Cocker Specific Discussion > Behaviour & Training

Attacking and being attacked

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viv:
Hi everyone...   HELP
William...now nearly 2... has turned into a quite aggressive dog and i don't know what to do about him.
Today we went for our normal walk and as soon as he's fluffy feet touched the park a springer spaniel came up to him, William stood still and the springer went for him and chased him round the park snapping at William's body trying to get a hold of him...the young boy who was with the springer said that his dog had never done anything like that before.  After that we went to the beach, where William was attacked again by a snappy terrier, then a lab came walking past   and Will went for him, chasing him up the beach trying to bite him. He also did the same thing to a cocker on the beach last week.

I'm at my wits end never knowing if Will is going to attack another dog or be attacked, it doesn't make for a stress free walk i can tell you that.
He was at the vets this week for an absess on his back foot and while i was there i spoke to her about it and she said i shoud have him castrated as this would stop other dogs having a go.

He was such a non-aggressive dog, but now i never know if he will attack, be attacked or just walk by.

Any ideas, thanks
Vivl                    

Jane S:
Hi Viv

I'm not convinced that castration will sort William's problems out - he has learned that sometimes dogs attack him which makes him edgy & on the defensive so sometimes he will have a go first just in case. This is learned behaviour now - it's not his male hormones making him fall out with other dogs , it looks more like a fear of being attacked is making him behave this way. You could try him on the Tardak injections to test whether castration will have any affect - these are hormone injections which mimic the affect of castration on a short term basis (ask your vet about them) I would have reservations about castrating a fear-agressive dog as neutering takes away the male hormone but this hormone also gives a dog confidence - take away this confidence & William could become even more fearful.                    

PennyB:
Have you thought of a few 1-2-1 sessions with a good dog trainer (worth the money). I've seen my trainer use disks for this with other dogs (and also read about their use in cases like this).                    

viv:
There is a trainer who has an advert in the local pet shop, i have thought about having him come round and see William and his reaction to other dogs.  William has alway been timid around other dogs, he only saw other cockers until i had him (aged 1) and i don't think he really knows what to do when he meets another dog.  Up until now he has barked and then headed for the hill if another dog barks back, but over the last few weeks he has stood his ground which alas  has got him into trouble.
Thanks for the advise...and i agree with you Jane, i think "having the chop" will be a last resort for me and obviously :-X William
Viv                    

Colin:
Hi Viv

I can really sympathise with your plight having encountered similar problems with Jimmy for a while.

A couple of months ago  when Jimmy was just under 18 months old he got set upon 3 times on one walk. I posted on here and the advice I received was to have his anal glands checked. I went to the vets and they were indeed blocked. Unblocking resulted in about a week of trouble free walks . Unfortunately he then went through a period of regular confrontation with other dogs, always male. Suddenly my favourite part of the day had become fraught with anxiety, craning my neck to check out any approaching dog to see if it was a male. These incidents were on a daily basis and ranged from growling/teeth baring to a couple of really viscious fights. At the time I was too depressed to even post on here about it so turned to Jane for advice and she was very heplful as usual. 8)

Just to let you know that these problems disappeared as quickly as they started and I've had no trouble for months now. I never really got to the bottom of what it was all about. It appeared to me that the other dog was the aggressor on all but one occassion. I don't know if Jimmy had been spooked by the initial incidents and was becoming over defensive and giving out the wrong signals or maybe misinterpreting the other dogs' signals.......it was all completely mystifying. It could have been a "teenager" thing, who knows ? As with William, Jimmy was getting beaten up as a result of standing his ground.......it was really scary. Prior to this I'd walked him for over a year without the slightest hint of any aggressive behaviour to other dogs, or indeed from other dogs to Jimmy.

Castration was the first thing that sprang to my mind as a solution. I'm really glad I didn't get this done as the problem seems to have vanished now, he has learnt that backing down is better than taking a mauling from a bigger dog. I seem to remember learning a similar lesson as an adolescent. ::) Hopefully you will find the same outcome with William too. :)

Good luck. ;)                    

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