PREFACE: I haven't visited the forum in quiet awhile, so I know LOTS of new people have been added. Please, before commenting, go through my old posts if you don't understand something. This will save you and myself a whole lot of time. Also, don't post anything snarky. I won't pay you any attention.

So, those of you who are my FB friends may or may not have noticed that I've been awfully quiet with posts about Sheba.. I literally don't know what to do anymore.

Even before I got Kyzer (my almost 6 month old Standard Poodle puppy) things had been getting worse with her. Her "outbursts" as I called them had been getting worse, and I chalked it up to her and Luna (past foster dog) just not being compatible. Then Kyzer came, and of course there were a couple moments of tension. She hadn't really gone after him to hurt him, more to prove a point, but her actions were still reflective of her guarding tenancies. She was corrected when she tried to guard, and for a little bit things seemed to be better. She was giving more signals before she lashed out, which she hadn't been previously doing.

Then, things just got worse and worse. She started going after Kennedy, which she has only done a handful of times as she does have respect for her. She was always corrected. Now, I HAVE NEVER AND WILL NEVER HIT MY DOG. She was put into her crate to give her time to chill out in her own space. After she started going after Kennedy, she started going after Kyzer, too. Unlike Kennedy, Kyzer cannot defend himself. She never went after him with the tenaciousness she did Kennedy, but she would still randomly lash out at him, especially when Kennedy and him would play and she had taken it upon herself to decide playtime was over.

So, while she had started to pick fights more, she had started to lash out at me too. I repeat, I HAVE NEVER HIT HER. I would get them a part and grab her to take her to her kennel and first she started to grumble at me. I told her "NO" when she did it, and she stopped. Then she open mouth growled, which progressed to her showing her teeth at me, to when she actually went after my boyfriend. Literally went after him to bite. She then tried to go after me as well. I was completely taken aback that she would try to bite me, so I completely left her alone for the day. When I tried to let her out, she rushed her kennel door and tried to bite me. She has since done this three different times.

Tonight though, shit hit the fan. She attacked Kennedy... OVER A BUG. A DAMN BUG. She went after her so viciously, Kennedy SHIT and PISSED herself, and we had to take her to the vet for a large gash in her leg and a suspected broken leg. Thankfully, she was just bitten in the wrong spot in between her tendons, nothing is broken. I broke them a part with a baby gate and Sheba THEN attacked the baby gate and when I got a slip lead over her she tried to attack the lead. Chris and I had to get her on the ground and rig a muzzle on her. After we got back from the vet, I went to Sheba's kennel and she immediately puffed up at me and got that hard, cold look in her eye. I tossed her some treats and softly talked to her. She didn't eat any of them and just bared her teeth at me.

I have no idea what I am going to do with her.... She is getting more and more unpredictable, and we have NEVER stopped working with her, I even upped our training. We have been doing trading up training, boundary training, BAT... I just don't know what to do. I'm starting to fear the worst...

Kelsey, I am so sorry you are going through this. I am sort of new here, yet I have read some of your post. Bad thing is I don't know 2 things, 1 were Sheba or Kennedy rescues? and 2 which one came to you first.

I will never be snarky, that's not how I roll, I'd rather try and help and if I can't at least give moral support.

Renee

Sheba and Kennedy were both rescues. Kennedy was here first, she is about 4-5 years old. Sheba just turned 2.

I got Kennedy from a shelter at 1-2 years old and Sheba as an 8 week old puppy.

I understand that some female huskies can become territorial, especially to other females, and if they are a dominate, which sounds like she is. Have you explored seeing a professional, as far as Sheba's dominate tendencies? Or have you been trying on your own?

Definitely not saying you are incapable, however when things escalate, bringing in someone who may have experience may help. Adding the third may have broken up the harmony, if you will. Kyzer may have added a dimension, that you don't see, but as a group or pack, they do.

Although I have a cat, and we got Miya as a pup, she occasionally shows signs that she is "jealous" of the cat, other times peace and harmony. Miya will be 2 in November, and I slowly introduced them when Miya was a baby, the cat is 14 years old. They have lived under the same roof for almost a year. I'm saying all of this to show how huskies can get touchy if they feel secondary, when they have natural tendencies to be the dominate one. It's an hierarchy thing,

When Kennedy was in the hospital, Sheba became top dog. She may see Kennedy as weaker. Many people don't believe in pack mentality, and I don't buy all of it myself. However, there has been a lot of stress in your household for awhile now, and they feed off of that stress. The more stressed and upset you get the more misbehaving they get. Then they start to question guidance and authority, buck the system. Teenagers will do it with the parents, etc. If you're not calm, cool, and collected, your dogs will not be as well.

