Many dog owners do not realize that as their dog becomes older, they tend to be a lot more sensitive to things. This can often lead to pain or fear induced aggression and they can even become aggressive during light play. This of course worries the owner and they have no idea why it is happening.
What to Do To Help You Aging Dog
The main thing that you can do for your aging dog is to study how they are acting. Do you notice that things are becoming more and more difficult for them? If you know that your dog is struggling, it will not surprise you too much if they seem a little cranky one day. One example could be if you are helping the dog to get up the stairs. They may hurt themselves on the way up and they could take it out on you.
Many times the dog will bite you because they feel that you are going to force them to do something which will be painful to them. Pain induced aggression can be a big problem but as long as you are sensitive to why your dog is in pain and if you do not force them to do anything then you should be ok.
Children and older dogs can be a dangerous mix as children are full of energy and they do not realize that the dog has gotten older. This means that they could try and play rough and excitedly with the dog and that is when they can get attacked. So always watch your older dog around children and do not let the children man handle the dog as that simply is not fair and you will be literally asking for trouble. If you can, try and keep the children away from the dog altogether. Inform them that the dog is not feeling very well and it needs to be by itself for a while.
Other dogs in your household may also be causing problems for your older dog and in that case you will need to stop them from playing with them. Younger dogs can cause an older dog a lot of pain unintentionally and that can lead to serious aggression from the older dog. So as soon as you notice the dog becoming tired during play, separate the dogs and allow the older one to relax and calm down.
Overall if you look after your older dog you will end up with a happy, content dog. Make sure that you make life as easy as possible for them and never allow anybody or anything to be too rough with them.
