Agressive behaviour.

[Seeker]

Hello, I have a young spaniel who is starting to become aggressive. For example when trying to put him in his crate at night he growls and would if approached bite. It is getting worse and I am becoming frightened of him. When I tried to put his lead on in the morning he also showed his teeth. He jumped up and bit me on Saturday as he was guarding a towel. I am desperate for advice. My dog is neutered and is 11 months old.  Any advice is appreciated as I am considering rehoming him. Thankyou.

[phoenix]

I am so sorry to read this.  Many people like me joined the forum because of behaviour issues.
My immediate reaction is puzzlement at this starting 11 months, so maybe a check up at the vet, and if all well, a meeting with a behaviourist. 
I think you may have difficulty with rehoming a dog that has bitten, you have to be open with rescue charities, and obviously doing it privately is a no-no.
You need to work with an experienced trainer to watch and assess the  flash points where your otherwise loveable pet gets reactive.
My beloved Bobby was hand shy, crate shy, car shy, chronic guarder  etc. He started at 12 weeks.  We had to be very patient and inventive to  control the known triggers to his  panic  attacks. Initially we would leave the room, and within a minute he would want us, tail wagging.  Special food treats were needed to divert him in other situations. I changed to a slip lead, to drop over his head, a thick soft one(actually a horse leading rein).
I can go on and on, but I’m sure others have advice.  Bobby was always weird, but he couldn’t help it, but improved a lot. We don’t know what has caused the change in your teenager pooch, so  start at the beginning, reduce stress levels all round,  don’t  have face-offs with him because it  aggravates the situation.  Their Adrenalin levels can take a day to go down!

[hoover]

This sounds really hard and we also went through this with our dog at that age (we still have irregular occasional big issues now but not the same day to day constant difficult behaviour.) With this level of behaviour it is probably worth getting a reputable behaviourist in to advise you.

We worked through similar difficulties by getting Ollie very strong on being commanded so that he obeyed us with certain actions before any handling.  So we stopped trying to put him in his crate but ordered him in instead. If he was in and still near the gate where he might snap we ordered him to lie down at the back of the crate so that we could close it. When putting his lead on we would not reach for him in the first instance but instruct him to walk to us to have it put on.  These orders and the corresponding follow through behaviour from him seemed to put him in the mindset that he had acquiesced to what was happening and he would not then react.

BUT - we did this in a non-confrontational way - if there was so much as a hint of aggression from him we walked away and left it to another time, as persisting would escalate aggression,  cause him to repeat this behaviour and learn to use it again and make it a habit.

We spent a lot of time on general training, so that listening to us became habitual to him and getting follow through in more stressful situations became easier.

With guarding you have to be very careful and aware of body language so that you can keep yourself safe first and foremost.  You can work at training by getting him to exchange less valuable items for his favourite treats and gradually desensitising him to your presence around more valuable items.  The general training and getting follow through on instructions is helpful too in managing situations - if we see Ollie is approaching something he might start guarding we can preempt this by ordering him to go away from it.

We have found tiredness really exacerbates these issues so we still enforce time spent sleeping in a dark, quiet environment. Watch out for if he has fallen asleep near something he might be inclined to guard as if he is disturbed or woken suddenly he might startle awake and become  snappy.

Keep yourself safe first and foremost - not only because it is best for you but because it is best for the dog - repeated displays of aggression will make him more likely to resort to these behaviours in the future and cement a habitual response which is harder to overcome.  Good luck with it.

[Pearly]

You have some really good advice already.

I just wanted to reiterate that you have a perfectly normal, teenage, cocker spaniel.  Your challenge now is to learn to read your pup - is this fear? Over tiredness? Guarding? Or hormones settling after castration.  Castration at a young age can exacerbate underlying behavioural traits - I know this from my own girl who was spayed at 15 months - her initial anxieties are now far worse at age 7.

I’m sure you wouldn’t but until you know the cause of your boys behaviour its best to ateer clear of being firm handed or usinig aversive methods - these can make a fearful dog become reactive.

A question - you say you are becoming fearful of your boy when you put him in his crate, are you having to “force” him in or do you stand / lean over him as he goes in?

Jayne

[bmthmark]

Sorry to hear the troubles you are having.

Please remember that he is very young and learning all the time. He will be trying his luck and testing the boundaries.
Mine did similar things, for example when Jett was a similar age he would growl and attempt to snap at my hand when I told him its bedtime and to get in the crate.
It would always make me jump and I was always a little cautious as you just never know what he would do.
When he eventually went in the crate I went way over the top and praised him for being good. His tail would be wagging so I knew he was just trying his luck.
He is now 22 months and he still runs off to another bed when I say bedtime (yes he has multiple beds  ) but when I ask him again he does wander off to his crate.

With yours, its good that he is young. So you can easily train this out of him. If you are unsure what to do I would speak to a behaviorist.
I have a feeling its a common problem in such a young pup.

I wouldn't give up on him, I know it can be stressful but definitely explore the behaviorist route.

[Seeker]

Hello,
Many thanks for your well informed answers. To answer a few questions he did not start this behaviour at 11 months it started at about 8 months. I believe it is something to do with travelling in a crate in the boot of the car. Perhaps the boot making a noise or him perceiving it hitting his head. I do not force him into his crate as I do not want him to bite me. The method used is throw in a Markie and shut the door fast. After which he goes nuts for a minute then settles. I also bought a business in April. The issues coincide with him coming to work with me which I thought would be great obviously not. Its a newsagents.
Anyway just to let you know I contacted a behaviourist. The idea was for Freddie to assessed and rehomed.
I got a phone call this morning from the trainer asking how I was. I was sobbing so he got a clue from that.
He said he could help Freddie. He seemed really scared but I do not know what has scared him.
Finally I will get a phone call later today to see whether Freddie is coming home after his training or going to a different home.
Jan.

[bmthmark]

It sounds like the issues are related to the crate.
I would spend a lot of time making that crate the best place on earth. Put treats in it, praise him when he goes to get the treat. I would not shut the door on him, let him go in on his own and out when he wants to. The idea of a crate is for the dog to have a safe place to go, so the dog needs to gain trust and believe its a nice place to go.
I hate to sound blunt but throwing a treat in and shutting the door fast is probably not the best way (my opinion).

As I said he is very very young, you can still change things and try again. It just takes time.

Obviously no one here can tell you what you should or shouldn't do with regards to re homing, only you know the best.

[bmthmark]

Sorry also a crate doesn't work for all dogs, if its not working for you. Maybe don't use the crate?

[Patp]

a book that might be worth a read is "Its Mine" by Jean Donaldson.  I know it has helped a few on here.

[Gazrob]

I agree don't force him into the crate let him go in without forcing him in. Maybe don't lock him in it but keep the crate in a room where he is safe and let him go in and out when he feels like it. I think he's testing you. You must be firmer and dont act so scared around him or he will walk all over you. Look for as much help and advice as you can and don't give him up I think he just needs more training and structure it won't be easy do the hard work now and hopefully you won't have anymore issues in the future. When he's eating leave him alone and if I were you I wouldnt give him access to any toys or anything that he can guard no toys, dog treats in the house.