Hi first of all is wow your in quite the tough situation. I feel like from her first little outbursts to how worse it has gotten now it might be medical. Like a hormone imbalance or tumor that has gotten worse overtime. I suggest going to the vet immediately for a full blood work up. If that doesn't turn up any results then you should consult a few behaviorists. And I say a few because if one persons methods don't work someone else's could. But in the meantime keep her separated from the other dogs, like as completely separated as you can, don't let her see or hear them. They might be some sort of trigger for her aggression.

I went though something similar but soo different as you. My dog(this one was a beagle) became extremely aggressive to us but his aggression became present when he was around 3 months old but came out of absolutely nowhere, no sort of trigger just nowhere. To there point where he surprise attacked my mom on two occasions and both times got a big chunk of flesh. People we consulted said that because there was no trigger it wasn't something that could be fixed. He was Pts at 10 months. Good news for you is that it sounds like Sheba has triggers maybe not just one but maybe more. Like I said it sounds more medical though.

If I can think of anything else I'll let you know. Keep me updated too. Good Luck

Dogs(imho, huskies and gsds specifically) have an inner sense, as in they know and smell things they we can not. There was a great thread I read from Jan. I was going to post, but felt the thread too old. Comments were similar. As a pup Miya was horrible, I mean I didn't want her because she would not listen to me, she pushed her limits with me, she wanted to be top dog. I could have thrown in the towel and let my husband deal with her and I would resolve to the fact that I would just avoid her. She was so pretty and when she was tired very loving to me. So I decided I had to do something different. I trained like no other, I gently yet firmly showed her I was the boss and most importantly I never let her see me stressed. She respects me and behaves for me better than my husband now. He's a yeller, not a hitter(if so I would hit him back), she responds to him in a crazy manner when he yells at her. Good example, she has decided that our bed is her bed and why does kitty go on it, husbands yells at her to get down she gets the zoomies. When I approach her I calmly tell her Miya down, and she walks away and finds something else to do.

If you are not calm at all times they will misbehave, and yes biting is a lash out, misbehaving.

I also agree with MiyasMomma too

Keri, excellent advice as well. We put a kitten down for same reasons, clearly there was something wrong. separating the dogs is vital. Vet check as well. Although I seriously lean towards behavior.

I have always been the "alpha" in my household. My dogs have never challenged me, and when they tried, it was squashed immediately. I make a conscious effort to stay calm when a scuffle breaks out. I don't freak out, I don't have a melt down. I deal with the dogs, separate them, and make sure no one is injured.

I disagree that Sheba sees herself over Kennedy. She has *always* backed off when Kennedy has "told" her to. The only time she ever attacks her is when she has these almost metal breaks. She has always given Kennedy the respect she demands, save for her teenage phase when she was a general husky asshole.

Sheba has been seen by a behaviorist for her issues, along with a holistic vet. Basically, the behaviorist and the vet think she has something genetically wrong with her. When she has these...episodes if you will, she does not respond to anything. She won't respond to her name, to food, anything. It's like she is literally not in her mind, which is what the behaviorist said happens when she gets like this. It's hard to explain over the internet, but it's like she has no connection to her mind.

I have done a lot of research and I have talked to a lot of professionals and people I consider to be breed mentors. This is not something that is a "normal" problem. We have been working continuously with her since she started this behavior at about her teenage phase. I have done a lot of consultations with multiple trainers. No one has an answer for me, and if they do they haven't told me because I am preceived as a young owner who has minimal knowledge to what is going on. I know a lot more then people think I do, but of course I still have a lot to learn.

Sorry to hear of this problem you are facing.

Have you seen you vet about the issues? I ask this as I have heard of thyroid problems causing unprovoked aggressive behaviours. There could be an underlying medical issue, I don't know but it is worth checking out. The situation does sound dangerous so there may be a need for some medication to reduce the anxiety. Once medical conditions are rules out then I suppose further behavioural modification can be investigated.

Also, I don't let Sheba take matters into her own "hands". Anytime she tries to take control of a situation, she is firmly told "no, I got this". I also don't let her push her limits. It has been very clear to her that she is to treat Kennedy with respect ever since she was brought into my house, just as she was taught I made the rules and she follows them, not the other way around. Never has been that way. My dogs have never been allowed to throw their weight around with me in any way, shape, or form.

