Donnie is a 6 year old shih tzu whom I’ve had since he was 6 weeks old but we’ve been having problems recently. His hair has grown out pretty long and I haven’t washed him in a few weeks but I’ve noticed he’s got a load of poo around his anus which he used to get when he was younger quite a lot. I’d be happy to clean it however he’s being very very hostile towards me. When I attempt to pick him up he begins to show teeth and growl. He’s normally well behaved but recently he’s been very aggressive. He won’t even allow other members of my family attach his lead. I do think his aggression is due to the discomfort but I’m unable to eliviate it without him cooperating! I gave him some calmers yesterday evening as I do before he goes to the groomers so he’s less aggressive there. I thought this would allow me to pick him up and wash him today but I just came back from my walk and tried to clean his feet and he began to growl and show teeth. He’s an absolute mess and I can’t even get near him let alone a groomer or a vet (he has previously been aggressive towards his vet too). I think he definitely has small dog syndrome as he acts very dominantly but when he was younger I just spoiled him and didn’t really train him out of it and not he’s pretty old and its getting too much. I love him soo much but I really don’t know what to do with him right now.
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My dog is out of control
- Thread starter Nina2000
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Well you cant leave him like this. A trip to the vet just to rule out any form of illness and maybe they can suggest some way to help.
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Is his coat smooth or a bit tangled due to not being able to groom him properly , just wondering if it’s been a bit painful for him when you’ve tried to de tangle and he’s not forgotten, hence the aggression and the fear of being hurt again, a bit drastic but could the vet give him a mild sedative ? Just enough so he can be tidied up around his rear end and any other bits that need doing, only a thought but it may work 
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This sounds less like dominance (which is now considered to be disproved theory in canine behaviour anyway) and more like anxiety, perhaps in anticipation of being hurt by the grooming. Ungroomed hair develops tangles and mats at the skin, which then pull on the skin as he moves and is painful. Poo around his anal hair will be uncomfortable too. I agree with Doggie1 about a vet check, especially if your groomer cannot get rid of the hair, your vet will be able to sedate him and shave off the worst areas.
BUT - learn to welcome the growl. That is your dog communicating with you that he is unhappy, and you need to respect that message, which means either 'stop, I am unhappy/scared/afraid' or 'make this thing that is upsetting me go away'. This is not giving in to him, it is respecting his communication. If you ignore the growl he will learn that it doesn't do any good so he may bypass that stage in future (because it doesn't work) and go straight to a bite.
BUT - learn to welcome the growl. That is your dog communicating with you that he is unhappy, and you need to respect that message, which means either 'stop, I am unhappy/scared/afraid' or 'make this thing that is upsetting me go away'. This is not giving in to him, it is respecting his communication. If you ignore the growl he will learn that it doesn't do any good so he may bypass that stage in future (because it doesn't work) and go straight to a bite.
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Crossposted with the 2 above!
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Great minds
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Yup- definitely anxiety. Maybe he's feeling below par and this can make him more defensive. Rule out illness at the vets. But even at 6yo you can start to retrain. There are some excellent vids on YouTube showing grooming aggressive dogs. BUT the nasty bits round the back end do make me think anal gland problems - which can be really miserable for him, like toothache for us. Vet first!
Is his coat smooth or a bit tangled due to not being able to groom him properly , just wondering if it’s been a bit painful for him when you’ve tried to de tangle and he’s not forgotten, hence the aggression and the fear of being hurt again, a bit drastic but could the vet give him a mild sedative ? Just enough so he can be tidied up around his rear end and any other bits that need doing, only a thought but it may work
His fur everywhere else is fine as I do still brush him everyday just not under his tail. I’m just worried about taking him to the vet because he won’t let me pick him up and he’s previously been very aggressive towards his vet when he had an anal gland problem about 2 years ago. I know for a fact he’s not even going to allow me to pick him up and put him on the table at the vets
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Well, leaving him as he is won't make the problem go away. Vets are quite used to dealing with anxious pets, if your groomer can't deal with this the vet at least can. It really isn't fair to leave him in discomfort or pain.
