Rehoming 1 year old show type cocker spaniel

[Patp]

Whatever decision you make, it will be a hard one and one that needs to ensure the dogs wellbeing (just as much for your own sanity).  It is also about educating your children on how to behave with a pet, a hard lesson sometimes learned at the expense of many dogs.

 If  your mind is made up, then please contact one of the spaniel rehoming centres at least you know they will understand the breed and less likely to come back into the system again and again.

I might be wrong, but I doubt that him having the snip will change him (others may have experience of this)

Good luck 

[assumpta]

Hi, can I ask what age your kids are. Having kids and a young dog can be hard work BUT can be workable with the right training for pup and kids! Boundaries have to be set and respected on both sides. What issues make him snappy?

[Upatree]

Hi kids are 4 & 6 they play with him with his toys etc but sometimes when they go for the ball/bone he has literally gone for them bruising and breaking skin he has on two occasions recently been very aggressive to two dogs baring teeth and the time he wasn't on the lead actually attacked the other submissive dog  - out of character for him. My girls are just playing with him hiw I would expect them to play with him - this is why I'm so concerned, one half saying he's a lovely dog ignore it the other half saying if he really hurts one of them I won't ever forgive myself.
I know from the first two comments I received im being looked on as a bad owner but my children come first.

[MIN]

I dont think you a bad owner, and you have to think about your kids.
 As no kids myself I automatically defend the dog and therefore best to say nothing 

[barnfind]

Just to clarify, I was suggesting that offering your dog for sale on this forum was not the best opening post if you were seeking help.

[Archie bean]

You are not a bad owner, just possibly an inexperienced one facing a horrible situation. Many of the comments have been spot on. I totally agree that first the breeder and then a reputable rescue should be the route to take. Trying to find a new home yourself is unlikely to produce a happy outcome for your dog and asking for money is not going to guarantee an experienced loving home.

If you do decide to try to make it work then a good, reward based behaviourist is an absolute must. However, you will need to work with your children to teach them how to behave around the dog. For this behaviour to change you will need to change the way you let them interact with dog. This video was in my Facebook feed recently and I think it is absolutely brilliant in explaining how we miss the signals our dogs give us.

https://www.facebook.com/LoveUnderdogs/posts/716446055132940

Although I don't have children of my own, I have a young niece and I teach private music lessons to children in my home. I have a dog with an agressive side - I was bitten by him. I had to decide if I was able to manage that problem or if I had to let him go. I chose to work on it and together we have learned how to trust each other. It was hard, but it can be done. Would I trust him to be alone with my niece? Unsupervised? Absolutely not. Do they love each other and play brilliantly when I am with them? Yes.

[elaine.e]

It sounds like you have a dog who is a resource guarder. He guards things that are especially valuable to him, in this case his ball or bone. It's a natural and normal dog behaviour that some dogs do more than others. But it's a not a behaviour that we, as dog owners, want them to do. Resource guarders can usually be trained not to guard, or if an owner has identified what's being guarded it's possible to not let the dog have those items, leaving him nothing to guard.

It doesn't mean that he's aggressive. He's a resource guarder and that's very different. I would imagine that he's given warning signals in the past (which may have been subtle and missed by you and your family) so now feels that he has to go a step further and bite because his warnings have been ignored.

With regard to his reactions to other dogs, baring teeth is a warning. I don't know the circumstances so I can't comment beyond that. He may be feeling anxious around other dogs for some reason and because of that he can't easily stay calm if he's close to them. Again, it doesn't mean he's aggressive, but he needs somebody like a behaviourist to assess what the problem is and to help him.

I can understand that with young children around you're worried. I honestly think that with some help you could train him and help him, but if that's not for you I'm not going to criticise, I'm just going to ask you to please rehome him sensibly. He would be best going to one of the organisations already suggested, or somewhere similar. They will have the knowledge and time to assess him and train him before placing him with a suitable family. They will also be there as a backup for the rest of his life.

If you sell him privately, or even give him away, you run the risk of him going to people who will immediately sell him on at a profit, or even perhaps use him as a bait dog in a dog fight. There are some very clever scammers around. Even if he goes to a lovely family, how can you be sure that they have the experience to help him through his resource guarding?

So please, rehome him through a suitable rescue so that you know he'll be found a suitable and loving home by experts.

[assumpta]

Great advice from above comments. I can only add if you want to keep your dog and put in the work with training and getting a behaviourist that only uses positive training it can work for your family. Of course you don't want your kids hurt and also want whats best for your dog. In my house I always have to be supervising any play with toys as my pup can get over excited and grumpy. Any toys are taken out by me and then put away after. If you do decide to rehome please please use a rescue like Spaniel Aid or similar.

[Mudmagnets]

I didn't see your post before it was edited, but I think  the main concern is to keep everybody safe, whatever that takes, whether lots of hard work by you and your family, including the children...or if you feel you cannot cope with that... to rehome through a reputable organisation.

I don't have children, but can imagine your concerns for their welfare, which is only natural.

Hope you can come up with a solution that will be the best for all of you.

[cindere528]

Have you contacted your breeder? Any good breeder should take back one of their "puppies" for rehoming and would be very upset if one of their dogs was being advertised for sale without being contacted first. It does depend on the breeder though but if they are members of the Cocker Club etc, it's part of the Code of Ethics to help with rehoming.

I agree, your first port of call should be the breeder. If they are a reputable breeder, she or he should also give advice on training etc too.

If, however, your dog came from a back yard breeder or a puppy farm, then a good behaviourist is called for, someone who can show you how to train him by using positive methods.

How old was he when you got him? It could be that he was taken away from his mother too early. Puppies learn their bite inhibition in the last couple of weeks with their mum, and if he was taken away too young, she wouldn't have had chance to teach him that very important lesson. Its not insurmountable though with a good trainer/behaviourist.

[lozzyf]

Just to say, training people around the dog has always been my approach . My grandson who's three thinks he can kick the dogs if they are in the way so THAT has to be stopped also I won't let him mither them if they have bones ( they wouldn't bite but others may)
On a lighter side my other half had to be told about running down the stairs and shouting at the same time as both my dogs are rescues .ones a nervous growler and the other frightened so him doing this
 Upset any calm we had achieved!!!!
As with any family unit ,it being dogs or humans we have to learn how to rub along with each other and create a calm positive atmosphere where everyone is happy and quirks are dealt with.
Someone earlier said if you haven't the resource to find a way then you must make sure the dogs future is with someone who can and I agree. You being uptight about it will just make the dog worse and things may escalate. Don't let guilt get in the way do the best for everyone ,yourself included.

[PennyB]

I also think at this age they can be very challenging anyway and so often need an outlet with regard to exercise, stimulation (but not overstimulating) and back to basics training (short simple tasks to get the thinking) - they also listen less at this age too as they're effectively teenagers and want to push boundaries more