She has had a full work up done with no issues being found. She gets the full shabang once a year.

I get it, Kelsey, YES seek medical advice. Maybe a nerologist (spelling?) rule out the thyroid as Yonjuro says, then please see if it is something, god forbid, a brain tumor or the like, this can progress and alter behavior (mimics bad behavior/ bad behavior is all that is working if you will).

I don't care that you are young, internet gives so much info these days that people like my mom, 30 years ago training gsds, wished she had. I feel for you and you are in a dangerous situation for you and your other dogs. Please seek a good vet get tests and then take it from there. The kitten we put down, imho, had a neurological disorder that made this cat crazy and dangerous, it was too young to medically treat and did not have the time vested in it.

I will look into getting a thyroid test done and seeing where the closest brain vet (lol). I'm going to have to take a look at her insurance policy and see if I have any options. Right now, I don't have the funds for a brain vet..

this is from petplace

Behavioral seizures

Partial seizures occurring in a region of the brain that controls aggression (e.g. hypothalamus or limbic system) can result in sudden unprovoked aggression. Certain breeds of dogs are known for this sudden, haphazard, and sometimes violent form of aggression. Included are: Springer spaniels, cocker spaniels, Chesapeake Bay retrievers, bull terriers, poodles, and golden retrievers. The clinical signs of seizure-related aggression are completely different from any of the other types of aggression mentioned above. They are as follows:

A mood change just before the seizure.

Sudden violent aggression for trivial or no reason.

Signs of autonomic discharge (salivation, dilated pupils, and evacuation of anal sacs).

Aggressive posturing, more or less continuous during an attack lasting several minutes, hours or even days.

Following a bout, affected dogs often appear depressed and lethargic, unresponsive to commands, and may stare at a wall or simply sleep. An electroencephalogram (EEG) will often demonstrate abnormalities. Some dogs with this type of aggression may respond to treatment with anti-convulsants (e.g. phenobarbital).

Since she is a rescue you do not know everything that happened to her before you got her.

I found a clinic about an hour away that specializes in EEG. We will hopefully get a thyroid test done this week, and then go from there.

I didn't want to scare you, but I really believe you have done your homework, you are a great person taking in rescues, unfortunately with rescues you just don't know, she may have had a brain injury as a pup and it is now surfacing. I wish you luck, I know you need it, you've been hit with a lot lately.

Keep us posted, don't be shy, reach out to those of us that have huskies, we don't mind lending you a shoulder.

Renee

It's really rigorous (lol) to post about this when so many new people are added to the forum and I have to explain the situation over and over again. And I really hate thinking about everything that has happened with Sheba and my other dogs.. These past couple weeks were really the first time I thought I might have to put my baby to sleep, and it absolutely terrified me.

Thank you for that post. I had played around with the idea that could be a cause, but I just couldn't believe it.

I'm sorry you had rehash for me some, like I said i had read some of your post, specifically with your bloat problem with Kennedy. Most of the posts I have read of yours has been that and feeding, etc. You've been here for quite sometime. I haven't, however, I can't stand seeing someone(internet) loose their mind on dealing with their beloved pet. I have a lot of behavioral, training and nutrition know ledge, I don't mind and do enjoy sharing. But I also know that sometimes sharing with someone new may give you a different perspective, and maybe a new direction that you may not have thought of, those who know you better than myself may not have suggested a brain problem and chalked it up to poor breeding of a rescue. Take care, and I wish you and your beautiful dogs luck.

Fwiw, Kelsey, I'm dealing with cat dementia, and Miya is reaching the end of puppy/teenage phase. One can loose their mind easily, I like to think of this forum as a support group for people. We all go through day to day BS, when it's your pet, they can't talk to you, having an open ear or a sympathetic shoulder makes the day just a little bit easier to get through.

Also Kelsey if you google canine Neurological Disorders and aggression, you'll find a lot of info, could be diabetes as well.

Beyond getting neuro scans, I highly recommend contacting a trainer who specializes in aggression. One who can help you recognize minute signals, effectively prevent it from happening, and arm you with techniques so you don't get snapped at.

I wish it were that simple. I've brought in a trainer and she rarely gives signals before her outbursts. When I am micro managing her every move, I can see them and stop them. I know her signs like the back of my hand. We make sure no toys are on the ground, no food bowls, nothing Sheba could deem as "hers" to start a fight over...but when she starts to deem what space is hers, I have no control over that.