# Aggression after surgery?



## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

(No, it's not about Riley...)

A neighbor/friend of ours is having some trouble with her Boxer. He's a male, about a year and a half old now. 
He was always good with other dogs. I know there was one dog that he didn't like, but aside from that one, he was fine. He lives with another dog (a sweet little Sheltie/Shepherd or maybe Shepherd/Collie mix.) Karen walks other dogs for people here in the complex, always had Chuck with her and he was fine. 

About a month ago, he had to have surgery for an obstruction and it was real iffy for a while. He spent eight days at the vet - they didn't know if he'd make it. He bounced back and he's fine now, but ever since then he's been aggressive toward most other dogs. It seems like the ones he knows real well, he's okay with. Any others, not so much. He even growled and lunged at Riley a few days ago, and he never paid any attention to him before. Yesterday, he went after a Lab and nearly got ahold of her. It was so bad that he pulled Karen right off her feet and she has no idea how she stopped him, so he's not just posturing - he means business.

She was asking my mom if we'd ever heard of dogs having a bad reaction to any of the drugs used in surgery, or after, that would cause a behavior change like this. I vaguely remember reading _something_ online, years ago, about (...it might have been Ketamine...??) causing almost schizophrenic-like side effects. But if I remember correctly, the source was one person posting something online, so...

Have any of you heard of something like this? Other than the surgery, she can't think of anything that would be causing this kind of behavior change in him.


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## janababy (Jan 2, 2012)

I was just wondering if he might still be in pain? He might be slow to heal on the inside, could be he just can't cope at the moment. Just a thought.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

More likely is that dogs reach their sexual/social maturity at 1.5 years to 2 years, and you are seeing the true personality. I judge dogs when they are most stressed.... I fin boxers to be "two faced"... Happy and waggin their tails one minute, trying to bite me the next....


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

A month after obstruction surgery the dog is not 100% back to normal yet. It could be serveral more months before he is completely himself again. It is a serious and complicated surgical intervention that messes with a lot of internal organs. 

I also agree with Sally about the maturity, teenage stage. She really needs to work with a trainer to give him positive socialization practice for now.


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

That was my thoughts this dog is finally maturing and his true personality is coming out that coupled with a very invasive surgery could be causing all of this behavior change. I would give him time to heal and then work slowly to bring him back around dogs. Start with one dog at a time to see how he re-acts.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*LifeofRiley*

LifeOFRiley

I was thinking perhaps he is still in pain. Has the vet rechecked him?

Is it possible while he boarded at the animal hsptl., that another dog scared him?


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Thanks for the input, everyone.
I didn't think that he might still have some pain. He's been running around playing, chasing his ball (off-leash yet... aaggh. After he went for the Lab, hopefully she won't be doing that anymore.) As goofy as he is I can see where a little pain might not stop him from playing. Could make him a little grouchy and defensive around other dogs, though. I don't know if she's had him in for a re-check lately. I would imagine she has, but I haven't asked her about it.

I really hope it's not just his true personality coming out. And if it is, I hope she's willing to find a good trainer. She's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, but I don't think she's too dog savvy. She thinks her female is trying to hug other dogs when she climbs on them. :doh:



Karen519 said:


> LifeOFRiley
> Is it possible while he boarded at the animal hsptl., that another dog scared him?


I wondered about that, too. It's possible that he could have had a bad experience while he was there. She takes him to the same place we used to go -the one that didn't bother to listen to Riley's heart during his routine exam - so they're not exactly on the ball over there. Something could have happened.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

A good friend's Golden had obstruction surgery, and she was not her normal self for a good 6 months after. I would bet he just isn't feeling totally normal.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

mylissyk said:


> A good friend's Golden had obstruction surgery, and she was not her normal self for a good 6 months after. I would bet he just isn't feeling totally normal.


Wow, that long!? I knew that that surgery isn't something you want your dog going through, but I had no idea that full recovery could take such a long time.

I really hope that's all it is. I mean, I feel bad that the poor guy might not be feeling too great yet, but if that's all it is, at least he should be back to his old self in time.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

She was not sick or unwell for that whole time, just did not get back to her previous energy level and mischievious nature until that long after surgery. After about 6 months she ramped back up and my friend said there was a marked difference in her energy level and general "up" attitude.


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## Jessie'sGirl (Aug 30, 2010)

I agree with Sally's mom, it's probably more to do with age and sexual maturity. My son's golden is 1 1/2 and the play biting was getting more threatening, he was growling at other dogs etc. I finally had to tell my son that Jess and I would no longer be making our daily visit to give his dogs their pee/play break if Angus were not neutered. Well Angus was neutered two weeks ago and we are already starting to see improvement. He and Jess are back to being best buds.
Jess had TWO bowel obstruction surgeries in his first year, the second with a perforated bowel (only good veterinary care and his good general health kept him alive)and there was never any change in his personality.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Jessie'sGirl said:


> I agree with Sally's mom, it's probably more to do with age and sexual maturity. My son's golden is 1 1/2 and the play biting was getting more threatening, he was growling at other dogs etc. I finally had to tell my son that Jess and I would no longer be making our daily visit to give his dogs their pee/play break if Angus were not neutered. Well Angus was neutered two weeks ago and we are already starting to see improvement. He and Jess are back to being best buds.
> Jess had TWO bowel obstruction surgeries in his first year, the second with a perforated bowel (only good veterinary care and his good general health kept him alive)and there was never any change in his personality.


