One of my home aide clients and her husband have two dogs, a Boston Terrier and a medium Poodle (not sure of the technical term, but it’s definitely not a standard Poodle and is roughly the size of the Boston). Both purebred.
The Boston is 13-14 and has been there since puppyhood. She is definitely getting older. Hearing and vision not as good as they used to be, and she’s on some kind of medication (heart, I think). She has to take running starts to jump up on the couch and such. I am more a cat person than a dog person, but this one is pretty neat as far as smaller dogs go, I think. Rarely barks. She has a whole vocabulary of Tasmanian devil-like sounds, grunts and grumbles, which they say she has always done. Definitely expresses herself but steadier than the Poodle.
Poodle is 7-8ish and has been there since puppyhood. They were actually looking for another Boston but having trouble finding a puppy, and someone gave them the poodle for a gift, probably figuring that one smallish black(ish) dog was similar to another. They didn’t want to refuse the well-intentioned gift. Poodle IMHO probably isn’t the best bred. Neurotic hyperbarker. Very shrill. Goes into spastic barks at passing vehicles, passing leaves, passing ghosts, etc. Still has to bark 5 minutes at me, and she’s known me for months. Never struck me as aggressive barking or a threat when she’s dancing around my feet yapping away, but definitely nervous.
There is no doubt that the Boston is their favorite. These people have about 100 ceramic Boston terriers in their living room (and they are a lot of fun to dust, let me tell you). They have an oil painting of their first Boston, and they still have eyes welling up when they talk about that one. But both dogs are well cared for. Both are fixed. There being two people, there is basically always a lap for each available when they are there, and I have seen both dogs in both laps. Both sleep with them at night.
Both get exercise; the people have about a 3-acre yard with invisible fence and with lots of gardening, landscaping, etc. The husband is very often out doing something around the yard, and the dogs go out all the time. The Poodle bounces around the whole yard and barks at leaves and such. The Boston is the absolute shadow of the husband when she’s out with him and can be found three feet away wherever he is in the yard.
Lately, per client’s stories over the last several weeks and per what I’ve seen myself, the Poodle has started showing aggression toward the Boston. Apparently she never had before. It started with treats. They each get a chew stick treat every morning. The Poodle started (new practice) not eating her chew stick but just leaving it there in the floor. She wouldn’t hover over it, but if the Boston turned that way to sniff or check out the abandoned treat, the Poodle would growl and bark and push her back. Almost seemed like taunting the other dog with it. The Poodle would sometimes take a few hours to actually eat her treat, but she made sure the other dog both knew it was there and didn’t come close. Her definition of not coming close has gradually expanded. It’s gotten to the point where the Poodle objects if the Boston leaves the tiled kitchen while the treat is in the carpeted living room.
Poodle has also started growling when the Boston walks too close to whatever lap Poodle is in. Again, the definition of too close has expanded slowly. Client and husband scold the Poodle and sometimes put her out for this. I heard the growling myself two shifts ago, and the Poodle definitely sounded serious.
This morning, the Boston was feeling good. She actually got to playing with a squeak toy. I don’t know if this was related to what happened later or not, but I’d never seen it happen before. People say the Boston plays with squeak toys on her especially good-feeling days and that the Poodle usually ignores toys. But while I was in the living room, the Boston was squeaking away, shaking the thing, and clearly having fun.
A little later, when the playing had been stopped for a while, the Poodle was in the husband’s lap. Boston was at the other end of the living room, about 15 feet away - large living room. The Poodle suddenly, no growling, launched herself at the Boston clear across the room. Everybody yelled, and the Poodle stopped at the yelling, though she did bowl the Boston over and looked ready to go in for a bite. She was looking at the client and husband, both yelling (both take a long time to get up with their lift recliners - could not move fast). She then clearly thought about going after the Boston again. Husband called her, and she reluctantly went to him, stopping a few times to look back.
Appealing to those more knowledgeable about dogs, what is going on here? These dogs have lived peaceably together in the house for years (though the Poodle has always been neurotic). The only new factor seems to be that the Boston is failing physically, though she’s still enjoying life. Is the Poodle trying to push her out? Will this likely continue to escalate? And what can two people with impaired balance who cannot move quickly to intervene do to help this situation?
