Why did the temperament of my grandma's Border Collie change?
Why did the temperament of my grandma's Border Collie change? General Dog Discussions
Ok, this is a dog that has always been soooo sweet and happy and eager to please. We have taken him to the groomer, the vet and stuff before, and he has NEVER been the least bit aggressive (just a major leash puller). But, I took him the groomer the other day with my grandma (his owner) and he's had at least 3 professional groomings before so it wasn't a brand new experience. He snapped at the groomer after we had been there for only one minute. This groomer was just asking us what we wanted done, and just ran his hand thru the fur to check the length. Then a different groomer actually did the grooming and at the end SHE said he tried to snap at her several times during the grooming! (He looked great though so we gave her a good tip for her troubles lol).Then at the vet (the same day) the female Vet Assistant tried to listen to his heart/lungs with a stethoscope and he tried to snap at her too!!! Then when the vet came in (a man who has seen the dog since he was 12 weeks old) he rubbed his ears and it all good. Then I am not sure what happened, but the dog got scared again and snapped, and then tried to snap again!! It was starting to creep me out because this is COMPLETELY out of character for this dog!!!Vet went to get a muzzle and I put it on the dog (with no trouble, the dog trusts me). I tried very hard to calm the dog down (while staying calm myself) and make him feel comfortable but it didn't work.The dog is about 3 years old. Purebred. Lots of energy of course. The dog mostly stays outdoors in their HUGE yard. Sometimes there are sheep back there, sometimes not (grandma lets a relative house his sheep there when he wants). The dog is never walked on a leash (I've tried in the past with some progress made, but since I don't live there to do it daily he reverts back to PULLING the leash). June of 2008 he weighed 50lbs (as a full grown adult dog). June 2009 he weighed 62lbs! The weight gain mostly happened over winter and it was definitely noticeable. Grandma gives her dog way too many treats. Vet talked to her about it and I reiterated everything.BUT WHY? Why would his behavior change so much? Grandma has had this dog since dog was around 12 weeks (maybe even younger). Dog is around 3 years old now. Never acted like that before. What set him off? Was it just a bad day? Too much activity in one day? (But the snapping started right off the bat so I don't really think that was it). I'm afraid that he will hurt strangers that come by her house now and that maybe my grandma will either get sued, or worse have to put the dog down! But originally I never thought that dog could hurt a fly!!