Serious Problems - Please Help!!

[dhernandez]

Guys, I am having some serious problems right now with my dog, Yoshi. He is about 7 and half months old. Two days ago we left him with my mom and he was acting up. He peed all over and she hit him for it. When we got there, he was just laying there looking sad. He hasn't been the same since then. Yesterday, he just sat around all day and did absolutely nothing. We are all boxer owners here, so I know you guys know the energy these guys bring, but he has lost it. He does nothing at all. No jumping, barking, whining...nothing. Yoshi hates to be alone. He never voluntarily goes in his cage when we go off to work, but yesterday morning, after I took him out to use the bathroom, he just went to the cage and laid in there. He never ever does that. He didn't even eat. When my wife got home yesterday, she took him out and he just would sit by her and do nothing. He didn't want to eat anything. She tried the things he dies for like cheese and yogurt, but he still wouldn't eat. When she tried to feed him again, he bit her on the lip and she got cut very very badly. She had to be rushed to the emergency room for stitches. We got home and he was the same lifeless dog he was earlier. I got him to eat a little, but you can tell he isn't the same. I actually broke our 'no human food' rule and fed him some turkey cause I didn't know what to do. He looked like he enjoyed it as long as I fed it to his mouth. I put another piece on the floor in front of him to see if he'd move and he wouldn't. He just sat there and looked into the distance. I am really worried and don't know what to do now. He doesn't want to listen at all to us. He was never anything like this. He was so nice, always obedient except for occasional chewing on things or crying. We may have babied him a bit. We don't know if dog classes are the answer...or giving him time to get over whatever it is. Should we give him up? We were told to report him to animal control, but we love him soooo much. We are newly weds and plan to have a baby in a year or so. Can we trust him around our baby?? We have so many questions now. I'm sorry for the long write-up here, I'm just worried. By the way, he is getting neutered next Saturday. He hasn't been neutered yet because one of his testicles haven't dropped and they wanted to wait cause it would be hard to get to it. They said it was too small. Anyways, we heard that may help, but we don't know too much :(

 

[angleheart]

It could be a few different things. 1.) Where and how hard did she hit him? Maybe he's hurt. 2.) Maybe he is not feeling well or was scared of something hence the peeing all over in the first place, 3.) He's feelings are probably hurt - boxer's are very sensitive. Maybe it's a combo of these things. Good luck, I hope it's nothing serious and I hope that when you said your Mom hit him that you only meant a gentle smack on the butt to get his attention and not something worse :( Please keep up posted.

 

[crowpete]

Wow not sure what to tell ya. Where did your mom hit him... Face, butt, side? Did she hit him with her hand or something else? If he is not eating and acting this strange you might want to talk with a vet. I hope someone will be able to help you out more. Please let us know how he is!

 

[gmacleod]

I think the first thing you need to do is take the dog to a vet to be looked at. I'd be telling you that even if you hadn't started your story with the bit about your mother hitting him. ANY sudden behaviour change like that warrants a doctor taking a look, most especially if it persists more than a day or so. Really, when a dog is behaving listlessly and so out of character, the first thing to rule out is a physical problem.

 

[dhernandez]

Is there any way I could tell if he's hurt? I don't know how hard it was, but she said he was peeing and she kicked him in the side to stop him...not very hard...but I don't know. I didn't see it. I do know that my mom isn't a violent person though. She loves the dog too and she'd never give the guy a full force hit. Nothing that would severely hurt him. My wife thinks he may have been kicked when he was a baby and it is bringing back old memories? Last night, when we got back from the hospital, I was rubbing all over his body to see if I saw anything. I kind of pushed down on him (just a light pressure) to see if he had any kind of reaction of pain. He never flinched, so I assumed he wasn't hurt badly. I completely massaged him down...trying to cheer him up. I kept calling him a good boy. I hugged him, anything to let him know it is ok (my wife did the same). I also forgot to mention that when I brought him in from using the potty at night, all the hair on his back was straight up. I've heard this is a sign of anger or agression?? I tried brushing it down with my hand to see if it was that he slept oddly or something, but it stayed up. Then he just sat there by the back door and wouldn't move for at least 10 minutes. The only time he showed any activity was when I took him outside and started to run. He lightly jogged, trailing me. Usually he'll put into another gear and outrun me, but he didn't. He did just enough to ensure that I didn't drag him or choke him. I really hope it is just that his feelings are hurt, but what do I do in that case? Do I continue to try and cheer him up more? I don't know if he'll become hostile again. I still have no idea why he bit my wife. She's always very good to him. She lays on the couch with him and treats him like he's her baby. I have no idea why he'd do that to her. I don't know if we can trust him to not hurt other people randomly.

 

[HurricaneBox]

I would get him to a vet pronto to rule out any physical reason for his behaviour... my concern, knowing that your mom hit him, is that he may be injured and has no way to tell you he is hurting. Even if she says she didn't hit him too hard, I would still have him checked out, in the heat of the moment she may have struck him harder than she remembers. Another reason I would get him checked is that this behaviour seems to have started very suddenly... another clue that it may have a physical cause rather than poor Yoshi just going psycho on you all of a sudden.

 

[dhernandez]

I think the first thing you need to do is take the dog to a vet to be looked at. I'd be telling you that even if you hadn't started your story with the bit about your mother hitting him. ANY sudden behaviour change like that warrants a doctor taking a look, most especially if it persists more than a day or so. Really, when a dog is behaving listlessly and so out of character, the first thing to rule out is a physical problem.

I think we may need to do that. We were told before that if his testicle doesn't drop, it could cause a lot of pain for him...and possibly lead to cancer. He is getting them removed next Saturday. So do I wait til then with the problem since we have an appointment? Do I see if there is any chance they could move that date up?

 

[jerzegirl]

I would suggest he needs to see a vet. A.S.A.P. It sounds like a something could be wrong with him health wise. I can't imagine getting hit one day being the cause of the complete change of behaviour and personality. I mean, just think about all the cases of animal abuse and the dog still loves the one who causes the pain. I'm sure many of us can admit (maybe only to ourselves!!) that we've lost our tempers with our dogs sometime in their lifetime and it hasn't had an impact on their behaviour.

Is it possible he got into something at your moms? (Or maybe before that?) Is he having normal bowel movements?

Have you been acting the same to him? I have a very sensitive lab and if I'm acting sad, she acts sad. Could you be feeding him sad/negative energy?

My main thought is that he needs to see a vet to rule out any health problems first. Hope he feels better =)

 

[gmacleod]

Forget trying to cheer him up. It's not his feelings that are hurt - it's his body. Or at very least, it sounds very much like it. You NEED to get a doctor to look at this dog to see if he is or isn't seriously injured. A kick in the side, hard or otherwise, can potentially damage internal organs. If it's not abundantly clear to you by now, that sort of thing can be life-threatening. It simply isn't worth the risk not to get him medical attention quickly. Don't wait until saturday - take him now.

Honestly, you've got so many signals there that your dog may be seriously hurt. You need to see a vet quickly to find out whether he is or isn't. It's not something to mess around with.

PS: pilo-erection if NOT a sign of aggression. It is most commonly a sign of fear, but can also be a pain reaction (as can be biting).

 

[HurricaneBox]

I agree with gmacleod, don't wait until your appointment, get him in now. Its not worth the risk to wait.