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If the vets are concerned they’ll put a muzzle on him, he’ll be fine you’d have to take him to the vets if something serious was wrong with him so give them a call and explain the situation , they’re very understanding
you’d have to take him to the vets if something serious was wrong with him so give them a call and explain the situation , they’re very understanding Eddi went to one vet and he had to be muzzled as he snapped when he looked at his teeth, I took him to a new vet as he is closer and he looked at his teeth, squeezed his anal glands and gave him three jabs, Eddi barely batted an eyelid. The vet just has a lovely way with him. As someone posted, they are used to dealing with all sorts.
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Vets are also used to dealing with aggressive pets. You need to muzzle train him, though this ideally would be done over a few days and he really needs to be sorted out now. Muzzle him (one way or another, but you can smear peanut butter in the muzzle to make him want to stick his head in) before the vet appointment. You don't need to lift him on the table, the vet can come down to his level - and he might be able to take one look at his rear end and decide that he needs to be cleaned under a sedative. He should also be able to check then for any other source of discomfort.
My dog is BIG and has been very aggressive at the vet's, but we manage it. The normal procedure is that I muzzle him and then when going into the consulting room I wrap his lead tightly round the leg of the table and then stick bits of sausage through the muzzle for him. He now just trembles rather than turns aggressive. One time, when he had a stick stuck in his mouth, he panicked and went crazy and it took three of us to hold him still to get a sedative injection in. But if it can be done with him, it can certainly be done with a shih tzu.
My dog is BIG and has been very aggressive at the vet's, but we manage it. The normal procedure is that I muzzle him and then when going into the consulting room I wrap his lead tightly round the leg of the table and then stick bits of sausage through the muzzle for him. He now just trembles rather than turns aggressive. One time, when he had a stick stuck in his mouth, he panicked and went crazy and it took three of us to hold him still to get a sedative injection in. But if it can be done with him, it can certainly be done with a shih tzu.
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Look I don't want to be harsh or awful but the fact is your dog is in discomfort, having faeces stuck to his rear end cant be nice and if you don't get it sorted the chances are he could end up with much larger problems or someone will see him and report you for neglect. So bite the bullet, ring the vet explain the problem and get the help that he deserves.
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I will comment in a bit as I'm at the vets
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as above, to the VET immediately, & have him examined & cleaned-up, if need be under sedation -
pain can make anyone, human or non-, guard the painful area vigilantly, & can make treatment impossible without either restraint, or preferably, meds on board.
Sedation is preferred b/c it won't leave a frightening memory of pain, to sow more seeds of resistance & bad feelings for future visits to the vet, or for future grooming sessions at home. // He's a mandatory-grooming breed, there's no option to leave him au naturel, so he's got to be groomed tangle-free to the skin all over at least once a week, preferably twice weekly, & he must be tangle-free before entering the bathtub & being clippered or scissor-cut, every 4 to 8-weeks, for his lifetime.
There's just no wiggle-room for "letting it go" - every 6-weeks is a reasonable schedule for the groomer's salon, but every day he needs detangling in problem areas at home [armpits, groin, petticoats, neck / ear area on both sides, tail] & then once or twice a week, a full comb-out clear to his skin.
Do U have long hair, @Nina2000 ? - I ask b/c folks with short hair may not be aware that there's a right way & wrong way to detangle.
The wrong way starts at the scalp or the base of the hairshaft, & tries to comb out to the ends; all that does is pile-up the tangles somewhere in the middle, in a massive knot, & it inevitably pulls on the skin painfully. Ouch!...
The right way starts at the tips of the hair, holding ONE SECTION of hair firmly & gently detangling that section only, working from the hair ends > inward < toward the skin, going DOWN the hairshaft... always holding the hair section with one hand, & the S/S comb or rubber-backed pin brush with the other. Holding the hair-section firmly, with a little slack in the "skin" side of the section, prevents the comb or brush from pulling on the roots of the hairs.
