November 4, 2009
As your dog ages, other dogs within the household, dog park playmates, and unfamiliar dogs may become increasingly pushy or aggressive toward him. If you ignore or fail to notice these changing attitudes, your senior can suffer stress, serious injury or worse.
Dogs often view injured, sick, or older dogs as a liability to the pack. This reflects the vital role each pack member would play if dogs still hunted for food. Those unable to perform would be pushed aside or quickly dispatched.
Of course, many dogs remain amicable toward their seniors, but safety demands supervised interaction. If another dog forcefully bumps into, knocks down, or growls at your older dog, separate them immediately. Never leave your senior alone with an assertive dog or multiple dogs.
* The preceeding is courtesy of Chris Cox-Evick of DogFancy magazine.
As your dog ages, other dogs within the household, dog park playmates, and unfamiliar dogs may become increasingly pushy or aggressive toward him. If you ignore or fail to notice these changing attitudes, your senior can suffer stress, serious injury or worse.
Dogs often view injured, sick, or older dogs as a liability to the pack. This reflects the vital role each pack member would play if dogs still hunted for food. Those unable to perform would be pushed aside or quickly dispatched.
Of course, many dogs remain amicable toward their seniors, but safety demands supervised interaction. If another dog forcefully bumps into, knocks down, or growls at your older dog, separate them immediately. Never leave your senior alone with an assertive dog or multiple dogs.
* The preceeding is courtesy of Chris Cox-Evick of DogFancy magazine.
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