Dylan has bitten OH - update

[Finvarra]

So shocked that Dylan, who is so gentle and laid back, has just bitten OH. He was in the garden chewing something on the ground and Oh went to have a look. He put his hand down and the dog growled, he did it again and Dylan bit his hand quite badly. This easygoing sweet natured dog who let another dog take a treat off him a few days ago,with no issue. Cannot believe it.  He has never even growled at either of us before.

He had been chasing the red legged partridges in the garden earlier, so I suppose he could have been a bit hyped up, but this is so out of character. At the moment he is being totally ignored, he knows he's been bad and looks a bit sheepish. I really hope this is a one off, I cannot remember any of my nine other dogs having bitten us or even growled at us over all the years, and six of those were feisty terriers!

 

Lesley and the bad cocker 

[its.sme]

Hi Lesley,

My first thought is that Dylan could have pain somewhere, there could be many reasons from being hyped up to just not seeing what was looming towards him until the last minute.

I know it's scary but it's a good thing that he growled, it's his way of saying "Go Away" the real trouble is when a dog gives no warning at all.

Is Dylan showing any signs of something being wrong ?

I hope your OH is ok.

Sharon.

[Mari]

From what you describe I would strongly suspect resource guarding. Common problem in this otherwise wonderful breed. I could be wrong, but that's what it sounds like. Maybe you know all this, but I'll write down some tips for you or anyone else who might search this topic

You say he was chewing something. So probably in his mind your OH was going to steal his treasure. He growled to say that he did not like the situation. Unfortunately his growl/communication was ignored and he went to the next step and bit. Of course completely unacceptable to us, but to him it made perfect sense. Because in the dogs world anything you hold is yours and not even the leader is allowed to steal it without being challenged.

I understand your shock and I agree it is not good that he does not have more bite inhibition. But remember that resource guarding can be fixed if handled correctly. Many cocker owners have dealt with this particular issue If you can then you should contact a positive trainer/behaviourist to help you because correct handling of this problem can be the difference between a small issue and a serious problem.

Like mentioned before it is actually a good thing that he growled. It lets you know when he feels pressured so you can approach the situation differently before it escalates to biting. Growling is useful information and we should all respect a growl

I know I keep recommending this book, but it is so good! It explains everything you need to understand about resource guarding and how to handle it. It is a short and to the point book, easy to read and very informative. It's called "Mine!", written by Jean Donaldson.

Most important thing to know is that resource guarding is a form of insecurity, the dog is afraid of having things/food stolen away. If we decide to take things away or let the situation escalate into a conflict then the dogs fears will be confirmed and he will think he needs to fight harder next time. But if we, however, show the dog that we are not going to take stuff away, then the need to resource guard will go away and the dog will not do it anymore.

So start training "swap" with high quality rewards. This way you will eventually be able to request an exchange and the dog will give up things willingly because that has been fruitful in the past. You can start by offering something nice and when your dog takes it you take whatever he had and say "swap" or "let go". You can use toys and treats, whatever works, just make sure it's his choice to let go.

You can also prevent this unwanted behaviour developing further by dropping treats near his foodbowl or near him when he is chewing something. Careful not to get too close in the beginning, you want to take it slow to be successful.

There are many things you can do to train away resource guarding, if that's what this is. I am sure some people on here have been through it before and can help.

How old is Dylan btw?

[bizzylizzy]

O'h dear, - I can imagine how you must be feeling. You've probably gone through all the possible reasons already but, just by chance, I  experienced something the other day which made me realize how our dogs see things diffrently. So silly really but the sun was shining against us and I bent down to Humphrey's level and realized that the sun was blinding at his level, it was impossible to see anything, although at my level, it was quite normal. In that position, you wouldn't see what was approaching until it was on top of you  - Perhaps your OH just took Dylan off guard or appeared a 'threat' at that moment? Its a long shot I know, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt! 
Humphrey's never actually growled - yet, but there are times when I can take things off him and other times when I just think he's better left alone....he just looks "uncomfortable", - never had that with my other dogs either, I do think its a spaniel thing.
Other explanation is, as already suggested pain or over excitement.
No other suggestions I'm afraid, Do hope its just a one off and that Dylan and OH have made up!

[phoenix]

Dylan warned him.   Then the stress level was tipped over. He must have really valued whatever it was. I hope this doesn't create more stress problems in relationships. Been there ,  had that.  Got over it.
Let's hope it's a one off.  Maybe a bit  of fun dog training and tricks at home will restore confidence and respect.

