'Aggressive' problem

[Cooper]

Hi all,

My cooper is 17 month old and since about one month ago it become aggressive sometimes.
Normally it happens when he is with someone in one room and someother came in the room. He would bark  .
My wife is pregnant for 4 months now. Is this realted with the problem?
He was not castrated, should I do that?

Any advice would be helpful.

Thank you.

[Cob-Web]

What behaviour is he exhibiting - barking, growling, biting....?   There are many reasons why a dog may behave in these ways, but it isn't always "aggression", it can be caused by fear, anxiety, or hormones 

I suggest that you book and appointment with a behaviourist (try http://www.apbc.org.uk/) - aggression is not a behaviour that can be advised on over the internet; the wrong intervention can make things worse, rather than better 

[cazza]

Agree with Rachel you need to seek proffessional help


(it could be guarding, it could be a number of things    I would get help now with your wife being pregnant the sooner you get help the sooner you can find out what it is and work on it before the new arrival  )

[PennyB]

Normally it happens when he is with someone in one room and someother came in the room. He would bark  .

Is the person known to him or a stranger

[DennyK]

Please please don't label the behaviour as "aggressive" - you don't know yet what's causing it, and if you and your wife get into that mindset, it can affect your reactions, voice tone and body language when dealing with your dog, which may (to your dog) send really confusing messages - and it begins to breed fearfulness in you and your wife that he could hurt you, which may in turn make you more aggressive-defensive towards your dog without your intending it to come across that way.

Try to describe in detail what is happening - like Penny asked, is it a stranger coming in, is it when he hasn't heard someone coming into the house, has he started "resource guarding" (or does he do this anyway) - e.g. growling if you try to move him off the sofa or bed?  Is it directed at one person in particular or e.g. just at men?  Has anything happened in the house or out on a walk which may have made him nervous?

When you speak to behaviourists, ask them whether they specialise in training (teaching positive behaviours/restraining negative behaviours - but in a kind way) or behaviour counselling - the latter is around being experienced/trained in identifying problems and helping with training activities designed to address the problems and rehabilitate the dog. 

Also ask what their philosophy of dog training and behavioural assessment is centred on - you should be looking for trainers who focus on positive, reward-based methods.  Ask about their views of dominance - if they go on about you/your wife needing to be the "alpha" or pack leader - look elsewhere.  I know that The Dog Whisperer is making a lot of money out of this approach, but it's outmoded and isn't based on having a balanced relationship with your dog - it's about making them "submissive".  In extreme cases, some people who follow this theory excessively simply end up bullying the dogs they are supposed to be training.

Let us have some more details and experienced owners (and some of the trained people on here too, like TopBarks) may be able to offer some help and advice which will assist while you're tracking down a good behaviourist.  By the way - where are you based?  Someone may be able to recommend a good behaviourist to you.

Good luck.

Denise

[Cooper]

Thanks for all the reply.

Normally it happens when he is with someone in one room and someother came in the room. He would bark  .

Is the person known to him or a stranger

It happened to me and my wife.

[Helen]

I'm not sure what actually happened - can you explain?

[Cob-Web]

I'm not sure what actually happened - can you explain?

I admit to being a little confused too - what specific behaviour are you referring to?   I understand that Cooper is barking when someone enters the room, but I am not at all sure how this has been interpreted as aggression? 

[Top Barks]

What behaviour is he exhibiting - barking, growling, biting....?   There are many reasons why a dog may behave in these ways, but it isn't always "aggression", it can be caused by fear, anxiety, or hormones 

I suggest that you book and appointment with a behaviourist (try http://www.apbc.org.uk/) - aggression is not a behaviour that can be advised on over the internet; the wrong intervention can make things worse, rather than better 

The vet would be my first port of call to make sure nothing medical has triggered this.
They will be able to refer you to a behaviourist if needed.

[PennyB]

I'm not sure what actually happened - can you explain?

I admit to being a little confused too - what specific behaviour are you referring to?   I understand that Cooper is barking when someone enters the room, but I am not at all sure how this has been interpreted as aggression? 

Yes barking can take all sort of forms including excitement (as well as the other aspects Rachel mentioned, fear, anxiety, hormones)

[Cooper]

Dear all,

As I mentioned earlier my cooper has this behaviour problem. And things went worse recently as he bit my mother-in-law twice.

The first time was one week ago when she tried to use a towel to clean his feet after a walk. When she use the towel to wrap his palm he bit her hand.

The second incident was last night, at the beginning my wife and my mother-in-law were in the sitting room watching TV. Cooper was sitting somewhere near the door. and then my mother-in-law went out to the ketch, 10 minutes later when she came back and tried to enter the room, cooper just started barking very loudly towards her and my mother-in-law was frightened as the bad experience and tried to run away. Cooper just run to her and bit her on the leg. The wound was quite big.

The dog was castrated last Monday and still has the big/white collar on. Otherwise I am afraid the wound could be worse. I had contacted a dog behaviourist but she can only visit on 20th March.

Now my wife and my mother-in-law are sacred of the dog and are afraid to stay in a room with him without me.

Any advice or suggestions for me before the behaviourist come?


Rgards

Jonathan

[Cob-Web]

Jonathan - I am sorry things have deteriorated to the point where Cooper felt the need to bite; and advice really is best left to the professionals in this case.  It is impossible to know what triggered the aggression without seeing the behaviour first-hand and having an in-depth understanding of dog behaviour  - certainly a dog that is recovering from surgery can be considered to be more sensitive 

I found that keeping a behaviour diary helped greatly when I have sought advice - being able to say whether or not the dog had been exercised,  what he had eaten and whether he had had any interaction with other dogs/people prior to the event are all critical pieces of information for a proper "diagnosis" to be made.

I hope things work out for you all