Whippets

[devon dave]

My mother has three whippets 9, 8, and 3, recently the two youngest whippets have started attacking the older one for no apparent reason. Has anybody got any ideas why and whay can she do about it. I am slightly concerned for my mother who is in her 70's

[icemaiden]

Dogs will naturally pick on the weakest of the pack and if she/he cannot fight back then they will do it even more. If it gets too bad, she will need to separate them before they really injure him/her.

[woofgang]

Dogs don't "naturally" pick on the weakest of the pack unless there is a reason for them to do so. can your mum use something like a baby gate to keep the oldest one safe for now while you work out what has changed and what is happening then there might be a solution.

[kita1]

Your mother should get the older dog checked over by a vet asap.

Dogs can often pick up subtle signs of illness that we cannot see.

Any sudden changes in behaviour should be checked by a vet before any other action (like training) to rule out any medical cause.

[Ratty2E]

I agree with Kita. The older dog maybe giving off a scent that is upsetting the other 2 and it could be a sign of disease. There may of course be some other reason but I would get the health checked first. Obviously the older one should be kept away from the others in the meantime.