[Finvarra]

Dylan will be 2 in June. He's not a brave or nasty dog at all. Our rescue cocker Finn was a guarder, in fact that is why we had him, he had bitten a child when he was about six months old, and was packed off to cocker rescue. This dog guarded everything, he was actually quite a nasty dog, but we kept him and dealt with it til he died aged 8.

Once he got over the cockerdile stage Dylan has had good bite inhibition. He is always really careful that he doesn't hurt you, he lets me clean his teeth everyday, I picked off the tartar with my nail, he's so gentle. On the odd occasion he's had something in his mouth like a scavenged bone, we've managed to extricate it from his jaws without mishap. That's why it was such a surprise, so out of character. He lets us take toys from his mouth and we've never ever teased him with taking things but always respected his space.

He's been very subdued this evening, he knows he's been norty. Let's hope it was just a one off, we shall certainly do some training with him after this, thanks for the advice. I don't think he is in pain, he has been full of his usual bounce and joie de vivre today. He really is a lovely dog and we are friends again 

Lesley and Dylan

[Mari]

Maybe it really was a one off. He sounds like a lovely dog! He is still young and they can make mistakes, especially when hyped up. Nice to hear that you are all friends again. Lucky he has owners like you, who knows to look at the bigger picture and who knows about dogs.

[hoover]

So hard when this happens, and yes sounds like a spot of resource guarding.  You mention that your dog let another dog take a treat off him without issue a few days previously - I believe that behavioural manifestations of guarding are dependent on a number of factors - mostly value to the dog at the time - which is their notion and nobody elses, but also perceptions of the threat and eventual outcome.  So a dog may let another take a treat away it is low value to them and/or they sense they are not a match for the other party (bigger dog/ more confident dog?)  Ollie as a puppy used to be an indiscriminate ball thief but now that he is older we can clearly see he makes decisions about which balls he will try to take and then guard according to his assessment of their owner (and we can stop him 99% of the time by anticipating this anyway).

Did you find out what it was that he was chewing out of interest?  As it could have been something so extraordinary and precious to him that it provoked that reaction despite you never having seen that before. 

[Finvarra]

He was under the fuss his bushes in the hedge, I think possibly the birds had been there. There was nothing obvious that he was chewing, it looked as if he was gnawing the ground OH said, which is why he went to investigate. He does that sometimes on walks in the woods, but will eventually leave whatever it is that enthrals him.  Even when having his claws trimmed, which he absolutely freaks at, he has never growled or snapped. We'll just have to be a bit more aware, I think it was a one off and he not going to turn Into a biter.  He's absolutely his lovely self today, so we will learn from this and move on.

We feed the birds, but we get partridges, pheasants, sparrowhawks in the garden, and the game birds drive him nuts, he watches them through the lounge doors and if he gets a chance to chase them he will, or he will flush them up if they are hiding.

My oldest Scottie bit me once by accident when she was disclipling one of the young ones who was out of order, and you have never seen such a look of horror and mortification on a dogs face 

Lesley and Dylan

[Jaysmumagain]

So sorry to read this - it is quiet a shock when this sort of thing happens, we had a westie who you literally had to read signal, if you didn't he would nip and on occasion bite.

Ollie is a monkey and only allows a few humans close at anytime, one of those being the lady who clips him, she can do anything with him - given up trying to analyse his character

He will let you lift his food dish up while he is eating, even stop and give a look and a wag if you speak to him while eating - yet you give him a bone and there is no getting it - there is a different side to him, resource guarding - one manic cocker.
We had an incident once when he would not let OH get it off him, he put gardening clothes on to get the bone off him, we didn't like what we saw and decided it was no go with the bone.

I think you are quite right to say learn and move on, I think Dylan misread the situation.  Fingers crossed its a one off.

[Finvarra]

Just thought I would mention that I cooked a roast chicken and foolishly left it on the edge of the counter on the carving dish. Tall boy Dylan nicked a chicken leg while my back was turned and ran off with it. I cornered him and removed it from his jaws with no mishap. Probably a daft thing to do. But I was worried he would eat the bone. I am so pleased he let me wrestle it out of his mouth without resorting to teeth. - so I will put his earlier episode with OH as an aberration. Teach me to move things to the back of the counter 

Lesley and Dylan

[bizzylizzy]

Phew!! Glad to hear no harm was done! Its reassuring to know he's not really a guarder, in that sense, - it does sound as if the incident with your OH really was just a one off, - we all have "off days" after all!!   

[Mari]

That's good news! Yay for Dylan