U can re-train any dog to be more accepting of grooming or handling, if they've had bad experiences in the past -
DS / CC works on any reactive issue, so U simply pair happy events [food, to start] with the "bad" event, & over time, the new associations of happy things with that event create a new emotional response.
Once the tangles & poop are gone, & he's had a thoro whole-body exam to confirm that there's no other source of pain or inflammation, U might want to keep his britches shorter [a hygiene clip] so that his bum is easier to clean & comb.
I'd also suggest that U buy a basket-muzzle & introduce it as a "treat dispenser" so that he'll happily shove HIS OWN FACE willingly into the muzzle, & eventually, in 10-days to 2-weeks, he'll patiently stand to have the buckle fastened.
This is how U intro a muzzle, & mark / reward the dog's interactions with it:
- terry
.
as above, to the VET immediately, & have him examined & cleaned-up, if need be under sedation -
pain can make anyone, human or non-, guard the painful area vigilantly, & can make treatment impossible without either restraint, or preferably, meds on board.
Sedation is preferred b/c it won't leave a frightening memory of pain, to sow more seeds of resistance & bad feelings for future visits to the vet, or for future grooming sessions at home. // He's a mandatory-grooming breed, there's no option to leave him au naturel, so he's got to be groomed tangle-free to the skin all over at least once a week, preferably twice weekly, & he must be tangle-free before entering the bathtub & being clippered or scissor-cut, every 4 to 8-weeks, for his lifetime.
There's just no wiggle-room for "letting it go" - every 6-weeks is a reasonable schedule for the groomer's salon, but every day he needs detangling in problem areas at home [armpits, groin, petticoats, neck / ear area on both sides, tail] & then once or twice a week, a full comb-out clear to his skin.
Do U have long hair, @Nina2000 ? - I ask b/c folks with short hair may not be aware that there's a right way & wrong way to detangle.
The wrong way starts at the scalp or the base of the hairshaft, & tries to comb out to the ends; all that does is pile-up the tangles somewhere in the middle, in a massive knot, & it inevitably pulls on the skin painfully.
Ouch!...The right way starts at the tips of the hair, holding ONE SECTION of hair firmly & gently detangling that section only, working from the hair ends > inward < toward the skin, going DOWN the hairshaft... always holding the hair section with one hand, & the S/S comb or rubber-backed pin brush with the other. Holding the hair-section firmly, with a little slack in the "skin" side of the section, prevents the comb or brush from pulling on the roots of the hairs.
U can re-train any dog to be more accepting of grooming or handling, if they've had bad experiences in the past -
DS / CC works on any reactive issue, so U simply pair happy events [food, to start] with the "bad" event, & over time, the new associations of happy things with that event create a new emotional response.
Once the tangles & poop are gone, & he's had a thoro whole-body exam to confirm that there's no other source of pain or inflammation, U might want to keep his britches shorter [a hygiene clip] so that his bum is easier to clean & comb.
I'd also suggest that U buy a basket-muzzle & introduce it as a "treat dispenser" so that he'll happily shove HIS OWN FACE willingly into the muzzle, & eventually, in 10-days to 2-weeks, he'll patiently stand to have the buckle fastened.
This is how U intro a muzzle, & mark / reward the dog's interactions with it:
- terry
.
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Do hope Nina comes back to let us know how her little dog is doing and if she took him to the vets.
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Agreed, its all too easy to get into a situation where you cant see the wood for the trees. I think all of us have been there at some time or other. But its always nice to know if and how a person manages to solve the problem once they've been brave enough to take the first step.
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Absolutely. @Nina2000 I do hope you didn't feel we were criticising you - we simply want the best for your dog, as you do. And so often when we tell ourselves we can't do something, with a bit of urging from others - we can
My groomer shaves Dudleys bum area every four weeks when she baths him and trims his face.Having a bichon coat I worry it will get poo stuck in it otherwise. He gets clipped every 8 weeks or his coat gets really long and curly. I understand Schi tzu also have non moulting coats so maybe a more frequent bum shave may help
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