<p>“Our dog is almost 13 and his hearing is terrible. We try and let him know when we come near by getting his attention visually so we are less likely to scare him.”</p>
<p>Our 12-year old is deaf too. We tap her gently on the back of the neck to get her attention. She seems to like the attention.</p>
<p>Older dogs can get crabby. Like people. We had several old dogs. Have vet check teeth as well. Everyone has good advice and your daughter need to be a bit more understanding of the old dog. And sudden foot through the air toward a toy and a dogs face can make them react especially and older dog. While daughter may have thoght she was slow and gentle to the dog she wasn’t. There is something going on and often with small dogs we don’t see the arthritis and other issues. How is the dogs vision?</p>
<p>I would remind everyone to be extra gentle and aware, not fearful, but remembering this is a senior dog who mght be in pain and who may have some dementia going on.</p>
<p>We have a golden now whom I don’t think would bite for anything. However, our previous dog did get cranky as he got older. You could be petting him gently and suddenly hit a spot and he would snap. He got each of us a time or two, but never broke the skin. We gave him a wide berth, and I had to tell the kids to stop petting him. The was one of the ways we knew he was so sick, he was ready to go, he didn’t react at all to things that previously might have caused him to growl or snap.</p>
<p>My first thought was canine dementia. But you also said you’ve had previous issues with resource guarding. I think you should have a thorough vet check, and if that doesn’t show anything, you should buy this booklet and work through the resource guarding exercises: <a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Mine-Practical-Guide-Resource-Guarding/dp/0970562942[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Mine-Practical-Guide-Resource-Guarding/dp/0970562942</a></p>
<p>Speaking of old dogs, do they also get boney? My 11 year old weighs the same but looks quite boney.</p>
<p>muscle atrophy with dogs just like with some ppl as they age. My setter is 14 and looks really bony in the hind end but weighs the same. This is the vets explaination.</p>
<p>I had a sweet little miniature poodle who started snapping at (but not biting) children when she was around 12. Turns out she had glaucoma that was becoming painful in one eye, and she was snapping to warn the children not to poke her sore eye. I took her to a dog opthamologist for surgery to relieve the pain, and the snapping stopped.</p>
<p>Today’s vet visit found blood in the stool and ears still infected. We’re waiting for more test results, but the dog could very well be in pain.</p>
<p>Earring aches hurt big time. Poor baby</p>
<p>toledo,
if you are having blood work done, please check the thyroid levels. When these are off, the dog’s immune system AND behavior can be out of whack.<br>
Thanks for the update- fingers are crossed that it is something very treatable.
(For a leaky or inflamed gut, glutamine and probiotics really help heal.)</p>