Barking for Attention and Aggressive Behaviour

[04callahans]

Barney comes into my office with me every day and most of the time he is very good. Sleeps, plays, eats, etc. My OH and I both take a bit of time out in the day to play with him and he is fine a lot of the time. However, he is such a vocal dog.

He is also showing signs of dominance and aggression, already, at the age of 12 weeks!
He has everything he needs and wants but sometimes I worry that we are doing this all wrong.

We have been clicker training him for just under a week now and he has picked it all up so quickly, however, I'm actually wondering if this is making him worse?! When I stop with the training sessions he seems to have a really naughty 15 minutes.

Barney, like I said, is very vocal. He whines when he is tired/hungry/needs the toilet/wants a cuddle/wants to play/is shut away/is cold.... pretty much anything! If in doubt, whine or bark, that seems to be Barney's life motto.
But the biggest problem of all is the barking for attention, or through boredom. We try to keep him occupied as much as possible but as I'm sure you all know, it isn't possible to devote 24 hours of every day to him... he needs to learn to be/play by himself rather than constantly want our attention.
I just did a little bit of clicker training with him and when I decided we were finished, he just barked and barked at me and then growled at my OH when he tried to put him in his bed.

We can't really just ignore him as we have neighbours both at home and at the office/studio who don't take kindly to his 'gobbiness'... Next week we will be able to take him for walks three times a day and will start taking him to classes and we are praying that he calms down a little... but I don't know what else to do with him! OH says he is bored, but considering most puppies are at home all day, Barney leads a pretty active life, already, and he isn't even allowed out for walks yet.

Also, he has growled and nipped (and not a cute little puppy nip) at my OH three times now when he is trying to make him do things he doesn't want to do (take rubbish away from him/put him on the lead/put him in his bed) and I'm terrified that he is showing aggression and what seems like dominance so early on. My OH doesn't do much with him other than play. I do all the training, etc. and he is completely besotted with me (follows me everywhere, whines and misbehaves when I am not around; another thing we are working on fixing) so I wondered if this is why. My OH won't admit it but I can tell he is completely gutted as he loves the puppy. I think I will suggest that my OH mostly walks him to begin with. But any other ideas/advice would be soooo gratefully appreciated!!! On either the barking or nipping the aggression in the bud.

[Sheryl]

He isn't being aggressive or dominant, he is just being a puppy!  He is doing exactly what all of my dogs have done when they were 12 weeks.  I remember Mr Sheryl sticking his face near Kali when she was that age and she bit his nose!  Believe me, there is no such thing as a cute puppy nip.  My two bit and drew blood sometimes but it was over excitement, not aggression.  They are a lot older now and they haven't an aggressive bone in their bodies.  Lyla still growls even now.......in fact she growls when you put her on the bed, even if she has been asking to go up there   I know it is really frustrating sometimes but Barney is very, very young still and you cannot expect too much from him.

[04callahans]

Oh you don't know how good that is to hear!!!!! 
I am just so worried that he is going to be aggressive or dominant as we have a very dominant Lab at my Mums and everyone keeps telling me to be careful of Cockers. I try not to listen but you know what its like... if you are told something enough...

[Sheryl]

Careful of cockers?  Ach phuey.....load of nonsense.  All these people telling you to be careful, are they cocker owners or just anoraks?    If you think Barney is a problem I can send you my two for the week.  Guaranteed to make Barney look like an angel!

[mooching]

He is also showing signs of dominance and aggression, already, at the age of 12 weeks!

I totally agree with Sheryl that he's just being a puppy!

We have been clicker training him for just under a week now and he has picked it all up so quickly, however, I'm actually wondering if this is making him worse?! When I stop with the training sessions he seems to have a really naughty 15 minutes.

Could I just ask for how long your training sessions with him are? It could be that it's just a bit too much, or that it might be an idea to just go with it and allow for an "unwind" session afterwards.

But the biggest problem of all is the barking for attention, or through boredom. We try to keep him occupied as much as possible but as I'm sure you all know, it isn't possible to devote 24 hours of every day to him... he needs to learn to be/play by himself rather than constantly want our attention.

In what ways do you occupy him, and what do you give him to do, and for how long each day you want him to amuse himself?

I just did a little bit of clicker training with him and when I decided we were finished, he just barked and barked at me and then growled at my OH when he tried to put him in his bed.

How did your OH try to put him in his bed, and how did your OH react when he growled?

Also, he has growled and nipped (and not a cute little puppy nip) at my OH three times now when he is trying to make him do things he doesn't want to do (take rubbish away from him/put him on the lead/put him in his bed)

I would suggest that your OH takes another look at the methods he's using, and that he tries methods that are more reward-based than things which (though understandable) could easily be viewed by Barney as confrontational. For taking "rubbish" away from him, Barney can be taught "leave" or "off" by offering him something else (eg something yummy) in exchange. For putting Barney on the lead, he could get Barney to "sit", then treat him both before and after the lead is attached. If he wants Barney to go into his bed, then he could throw a treat in there for him and say "Bed" at the same time, and then treat him again. We found very early on that trying to make Alfie do things was not helpful to him or to us, and reward-based training made things a whole lot easier all round.

My OH doesn't do much with him other than play.

What sort of games does your OH play with Barney - specifically, does he do any "play fight" rough-and-tumble games with him?

