Morning all, My daughter’s Patterdale bitch who is usually well behaved towards the family has just started to be a bit snappy. Not all the time mostly in the evening. She took her to the vets in case she had something wrong physically but she was fine but the vet suggested it may be caused by a disruption to her routine and lack of time on her own owing to lockdown and people at home all the time. Does this ring true? Any of you terrier lads got any suggestions or advice. Thanks.
Patterdale terrier mental health issues
- Thread starter Skye
- Start date
It's a patterdale they are all mental !Kids around ?? Let it have it's own space and time alone , dont make a fuss , could well be ****ed off with too much hassle/disruption , if anything gets pushed about to much it will snap at some point !! Hard to say with out more info unfortunately, but there is usually a cause
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
how old is the bitch? could be first season? could just be that she is a working terrier with too much energy not enough stimulation. id try to give her a hell of a long walk near a river to keep cool
Jon P
Well-Known Member
I have had a few patterdales over the years, some can just be mental as it is bred into some lines to be that way. I have had one particular dog that would kill a bitch after he mated it ( nuttall breeding) unfortunately to my friends cost. This bitch is Possibly Coming to an age to start working and it is frustrated, possibly been allowed to rag toys when person hanging on the other end , now thinks it acceptable to get nippy, feeding from the table and a bit spoilt and now feeling its feet, Could be lot, plenty of physical and mental exercise, wife got one youngster now and he does at least 100 miles a month on walks with her , he is calm and social so far,
crow killer
Well-Known Member
We have a 6 year old black Patterdale, only had her about 2 months, owner had died, shes really well behaved and a perfect dog.
Very friendly, does like to rag and shake her toys usually in the evening, recently we thought she was having a fake pregnancy as she was carrying a few toys about and put them all into her bed, very clean dog, I would think she will be a killer if given the chance, but shes never bitten us.
Very friendly, does like to rag and shake her toys usually in the evening, recently we thought she was having a fake pregnancy as she was carrying a few toys about and put them all into her bed, very clean dog, I would think she will be a killer if given the chance, but shes never bitten us.
jimmy milnes
Well-Known Member
My ex used to call my terrier a ****erdale 
BuckarooUK
Well-Known Member
Watch the dog very carefully. We had one who started developing different behaviour patterns and everyone just said they're naturally individuals or outright mad. It got to a point where the dog would only climb up the stairs backwards and would only step on specific tiles in the kitchen. All sorts of nutty stuff but still a great worker. The vet couldn't find a cause.
Everyone else just laughed it away but it didn't seem right. He even turned on the Chesapeakes and I had to pry his jaws off the bitch's throat. The aggression came from nowhere.
Then he started having fits. The fits developed in only a week from none to about a dozen a day. The vet offered drugs that would take 3 weeks to a month to either work or not. No guarantees and a suggestion that we could then 'try' other stuff when they didn't work. I wasn't putting the dog through weeks of constant fits, disorientation and fear so had him put down.
The point is that now aware of his condition, I've since heard of similar issues with similar breeds . Don't be swayed by others suggestions or dismiss it's behaviour change. You know your own dog.
Everyone else just laughed it away but it didn't seem right. He even turned on the Chesapeakes and I had to pry his jaws off the bitch's throat. The aggression came from nowhere.
Then he started having fits. The fits developed in only a week from none to about a dozen a day. The vet offered drugs that would take 3 weeks to a month to either work or not. No guarantees and a suggestion that we could then 'try' other stuff when they didn't work. I wasn't putting the dog through weeks of constant fits, disorientation and fear so had him put down.
The point is that now aware of his condition, I've since heard of similar issues with similar breeds . Don't be swayed by others suggestions or dismiss it's behaviour change. You know your own dog.
My wife had a Westie that started off exactly the same (except climbing backwards). Progressively got worse. Took it to the vet who suggested it was probably a brain tumour. Wife made a brave decision and had it put down.
reiver
Well-Known Member
I like that it suits us cumbrians its the fells you know??My ex used to call my terrier a ****erdale
reiver
Well-Known Member
Bit drastic to shoot the kid don’t you think . !!!!!
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
some kids need a firm hand!!
Rutland lad
Well-Known Member
Agree with both of these. And seen it one of my own terriers once. Sadly he was 10 years old then and just wouldn't stop attacking the other dog in the house. We had small children then, so I'm sad to say he had to go to the Vets and not return. I still feel guilty but I would've felt a lot worse had one of the kids been in the middle of it.
I knew that dog well but this change in his behaviour was strange and unaccounted for.
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