Jake bit my dad!

[rubybella]

Sorry, but Barbara Woodhouse died when I was a teenager, so she has never had any influence over me!

For your information I never disturb my dogs when they are sleeping, but my dogs often lie in beds and are not asleep. My dogs are more than happy to have strokes and tummy rubs lying in their beds.

If you have multiple dogs in a household you have to create an environment where no dog 'owns'  a particular bed, space or toy, otherwise you set yourself up for fights and aggression between dogs. When my 7 year old rescue came to me in foster she decided that the crate was hers, if my other dogs went near it she growled, so the crate was shut and only opened when I needed her to go in it, if I went out and at night. The guarding stopped. She also tried to guard tennis balls, so they were removed from the house and garden, and only used on walks for all the dogs to play with. She soon learnt that tennis balls weren't just hers. 9 months on, we have tennis balls all over the garden and house and she shows no guarding tendency at all.

Yes, I am in charge of my dogs, they aren't allowed to do just what they want to do. I work with a rescue, the dogs that come in with most issues, come from homes where they can do just what they like and are not given any boundaries or rules to follow. A friend had a young spaniel cross who guarded, if it chose to lay on the sofa they couldn't sit on the sofa because it would growl at them, so they left it to have the sofa to itself, what is that telling the dog ? He had to be rehomed due to his guarding behaviour getting worse.

[phoenix]

C-philips, I would go along with the anxiety idea.  I joined the forum ten years ago, and I experienced very serious behaviour disorder, as did Karma and Archie Bean at the same time.    My pup showed a problem from day one,  no help from the breeder.   He didn't guard specialtoys.  Anything, just what he fancied at the moment,   And if it's  on the floor, it's mine. Removing things by order was impossible , I had to go out of the room and call him, he'd come happily , and then the item was rescued, or he didn't want it any more.  Then there was personal space issues  and the car saga.
Lots of dogs have problems from lack of training. Others have a mental problem, and most people don't experience it. It's terrifying, and if your dog has drawn blood, that's where you are.   We changed our coping mechanism, and I kept him safe from stress.   Now I have two dogs easy with people, I realise now the years of tension we had, nearing divorce.   In retrospect, I have accepted that like some people, he needed a non sedating prescription drug to reduce his anxiety.   There could have been a serotonin  or dopamine type problem.  His impulse control and stress levels needed help.
 I don't want to frighten you , but as other people less aware of his problem at the moment are involved,  consider this option.     Also , leave them to relax undisturbed,  and perhaps try not using the crate, but sleep time behind a baby gate.
I know how upset you must be,   But remember that most Cockers are extremely sensitive and intelligent,  and get confused , stressed etc.  As you say , you have an adorable dog 99% of the time. And a vet check could be useful, with a blood panel test in case he's got a problem.  They cant tell you.

[Mudmagnets]

Would agree, stress plays it's fair share in behaviour probs,  I am learning and recognising this with Branston atm. When I took him to the vets last week for a check up as I was worried about his behaviour with his other housemates and dogs outside he said nothing physically wrong but most likely behavioural, the vet explained that he meant he was probably under stress and confused and referred me to a behaviourist who I am now working with. She said due to Branston's age (he's nearly 3) and the new neighbours with dogs, Toby, now 18 months and growing up into an adult dog, things were getting confusing for Branston. Like most cockers Branston is a lovely cuddly biddable dog most of the time - but there is something that clicks and upsets him at other times and it is the signs to look for that I am now learning, and also calming methods for when things get fraught.

rubybella - when I mentioned Barbara Woodhouse, it was merely to put a time to the period about which I wrote the post.

[lescef]

Totally agree with the anxiety and stress theory. I think most dogs hide it well until it just becomes too much then growling and nipping occur. Our behaviourist said this about Maddie and she has known her since a young pup.
There is also the subtle dynamics between dogs that we don't always see. I've never had two dogs before so I didn't see that there is a tension between them until pointed out by the behaviourist.
I have always thought it was Bramble that caused most of the problems we have - she's alert, barky, demanding etc but OH took Maddie to our caravan last week and left Bramble with me (usually I'm left with Maddie) I had a completely different dog, there was virtually no barking and she was just angelic! And thrown in to that mix is our anxieties that they pick up on.
I also think we try to humanise them and expect too much of them rather than just let them be dogs.

[Karma]

Just to add to the points made by Lescef....

We worked alongside some very experienced trainers/behaviourists with Honey.  She was (and is) a highly anxious dog.  I am certain that her tendency to guarding was exacerbated by our friend doing as he had done with family dogs and removing her treat to return it to her (to ensure she was willing to give things up) - he only did this a couple of times as I asked him to stop, but just this couple of occassions was enough to make her worry about possessions.

She experienced some high-stress events at the same time as she hit her second fear period which really built her anxiety up until a guarding issue.  She would guard us from other dogs, but would also guard stolen items from us.   Her most high value item was tennis balls - and we did have to ensure she didn't have access to them in the house... not through needed to show her we controlled the resources, but because her stress levels were so high when balls were involved that she just couldn't switch off.  It took many months of work on several fronts to get her to the point where she would trade a tennis ball (including training a reliable "give" with low value items).  She rarely guarded food from us, but would guard stolen treats. 

Guarding random things and spaces appeared when the children got to an age where they were a perceived threat.   Both of our children were raised knowing to respect the dog's space and not to approach the dog if she was resting.  That didn't mean Honey ruled the roost - if she was resting in an unsuitable place, we would move her by calling her away.  If she stole toys, she would be encouraged to trade.... but the actual guarding behaviour decreased significantly as she learned to trust that the children weren't a threat to her.  It took very careful management, and we learned a lot about the subtle signs of stress that show long before a growl (we can now tell whenever she has stolen anything, as her body language becomes much stiffer and she stares).

We've always been very lucky that she is very willing to growl - this meant we have always been alerted to the fact that she is a little uncomfortable long before she gets to a point where she may be snapping or lunging.  She also has excellent bite inhibition, as evidenced by the point when one child tripped and fell on her - yes there was a lunge and growl (she also has a bad back, so was probably hurt by the experience as well as panicked), but she did not make any contact with our daughter.   Knowing when she is becoming uncomfortable means we can deal with the source of the discomfort - either by encouraging children to give her more space (if she is in her bed or crate) or encouraging her to move to her bed or crate (if she isn't!).

I am 100% confident that, had we employed any dominance based or aversive training when she first exhibited guarding behaviour, we would have had a far worse problem, and it would probably have been impossible to keep her once children arrived.  She will always be a highly strung dog - we will always be "managing" her.... but for the most part she is happy and content, because she trusts that we are no threat to her. 

[phoenix]

I think what we can deduce from this, is that the humans need training too. Older people often think you either have a good dog or a bad dog.  Your own children will be more understanding, but of course their friends won't.
It's good you are being honest and wanting to calm this behaviour down now.  The grown up puppy has to to be able to settle down, likewise people allowing it the space and rest it needs.

[Gazrob]

Yeah there might just too much going on and he needs his space. My dog is isn't keen on my  Young nephew that's because he won't leave him alone and he's a bit rough with him at times. When my dog is chilled out and relaxing I don't talk to him, play or stroke him. This probably won't solve the problem but it might help a little.