I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or could help.
A little background. I rescued a Pointer mix in March of 05. Two days after I got her she whelped 10 puppies. I went against my better judgement (2 puppies, same sex) since my sister wanted 2 of the pups and adopted 2 males to her. She took them home at 8 weeks. The sire of the pups was (possibly) a Rottweiler/Swiss Mountain Dog.
The pups are now almost 18 months old. They have been to basic obedience. They have been raised around children and are (were?) the friendliest dogs you could ever meet.
They are VERY hyper and energetic. They get one long walk per day and although they are kept in a 30x30 kennel they are allowed access to a huge fenced yard 2-3 times per day for an hour each time to fetch, swim, and play. They sleep inside the house every night.
My sister lives a few hours away so I do not see them all the time. The last time I saw them they were IMO very good natured. Not aggressive in any way shape or form. Also, at that time, about 2 months ago they weighed between 90 and 100 pounds.
I really never thought they would get that big because their mother weighs 40 pounds but I guess you never know.
Apparently from what my sister says the last 2 weeks or so she has seen a change. Those are her words. I don't know if she can read dog language very well so the signs may have been there longer, she just never recognized them.
One of the dogs, Barkley, upon coming in to go to bed at night will bark nonstop, throw himself around and generally cause chaos. He used to just come in and lay down and go to sleep. When he gets corrected, verbaly, with a hard stare and no nonsense attitude that will cause Whiskey the other dog to growl at my sister and show teeth.
Then, the other morning she tried to get Barkley to go outside but he wouldn't. She took him by his collar and started walking him to the door and then he started growling with teeth showing.
They are both intact
but have appoinments to be fixed next week. I advised to up the formal training and keep them seperate as much as possible except for some play times.
My sister is at her wits end. I think she bit off more than she can chew. But, since I rescue and adopt I knew they would have the best vet care, attention, and love possible. Good homes are so hard to find and my sister is an animal lover just like me.
Any suggestions? Or should we just go with what I already suggested? Basicaly neutering and training.