood varied wildly. For mo reason at all he would get scared of us and not let us near him. Get him outside tho and he was totally fine and normal. This went on for months. We took him to the vet and he said he was perfectly healthy. We were at our wits end, even considering if we could keep him he seemed so messed up. His "funny" periods would last about a week and then he would get better. Ive figured out that raw meat is the culprit. He seems so food aggresive around raw meat that it seems to effect him massively. Hes been on only dry food for 5 weeks now and has been 100% better. Im totally convinced its their hormones. Maybe some dogs react differently ay this stage and some it sends completely bananas. The thing i did was to just ignore him completely when he was being "funny". I never told him off because i didnt want to make him even more insecure. He still has strange moments and growls now and again but i think hes just very vocal. Hes 18 months now and is getting more and more better every week. Hopefully by around 2 he will of chilled out and act more normal. Having put up with this behavior for months tho i no it is worrying but with vinny just ignoring him seemed to make it better. the more i pampered him the worse he got. He now comes to me for cuddles and complains when i stop tickling him.

abau004

No x-ray as yet. The Vet advised 5 days tablets...if not better light sedation for a proper check up on joints...but no swelling anywhere and as I said he runs jumps all round...only when you want to get close and pat him does he go into this state...not scared just warning you... <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

philsergeant

Hell, I wish I could help.... I've never experienced this or heard of anyone before having such... it will be interesting seeing where this thread goes.... with two of you there must be something in it.

abau004

I will keep you posted, I actually hope its just a bit of an injury and that he will come by soon...taking him for a run later....

philsergeant

Maybe he is just pissed off that you have a new leader to the Democratic Party there?

BulliesofNC

I wish there was a straight forward answer to solve this mystery but there isn't. The only way you'll get an answer is to find out what his ailment is. Could it be a personality problem? Sure. Could it be a medical problem? Sure.

There is no right answer until the known cause is determined. I have seen some Bull Terriers that required anal gland expressions frequently and without doing them they would not want to be touched at all. Something as simple as compacted anal glands can cause enough discomfort that a dog will tuck their tail in and shy away from any petting or attention.

Again, there could be a hundred reasons why he's acting this way and it may take some time to figure it out. Just study him closely and see if he shows any signs of discomfort. Normally it isn't too hard to tell if you're dealing with a discomfort involving pain where he's defending himself from unnecessary discomfort from being touched or if he's actually showing aggression for no reason. Can he be touched and petted in all areas or is there an area he tends to become more concerned about when touched there?

Roman

I had a similar problem before with a mastiff I had three boy mastiffs all brought up together from pups then one day when they were about 6 and 8 year old one went funny and didnt like anyone apart from me then he had a go at my wife after few times to vet finally fou d out he had a tumour and was in pain ;(

mbgood

The bully I had a bully-ago ("Piggy") exhibited similar behavior, but at a much later life stage (around 10 or 12, as I recall). She ended up having impacted anal glands which got infected. She acted angry and fearful when touched, especially anywhere below about her shoulders. The vet ended up having to drain them and put her on antibiotics; I felt so bad that that I hadn't noticed anything seriously wrong until it got that bad. 

It's worth a try if you don't see improvement. 

I ended up switching Piggy's food to increase the fiber as a preventative measure because the vet said the anal glands are usually naturally emptied when your dog poops by the pressure. Higher fiber=larger poops=more pressure on the glands. It seemed to work for us.

abau004

Thanks all for the valuable input...I must say tonight I came home and ignored him a bit ,I played with Jenna and like all bullies do he forced himself between us. He allowed me to through him around a bit playing rough and showed no problem...... I patted him a bit but not long and he didn't growl or shy away. I left him again not to over do things. I will check him in the morning as they normally start dragging the " garden" around at that time!!!!

abau004

Tasmanian devil....you spot on....I only read your comment now......I always give them bonemeal with their dry food in mornings and this week end got can bag that was mixed with more raw stuff and bloody than normal !!!!!

tazmaniandevil

Im sure its the smell if the blood that does it. As an experiment last night i left a bowl of raw chicken and bone mince out and it was quite bloody. He ate a bit and then left it but an hour later he was sat by his food, i walked past and he went back to his old self. Lunging at my feet and snarling. Then today he is acting funny again, went for my girlfriends feet and is just insecure and not himself. I think he has a major problem with the pecking order in the house and has no idea how to behave when high value food is around. This experiment is enough for me tho. All raw food is out at least untill hes older and the hormones have settled

tazmaniandevil

Just to add, vinny to always snaps out of the funny mood when you start to play or get him excited. Out walking he is fine and playfull. We have learned to just distract him when he turns wierd. Start wrestling or throw some treats around. It seems to work. He snaps out if it

abau004

This morning only dry for...Jinx is back!!!!!! I even brushed his teeth....I really don't know how to explain this....just so glad its not just me!!!!!!!!

bigbear1tracey

That is fab glad to hear jinx is back on track .

LokiLostCoast

For the issues with raw food or any food item he would consider high value you should feed him by hand for a few weeks until he stops the FA. I had the same issues with Loki with Pork as the main culprit which I don't usually feed a lot of. As soon as I saw him act FA I talked with a club member and fellow raw feeder and she said to hand feed him ( I know it's kinda gross) I did this for a few weeks, every time I fed raw. I picked it up in my hand and let him eat it from my hands ONLY for a few weeks and after that I would just stick my hand in the bowl and maybe move the bowl around on the floor a bit. He now sees that I am not a threat when it comes to his food and no longer shows Food aggression.