Sudden possessiveness after spey

Hi.

I have put this in the health section also for health advice but I thought I would also put it in here for any training advice on what I should do:

My dog was spayed on Thursday.

She in on painkillers with her food.

Thing is she growls when we go near her. She is eating her main meals but not interested in treats like she normally is. She gets excited when I get her lead out (her favourite thing is walks) and sort of dances round like she always has.

The problem is She is possessive over her blanket and bed which she NEVER is! She normall shares the beds with my 2 labs, who at this point get growled at all the time and back away from her.

She is a westie and she never growls or barks very much.

She wont come to me either! She has no interest in coming into the front room like she normally does and sitting with me. Its as if she is scared of another dog jumping in her bed if she comes out of it!!!!!!! This is not her at all. She normally always enjoys my company.

I took her to the vets this morning and they cant see anything wrong health wise!

My other bitch was speyed 2 weeks ago, and my 3rd bitch was spayed last year. Neither of them had behavioural changes of this extreme (other than generally sleepy and a bit off their food).

I tried bringing her in to sit with me, but as soon as i put her at the side of me she ran off and snarled at my other dogs as she ran passed them and went straight into her bed!

Can anyone offer advice? thanks

she is probably just sore and sensitive and doesnt want to risk the other dogs jumping on her or touching her to cause her discomfort.
If iw ere you i wouldnt worry at all, just let her have her own quiet place and dont allow the others to bother her.
Im sure she will return to her old self in a few days.
Remember every dog reacts differently to pain.

I agree she could be feeling uncomfortable and wanting to be left alone, there is a possibility of a false pregnancy kicking in which is not unheard of after a spay.
Hope she is back to her normal self soon

Jeanette

Hiya.

I have a feeling no matter how long I leave her this sudden possiveness is not going to go.

She will run into the front room but as soon as another dog goes near the door way to go into the kitchen she barks n runs straight into her bed. She is snapping at them all the time.

But yet if I take the bed up she will lay with them!!!!!

I dont know what to do on this issue.

Hi, sorry to hear about this. Keep her calm and quiet and don't lift her for a while, the running off from your lap *may* have been pain related, can't tell but it may have been.

Do you know at what point in her cycle she was spayed?
I e when was her last season?

Did she show any signs of phantom pregnancy? I am guessing no..

Wys
x

Hiya.

She was 3 months after her last season.

She had no signs of a phantom pregnancy and the vet when I took her yesterday said she had no signs such as milk or anything.

I have removed both beds and now she is happy to lay with my other 2 dogs on the floor!!!

So it just shows me that it is posessiveness like I thought it was and not pain (although obviously I know she ill still be in pain).

So now my question is what do I do? They are in the front room on the fluffly carpet now, but at night I have to put them back in the kitchen so I will have to put their beds down again. So the possessiveness will start again.

Ok well she was certainly spayed at the right time, which is good

Is the guarding a totally new behaviour, only happened after her spay?

If so then it very probably is somehow spay related. It could either be pain or some other reason probably related to the spay.

Is she on any other medication?

I suspect she may be possessive because if she's in pain, then the labs on the same bed may be upsetting her.Can you separate them for a few days/week or so? It may mean that she still gets possessive of the bed at a later stage, but if she's in pain then better to make her comfort a priority and then work out what to do about any problems later. It is likely that once her pain has gone, she may allow the labs back on with her, if she's never shown this before.

Wys
x

It is a totally new behaviour. I even took her to the vets the other day to see if there was something wrong with her, but they checked her over and felt round the scar and they said she is in no other discomfort than to be expected.

Even when I go near her when she is in her bed she growls.

But last night I took the beds up and she was playing with my other two in the front room and she curled up with them and was trying to get on the sofa (which i obviously stopped) and doing her normal stuff. Its as if she feels she has to protect her bed, when her bed isnt there she is normal.

Its so weird. Never been protective over anything before.