Help needed - urgently (Black Cocker behaving badly)

[joannendean]

My black cocker is 2 years old and up to now he has always  been well.behaved  Over the last few weeks I have been on maternity leave so I have been at home more.  A few weeks ago when my eldest daughter came home from school her started growling at her. This has happened on several occcassions but for no reason.  My daughter loves him and is the one who walks and feeds him.  He was told off but he cotinued to do this.  He has also show the same behaviour (only once)to my husband. 
We have another younger cocker but they both get on well.

I have now had my baby but his behavour is now worrying me more than ever.  My daughter was out with him the other day when he was chasing a ball....a man was walking past and for no reason he ran to the man and tried to attack him.  Also today my friend has come round with her little boy.  He was sat downstairs with us and all was well and behaving ok.  My friends son went upstairs but when he came back in the rooom my dog growled and went to attack him.

As you can imagine I am really concerned...we have a new born baby and I need help on what we can do to stop this.  The last thing we want to do is rehome him so any help would be great.

[Crazy Cocker Gang]

Hi there and welcome to COL,
im sorry you found us because of hard circumstances.

Unfortunatly no one will be able to tell you what is going on with your dog, (what is his name?) as we cannot see the behaviour first hand.

My advice would be to get your cocker checked out by a vet including full blood tests as a sudden change in behaviour can indicate a physical problem. If that comes back clear I would them ask for recommendations for behaviourists. If you say what part fo the country you are in someone on here will probably be able to recommend one.

One thing I would do is not tell him off or reprimand him for any growling. Growls are good, its a dogs way of communicating to you to back off and that something is wrong.

[Top Barks]

Sorry I have just posted at the same time as Jo and our posts say pretty much the same thing.

If you are concerned about your dogs behaviour, then firstly get your dog checked over by a vet and then enlist the help of a suitably qualified and experienced behaviourist to get to the bottom of your problem.
It is ver hard to give specific advice in aggression cases without taking a complete history of your dog and making observations of how your dog appears and interacts with you.
One thing i wouldn't do however is tell your dog off for growling as all  he is doing is telling you that he is not happy with the situation he finds himself in.
Dogs that are punished for growling often learn to skip this step and move on just to biting instead.
You need to work out what is triggering this reaction in your dog and an experienced behaviourist will help you do this.
Look for someone who is a member of the APBC or APDT or possibly a COAPE qualified behaviourist.
Mark

[Mrs K]

I too am sorry that you have found us in this way. Welcome to COL and big hugs to you (and congrats on the new baby   ).

[joannendean]

Many thanks for your suggestions...I just wanted to know if anybody had experienced similar behaviours in their dogs and what course of action they took

[Top Barks]

I have a black boy that was taken to be PTS because he was aggressive to some people.
Thankfully I am a trainer so turned him around. Understanding your dog and what motivates him is the key to you helping yourself and your relationship with your boy.
read all about my black boy here.
http://www.topbarksfordogs.co.uk/bayley.html

[Rats and Dogs]

Welcome to COL, and I'm also sorry you have found us this way.

Many thanks for your suggestions...I just wanted to know if anybody had experienced similar behaviours in their dogs and what course of action they took

There have been quite a few people with similar problems, and they have taken the above advice and had their dogs checked out. In a few cases, the dogs have been found to have had something causing pain or distress and had it sorted out, so I would also advise you to go down that route too to begin with.

Good luck with finding the solution to your dog's problems.

[SkyeSue]

My only advice would be to follow Top Bark's advice 
Hope you get to the bottom of the problem soon 

[mcphee]

Sorry to hear you have got some problems. Don't be put off by his colour. My black boy is naughty at recall, but not aggressive, so take the advice that others give. Perhaps your daughter should be going to the behaviourist with you so she can cope if she is going to do the walking for a while? Good luck