[mooching]

Careful of cockers?  Ach phuey.....load of nonsense.  All these people telling you to be careful, are they cocker owners or just anoraks?    If you think Barney is a problem I can send you my two for the week.  Guaranteed to make Barney look like an angel!

Again, totally agree with Sheryl!

My Alfie is half working cocker, half JRTxPatterdale, so we have the terrier thing going on as well! - and when he was little he'd nip, bite, snarl, growl and all sorts. He's 9 months old now and a total sweetie (he was a total sweetie from about 4-5 months onwards!).

[04callahans]

Haha, cheers, Ill pass... you didn't sell that very well!  

No, they are mostly people who haven't had them... or have had them and let them become bored or unruly... I know that, but there's just a niggle in the back of my mind and when I saw him really growl and try and eat my OH's hand this morning I just panicked. *slaps wrist*

I think we are doing everything right, I just worry. I want him to give him the best possible chance to be a lovely little dog and I don't want anything to ruin it.

Mooching, thank you for your endless help and patience with me  
Training sessions are kept very short and sweet. If he does what I ask a few times, we leave it there... perhaps they are not long enough? His little tail wags away and he is completely attentive throughout.
We play with him on and off all day long. But we try not to pander to him every single time he wants our attention.
He just picked him up and put him in. Lol, we have had many clashes over the way Barney is dealt with. Bless OH, he does try, but he needs more training than Barney I think, lol. He is never confrontational, but just can't 'think dog' and cant get the concept of focusing on what you do want from him, rather than what you don't want. He is keen to learn though so is following the training and advice closely. There are some great ideas there... I will show him these replies. Thank you.
And lastly, no, I stopped the rough play straight away! lol! He now plays fetch with him instead, lol! Must less risky! 

[Sheryl]

I would limit it to 5 minute bursts but more often rather than lengthening the session x

[elaine.e]

Our first Cocker Josh was also our very first dog so we were pretty ignorant (this was many years ago, long before the internet, let alone the wisdom of COL). By the time he was about 4 months old he was a real pain in the bum with attention barking in the house and we didn't know what to do. Then one of us figured out that when Josh barked what we should do was get up without looking at him or talking to him, walk out of the room and stay out until he stopped barking. It worked like magic because he was no longer getting any kind of reward (either positive or negative attention) and he was smart enough to realise that.

[mooching]

Training sessions are kept very short and sweet. If he does what I ask a few times, we leave it there... perhaps they are not long enough? His little tail wags away and he is completely attentive throughout.

When they're young, about 5 minutes at a time is long enough, perhaps a bit less even. When you said that he's worse after a training session, what sort of thing do you mean - what does he do? Training taxes their minds quite a lot, so it could be that he's a bit wound up after training, and might benefit from something else to focus on - like, say, a few bits of kibble in an empty box.

We play with him on and off all day long.

When I first came to COL, I read a post by Karma where she mentioned it being important to praise our dogs when they are quiet/chilled/laying down doing nothing, so that they know it's a good thing to do this. It stuck with me, and I've done this with Alfie, and I truly believe it has helped him to become calm. If the only time they get attention from us is when they're active, they may not realise that being quiet is good too.

He just picked him up and put him in. Lol, we have had many clashes over the way Barney is dealt with.

It's really important that you're on the same page over Barney's training (and preferably YOUR page!   ) Cocker Spaniels are as bright as a button, with a real sense of their own identity, and it's important to work with that, and to find ways of getting him to do what you want whilst making him think it's his idea!

Which of you feeds Barney?

[mooching]

Then one of us figured out that when Josh barked what we should do was get up without looking at him or talking to him, walk out of the room and stay out until he stopped barking. It worked like magic because he was no longer getting any kind of reward (either positive or negative attention) and he was smart enough to realise that.

We did this too and it also worked!! Thanks to yet another helpful COL'er who posted this (can't remember who it was!) somewhere back in early 2010 when I joined COL! (I'm so very grateful for the wonderful resource this place is!)

[elaine.e]

Then one of us figured out that when Josh barked what we should do was get up without looking at him or talking to him, walk out of the room and stay out until he stopped barking. It worked like magic because he was no longer getting any kind of reward (either positive or negative attention) and he was smart enough to realise that.

We did this too and it also worked!! Thanks to yet another helpful COL'er who posted this (can't remember who it was!) somewhere back in early 2010 when I joined COL! (I'm so very grateful for the wonderful resource this place is!)

Might have been me

[mooching]

Might have been me

Might well have been! 

[Mel]

I've done all the tried and tested things with Tali and at nearly 13 months he still attention barks and will growl and nip with 'nnnnnnggggging' noises as I call it. Just being a standard teenager. Sometimes the dogs who niplots and for longer can often end up as the softest mouthed adult dogs.

Don't fret

[mlynnf50]

I remember that period very well there were times I thought what have I bought, and I have had dogs all my life, usually rescue dogs as well and I had never experienced anything like Selby.  I do think they are like children in some respects and once I got into a routine with him things improved, I was always thinking if I stimulated him and walked him enough he would then go to sleep but this never worked,  I personally think you can over stimulate them at this age.  He had to be taught how to calm down and that it was ok for him to sleep during the day.

He is now 14 months old and apart from him being a Hood and going through his teenage months he is a lovely little boy, certainly not perfect far far from it and his recall is a major problem.. but this is just to reassure you that things do get better just hang in there