I'm glad that Jess bounced back from all that! That sounds like an awful lot to go through.

She thinks it might be that Chuck still has some discomfort. Mom ran into her the other night and was telling her what you guys said. When she mentioned that a month isn't that long and they can have some pain for a while after that surgery, I guess Karen connected a couple things that she hadn't thought much of. She said that he hasn't been bounding off the bed like he used to. I guess he's been getting down slower and more carefully lately. And she said that there are times when he just looks sad - not like his normal happy, goofy self. So yeah, I would tend to think that he might still have some pain from the surgery.
Hopefully, given some time to fully heal, he'll get back to his old self.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Just had to update this one. I know you guys will understand my frustration.

We're done trying to help this one. 
For starters, she's still walking him on a prong collar that she isn't using properly. (She has it hanging real low and real loose on his neck.) Mom suggested a couple weeks ago that she might want to try a harness or a Gentle Leader. Or, if she was set on using a prong, she suggested that she should at least work with someone who could show her how to use it. She's apparently ignored that advice and continues to walk him on the prong. And I saw her yank the leash the other day (and HARD) when the poor guy dared to stop and sniff at something. That didn't make me real happy.

Then, when mom ran into her the other evening, she starts telling her how she took him to a dog park! :doh:
He was standing there, growling and lunging at a poor little beagle mix that was completely minding its own business _while_ she was telling mom that, normally, she doesn't like dog parks, but he did pretty good. Again with the :doh:.
How can people be so irresponsible and so... well... stupid? (There's no nicer way to put it.) You have an unpredictably dog-aggressive dog, so you take him to a dog park...? 

I told mom not to give her any more advice. Luckily, when I run into her, both of us usually have our dogs, so we don't stop to talk much. But I told mom that there's just no point. I mean, how do you help someone like that?


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

Sally's Mom said:


> More likely is that dogs reach their sexual/social maturity at 1.5 years to 2 years, and you are seeing the true personality. I judge dogs when they are most stressed.... I fin boxers to be "two faced"... Happy and waggin their tails one minute, trying to bite me the next....


I know this will get my bottom chewed by the boxer community but that is a breed of dog that I dislike. They are overbred and the individual animals I see now are very poor representatives of the breed. I would call them a "cocky" breed and very apt to unusual reactions.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

LifeOfRiley, I feel your frustration. I have run into people like that. There is nothing you can say or do, because they made up their mind, are set in their way and don't listen anyway! Sad, but true.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Braccarius said:


> I know this will get my bottom chewed by the boxer community but that is a breed of dog that I dislike. They are overbred and the individual animals I see now are very poor representatives of the breed. I would call them a "cocky" breed and very apt to unusual reactions.


 
I think it would be hard to argue with the overbreeding issue. Boxers are _everywhere_ around here. We never saw too many of them and then all of a sudden, about two or three years ago, we started seeing them all over the place. They've obviously become quite popular.

We had a guy trying to sell us a boxer puppy in the parking lot at PetsMart not too long ago. He was there with the father and when we stopped to say hello to him, he started telling us all about the puppies he has for sale and how we should take a look at them. His big selling point, apparently (like most BYB) was that they're AKC and had their shots. We were like, 'Yeah... thanks, but no thanks.' :doh:


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

cgriffin said:


> LifeOfRiley, I feel your frustration. I have run into people like that. There is nothing you can say or do, because they made up their mind, are set in their way and don't listen anyway! Sad, but true.


You're right - unfortunately, there's just no talking to some people.

I just don't understand the thought process. I don't understand how anyone who _knows_ their dog is unpredictable and dog-aggressive could turn around and take him to a dog park. I can't wrap my head around that. I mean, I know it happens everyday, but it just boggles my mind. I don't understand how someone could be so stupid. What are they thinking?

I saw yesterday that she's starting to let him off-leash here in the complex again, too. (Fortunately, I saw them before he saw _us_.) There are a lot of other people walking their dogs here - a few that he's already gone after - he isn't trained and doesn't listen to her, so sure... let him off-leash. Brilliant idea! Again, I just don't understand what some people are thinking.


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## Otter (Feb 23, 2011)

LifeOfRiley said:


> I saw yesterday that she's starting to let him off-leash here in the complex again, too.


Surely Westlake has leash laws, don't they? Lakewood does.
For Riley's safety, your safety, and everybody else, I'd call animal control.
Wouldn't hesitate a second to do it either.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Otter said:


> Surely Westlake has leash laws, don't they? Lakewood does.
> For Riley's safety, your safety, and everybody else, I'd call animal control.
> Wouldn't hesitate a second to do it either.


Yeah, Westlake has a leash law. It's policy within the complex here, too. Problem is, the owner of this dog seems to be pretty tight with our property manager, so we have to tread carefully in letting her know what's going on.
I don't know how it would work with AC. Don't know if they would, or could, do anything. The complex is 'private property', so they'd probably tell us to talk to our manager.
We'll figure it out. We just want to be careful about it.

Luckily, from what I've seen so far, it seems like she keeps this dog in one area when he's off-leash, where she can throw a ball for him. The complex is big enough that we can take different routes when we walk and avoid that area, altogether. That's what I'm doing for now, until we figure out the right way to bring it up to management.

Keep your eyes open if you happen to go to the dog park, though. I don't know if she goes to the one in Lakewood or the one over here in Bay.


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