Posted in another dog subreddit but thought it worth trying here as well. I have a small (18 lbs) senior dog who is fear-reactive, historically to certain types of touch/handling and with predictable triggers. Last week he pretty abruptly escalated to a very scary and unpredictable level of aggression towards us in the home (e.g. snapping any time I try to put his leash on, doing what looks like confused resource/territory guarding, which is new), and we have no idea what triggered it. He bit me hard during the worst of this new phase (level 3 or 4, I’d think), and he does have a bite history.
We are desperate to get him to the vet to see if there is something physical/neurological going on, but they (understandably) said they won’t see him without a muzzle. He is not fully muzzle trained at this point and I am not able to get him into a muzzle without resorting to force, which I know will only worsen things. My partner doesn’t feel safe around the dog under the current circumstances and we can’t properly care for him as things stand.
Any advice on what to do at this point? I am at a loss—he needs to be evaluated by a vet, but without the muzzle I’m not sure how to make that happen. Would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions that folks have, especially if you have dealt with something similar.
We are desperate to get him to the vet to see if there is something physical/neurological going on, but they (understandably) said they won’t see him without a muzzle. He is not fully muzzle trained at this point and I am not able to get him into a muzzle without resorting to force, which I know will only worsen things. My partner doesn’t feel safe around the dog under the current circumstances and we can’t properly care for him as things stand.
Any advice on what to do at this point? I am at a loss—he needs to be evaluated by a vet, but without the muzzle I’m not sure how to make that happen. Would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions that folks have, especially if you have dealt with something similar.