Wits End

[carol b]

Dusty is three, her mum Maya is six .  My problem is with Dusty.  She nips at ankles of passer bys.  I try not to put her in the position that allows this to happen but of course that is quite difficult at times. If someone puts their hand to her she mouths and I am frightened she will bite .  At agility tonight Dusty went for somebody's ankles and they put their hand down  to her and she nipped.  She is very good off lead and comes when called -straight away.  She behaves when actually running in agility.  I feel she is 'needy' in that she wants be close all the time.  She is always  sitting in front of me looking like she wants you to tell her what to do - sort of fixated.  She always tries to push in if I am stroking/paying attention to Maya although Maya will sit and wait whilst I am petting Dusty (if I have told her to). On the other hand Dusty will be no where to be seen and is in the kennel in the garden and won't come in when called and aggressive if you try and get her out of the kennel.  People at agility are very good and do not approach Dusty and if she goes to them and is good I have given her a treat.  Now ahe goes up to someone there and lets them stroke her and then after they have stroked her ahe sits in front of me waiting for treat for being good so she is not daft
There is somewhere local that takes dogs in and 'sorts out their probem' and I am tempted to ring them (they do things like gun dog training as well) but I'm not sure . I don
' t really know what to do.

[Karma]

I would be very wary of sending my dog anywhere where they "sort out their problems" for you...   

It sounds to me that Dusty is anxious... to be honest  I wouldn't be encouraging her to approach people - she obviously finds it stressful and, while she does it to get a treat, it could be heightening her overall anxiety...
Our dog can be wary of people, but she generally just avoids them.... we've had huge progress recently with people coming to the house, as she's been able to switch off and ignore them (which I have rewarded)... if I were to try  and encourage her to interact it would make things worse. 

One exercise that you could do would be to take Dusty on-lead somewhere with not too many people and plenty of space.  Take a clicker and lots of treats... walk along and, as soon as Dusty sees a person, click and treat and, at the same time, take a step away from the person - that way you are rewarding a calm reaction to seeing someone and teaching her that she doesn't have to approach people she is uncertain of. 

Have you considered T-Touch?? It might help her...

Also, if she is particularly anxious when people reach down to her, it would be worth getting her eyesight checked.

[elaine.e]

Firstly, let me say I'm not an expert on behaviour or a trainer, but I recognise some of Dusty's traits because my 3 year old Cocker Louis has some of them. Louis is a very anxious dog who lacks confidence in many situations and your descriptions of Dusty's behaviour at home and at agility makes me think she is very anxious too. To me she sounds fearful and confused, not needy.

I think it would be best if you sought some professional help for Dusty to identify the cause(s) of her fears and to show you ways to help build her confidence and calmness. Personally I wouldn't use the place you described that takes dogs in and "sorts out their problems". I wouldn't want to send a dog that is fearful of people to stay with strangers and I don't see how Dusty's problems can be identified and helped without you being personally involved.

There are lots of behaviourists around and looking for a good one who uses positive, reward based training, can be a real minefield. You could try the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and see if anyone registered with them is in your area. Or if you posted the area that you live in on here somebody might be able to come up with a recommendation.

Edited to add - posted this at the same time as Karma posted. Very good advice as ever from Karma

[lindseyp]

Excellent advice form both Karma & Elaine   

Agree that she does sound anxious / lacking confidence & just wondered if you have 1-2-1 time with Dusty at all ...being Mother & daughter, if she's always been with her mum, she may rely on her a little too much & has not developed much confidence when on her own 
Ditto karma's comment on getting her thoroughly checked over by a vet too - you just never know if there's an underlying condition that could be influencing her behaviour   

Good luck & would love to know how she gets on 

[carol b]

Thank you so much for your replies, I was feeling really fed up when I posted last night.  With all the positive things you have suggested to try and knowing Dusty isn't the only one like this I am feeling far more positive.  She is so good in so many ways but this problem was seeming to become so huge I didn't know what to do.  I do also think it may be to do with her confidence and did at one time take her out seperately and I think I will go down that route again to start with.  (I could do with losing a bit of weight!!).  Her mum is one of the most friendly, laid back spaniels you could come across but stubborn (ie comes back when she's finished sniffing round the field) and Dusty is so obedient and attentive.  I am going to re-read your posts and will let you know how I get on with your suggestions.  As I say I feel better already and positive so thank you again.