Help and advice needed

[Sarah16]

It's been a long time since I last posted, but I am in need of some advice from some experienced Cocker owners.

I have 2 dogs, Mollie who is now 5 and Pippa who is 3. I have had both dogs from 8 weeks old. When we got Pippa we carried her outside to get her used to noises until she had had all her inoculations and could start going for walks, she then went to puppy socialisation classes which she enjoyed. All was fine for a couple of months (she was a bit nervy with cars, but we kept on working on it). Then over a few weeks she got attacked on 3 separate occasions and went from wanting to meet dogs to screaming if one so much as looked at her. We in the end went to a special socialisation class run by two fantastic women for dogs who have issues with other dogs to varying degrees. we went for a few months and Pippas confidence grew so that she could run around with other dogs without screaming. Pippa didn't want to play with other dogs but would run with dogs and even sniff dogs, she would tell them off if they were boisterous, but she was relaxed about it. On lead she was a bit more wary, but it was still tonnes better than it was.

A few months back Pippa had a bit of a bad experience with a young male rottie who just wanted to hump her(she has been spayed). After this she started to snap at any dog that came close. Then she started to attack Mollie occasionally if she walked past Pippa if she was asleep on her bed or jumped on the sofa Pippa was laying on (the used to curl up together). I stopped both of them from sleeping on the sofa as i thought it was a guarding issue. since then it has become more and more frequent and has also gone for my mums and my sisters dogs, whom she has always got on well with. Last week i looked after my mums 3 dogs for a couple of days, which I do quite often and Pippa bit one of the dogs noses and drew blood.

Last night was the worst, they were both lying in front of the fire and Pippa attacked Mollie and had her by the throat, Mollie was screaming, I tried to get her off but she had hold of her tightly. I eventually managed to get Pippa to let go, but unfortunately Mollie bit me as she was so frightened.

Mollie has been really quiet and has stayed out of Pippas way today, I had to walk them separately as Mollie won't come near me if Pippa is in the same room.

I really don't know what to do, I love them both and hate to see either of them unhappy. I am researching behaviourist at the moment to see if they can help as it is getting worse.

[Ben's mum]

I think you have already got your answer  - you need the support of a good behaviourist, as you need some good advice to ensure Mollie and Pippa get the right sort of help.  I am sure you know on here there are lots of knowledgable people who may be able to point you in the direction of someone locally who is suitably qualified and experienced enough to help you out. 

good luck 

[praia]

It's difficult to really evaluate a dog when you're not physically there, but from your brief explanation of past fear inducing experiences it sounds like defensive aggression brought on by what she perceives to be threats.  Fearful dogs aren't all that stable and their concept of reality is off from time to time, because their judgment is clouded by fear and anxiety.  The slightest thing could set them off and when dealing with defensive aggressive dogs, they've learned that fighting first and fighting hard can effectively deal with their problem, in contrast with plain fear aggression where biting is done in a sort of last resort/survival mode.  The constant stress of being in environments and situations she perceives to be threats lowers the stimulus threshold when her defense drives are activated, which explains why things are progressively getting worse.  It's a terrible state for any dog to be in and you should definitely have a professional behaviorist come round fast to evaluate the dog and develop a behavior modification plan suited for your dog's temperament and your unique situation.

[kbpr2004]

Hi
I'm all new at this and only posted my first thing on yesterday and that was because my 6 yr old cocker has just started getting agressive in this last year towards my hubby & me and as result of it he bit my arm on sunday quite bad due to him being on my bed...
He's always been so lovely and cuddly but when I lost my job last year I started my own dog sitting and walking business and since I had different dogs coming in and out the house he got very teritoral or possessive of me...However he's is the perfect dog when we are out walking with all dogs so I cant complain about him there. I'm back to work full time now so fingers crossed he'll get back to his old ways again.
It's horrible when they start getting this way after all these years but hopefully from the good advice from this site all will be ok...

Hope both our agressive problems get sorted out soon.

Good luck
 

[KayJay]

The first thing I'd do is tio get a health check done....changes of behaviour can be linked with pain...looking at what you've written this all happened after a rottie tried to hump her....perhaps she was hurt? A chiropracter visit might be worthwhile.....her reacting whenever the other dog passes her or jumps on the sofa might just be a fear of being hurt. Another possibility is a thyroid problem (more prevalent than is realised).....get your vet to have a full thyroid panel done, not just a T4, vets don't always recognise that a thyroid dog can be anything other than fat, lethargic and with a bad coat! In fact aggression can be a common symptom, along with hypersensitivity, reactiveness, noise phobia, lots of things. If this all comes back clear, then a consult with a good positive behaviourist who can assess what's happening in situ will be necessary. Unfortunately bitches don't always get on, and when they take a dislike to each other it sometimes results in them living separate lives. Been there, done that!