Aggressive Behaviour - 9 month old male cocker

[Mr Jones]

I need some help please and really do not know what to do for the best.

We have a 9 month old cocker show spaniel who when outside of the house is a lovely dog to be with, always very friendly and nice to walk - we have no concerns about him biting anyone.  Everyone loves him

But at home especially around getting up time and bed time he is quite aggressive and barks loudly and has bitten us all once or twice.  He gets aggressive with people who are near him when feeding in the home and resource guards his toys and food

The dog is in my name, it cost me a lot of money and it was a Christmas/Birthday present for my 15 year old daughter who loves the dog dearly. 

And to be honest it is what I have always wanted too - a dog.  But we did not bargain for all this aggressiveness.

As a family we all love the dog but we are struggling to cope now, my wife after years and years of saying "no" to having a dog now regrets ever agreeing to a dog and every day without fail she says she wants it gone due to the stress it is causing and that she is not comfortable in her own home.  Now it is not working she says that she was right all along, dogs are not for her.

That said in a way we have all got very attached to the dog, even my wife has at times tried hard to make it work, we have had some good times and would miss the dog dearly if we were to go.

The dog has attended puppy training for 8 weeks and although that helped, its aggressiveness is still there and at times we get scared as it chases us around.

My wife has made it clear that if it were to go then we would not get another and that does not help at all

Ideally we want to get the issue fixed rather than give up on the dog.

A local popular dog trainer who we have met has offered it to go to her on a 2 week residential but that is not cheap at £800.  She said she would teach him how to behave in a home.

But from what I can see she is not a behaviour specialist, just a good trainer.

I would seriously pay the £800 if I thought that would work and fix the issue.

The dog appears to have an aggressive streak to it and I am not sure that could ever be removed completely although I hope it could be reduced significantly.

All we ever wanted was a nice balanced friendly dog to enrich our lives but instead we have a dog that is getting more aggressive the older it gets.

My daughter has told us that we would lose her if we took her dog away (and I can well believe that) and with he GCSEs just around the corner in 12 months time I fear that it would have a negative effect on her studies because a dog is all she has ever wanted since she learned to talk !

We have considered a heated outdoor kennel as an option for when he gets too aggressive.

We had a local trainer come round to the house, charged us £120 for 90 mins work and nothing really changed after that although she gave us one or two good ideas.



It is so disheartening that most of the time he is a lovely friendly dog even indoors giving kisses and cuddles, he seems to get horrid though especially when he is tired or when he has something to guard and a lot of that is centred around his cage area.  We think about removing the cage but then we would have nowhere to put him for protection if he became aggressive

What would you do ?  Is the situation retrievable and how ?

[pam1]

At 9 months your dog is still a puppy and testing boundaries.  I’m sure he is not really aggressive but just being a normal puppy.   I’m no expert, but had a lot of support with my feisty now 2 yr old from a Facebook page called Dog Training Advice and Support established 2012. Make sure you join the correct group as there a lot of similarly named.  This is run by extremely qualified trainers who will guide you. They only advocate positive training methods.
Good luck!

[MIN]

Having the same trouble with my 7 month pup.   

[Princess Lola]

Hi!
My Lola was a similarly difficult puppy.
I think the key word is "tired" - the behaviour gets worse with tiredness, so one should hope that with age, it would improve.
At 9 months, they tire easily.

Lola is now 2 years old and still occasionally displays aggressiveness and resource guarding, it can be pretty bad and I find her scary and uncomfortable to be around.
When she's like that, we make it clear to her she is not welcome in the home and she is confined to the conservatory. In your case, it could be a heated outdoors area.
After she's sorted herself out and calmed down, she asks to come back inside and she's back to her old self.
Some instincts are there and impossible to get rid of. You perhaps need to work around them.

I also have a teenage son having his GCSE next year.
I wish you all the best and keep us updated!

[Finvarra]

We had a rescue spaniel that we acquired when he was around seven months old. He had bitten the child in the house over guarding a toy, so needed to be rehomed. We live a quiet life in the country, with one other dog, unfortunately the two dogs didn't get on and ignored each other. Finn was possessive, and attached himself to OH, he would guard his slippers and other things. We learned what his trigger points were and worked around them, e.g. OH would never take off shoes or slippers in the lounge when Finn was around. He could be the sweetest boy, but you never knew when he would decide to guard something. We always fed him alone.
He was a bit better after he was neutered.
Hope you can find a good trainer to help. All the best.

[phoenix]

I could write a book about my Bobby. I’ve had dogs all my life, none as complicated as a cocker. For a first dog , it means you have to follow a different rule book with him.
As your trainers have doubtless said, do not challenge or punish his guarding . Praise/treat him if he stops.
   Before he has bitten,  has he given a warning growl?  If he has, good,   respect him and back off. Ignore him completely . Even leave the  room. He will be bored and want you,  not the object.
   Staring at a reactive dog in the eyes will cause more trouble.
   Does he object to having hands on his head or collar for going out?   I used a slip lead to literally drop over his head.  It’s a rope noose with a knot or tab to stop it getting tight. You can always keeps lightweight lead on him in the house to grab if needed.
 We had a problem with car…..he had a ramp to his crate in the boot but not let me lift him . If other people were coming too, he had to be kept out till last because he ‘owned’ the car .
    Nonetheless  I loved him to bits and 90% of the time he was perfect ! He even acted as a medical sniffer dog for my other dog with an auto immune issue, so I’d take her to the vet in time.
My behaviourist said that he was very shy and nervous and the adrenaline welled up in him and it can take even a day to subside and calm down.
My vet wouldn’t neuter him because he would maybe become more fearful.
One groomer was amazing with him,  she could soothe any difficult dog to sleep. So that is another direction to follow.    For now keep him happy and treat orientated.
We have a COL member/ behaviourist who specialises in cockers. Top Barks , in York .
I know how difficult this is for your family.