# Springer spaniel developing aggression?



## Giraffe (Nov 9, 2010)

I have a 3 year old springer spaniel, male, named Benson, who is not neutered (and I would prefer never to have to do this to him!)
Benson lived with me alone from a puppy, but now shares a house with my partner and her two young children (since around 6 months ago).
He is generally well trained and obedient and has never given me any cause for concern in the past. He plays brilliantly and gently with the children and is a wonderful natured dog.

A problem has began to develop recently however with Benson which gives me cause for concern and I feel that it needs to be dealt swiftly with before it develops.
The problem only occurs when Benson is in a position he does not want to move from. More often than not, this is the sofa in the front room that gives him a view out into the street- but sometimes the back of the car after a walk etc. 
Sometimes, Benson will jump off the sofa (or wherever) immediately on command- but sometimes he does not seem to want to. On these occasions, when verbal commands have failed, my partner or I will go into move him by hand. Benson will then roll onto his back making this difficult. Initially, this was all he would do but recently, he began snarling/growling quietly when moved. This developed to 'mouthing' our hands as we moved him. 
The problem is that last night, Benson bit my partner on her hand and held it for several seconds while she shouted. The bite punctured her skin and has really affected her confidence with him (and mine a little in truth).
The problem seems more pronounced with my partner than it is with me- but Benson is showing similar signs of aggression(?) towards me in these circumstances.

My partner and I will take action immediately to reinforce Benson's position in the pack (banning him from sofas/beds, removing food apart from meal times etc.)
Is this the right thing to do and is there any other advice anybody could offer? I would be really grateful for anyone's views on this. Can anybody say what we should do next time Benson decides that he does not want to move??!

Thank you to anybody for taking the time to read this!


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## keirk (Aug 9, 2010)

Firstly think of the growling as communication - he is saying "I'm not happy". This is good - dont punish that. It's better that him just biting without warning.

I think you need to make some consistent rules about what is acceptable. Forget the "position in the pack" nonsense. Is he allowed on the sofa or not? Rather than pulling him off the sofa - dont let him on in the first place.

Do you reward him if he gets off the sofa to a verbal command? Would you like to be throw off the sofa at someone elses whim? If you want him off the sofa - click him lead on and remove him gently, and reward once off. Grabbing of collars is rather unpleasant.

I would recommend you read Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs: Amazon.co.uk: Suzanne Clothier: Books.

HTH


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## Colliepoodle (Oct 20, 2008)

keirk said:


> Firstly think of the growling as communication - he is saying "I'm not happy". This is good - dont punish that. It's better that him just biting without warning.
> 
> I think you need to make some consistent rules about what is acceptable. Forget the "position in the pack" nonsense. Is he allowed on the sofa or not? Rather than pulling him off the sofa - dont let him on in the first place.
> 
> ...


Great post. I started a post that began "Forget the 'position in the pack' crap" and then couldn't be bothered to carry on. The above is what I would have said.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

hey, giro! :--)
has Benson actually had training? by this i mean, was he actually *taught* what Off [the Sofa] means? 
does he KNOW what sit means? will he SIT if U say the command with Ur back turned, 
or while lying flat on the floor face-down, or while U are sitting + he is standing? 
if not, his training is more like vague half-grasped notions; i would start there, teach him UP + OFF - 
UP is for invitations, OFF is for onto the floor; Up!, treat, Off! with hand-motion, treat... 
repeat.

installing a cushioned bed nearby will give him an attractive, comfy alternative vs the wall-to-wall, 
which is not only less cushy, but is drafty - a bolster around the bed-floor helps to block drafts.

are U using his **collar* as a handle to move him off the sofa? 
there may be a pain-issue - muscle-strain, misaligned vertebra[e], EAR-infection, dental or sinus 
problem, who knows what? a vet-visit would be a good precaution, IMO - looking for any pain or infection.

i don't know why neutering is a horror for U - but *intact-Ms* are many-times more likely to bite 
than are neutered-Ms; and there are kids in the house, adults are not the only possible bitees - 
especially if the kids invite their friends over, it is easily possible for a child to do something 
in all innocence, like *hug or kiss the dog, or push him off the sofa so they can climb up,* 
which will predictably result in a bite.

re the children - 
boys between 5 and 9-YO are up to TEN-times as likely to be bitten as same-age girls, 
because boys do more things to elicit [cause] bites: run, scream, hit, play aggressively, 
chase the dog, chase each other, wrestle, tease, poke/pull, throw things, and on and on.

it's up to U - but i would neuter him ASAP, were he mine.  i would also supervise anytime 
that he and any child under 10-YO [most girls] to 12-YO [many boys] are in the same space.


Giraffe said:


> My partner and I will take action immediately to reinforce Benson's position in the pack
> (banning him from sofas/beds, removing food apart from meal times etc.)


as everyone else has already said, *pack position, rank reduction, dumbinance, * etc, 
are all human-fantasies and anthropocentric behaviors.

re meals - 
IMO no dog should be free-feeding from a constantly-available bowl; free-feeding contributes 
enormously to obesity, and also causes free-stooling - as opposed to an approximately scheduled 
need to void, which is much easier to accommodate as it is *predictable*.

*dumbinance* is not the same as 'dominance'; dominance is an EVENT between 2 individuals 
over who gets a *resource*, it is not a character-trait or an attitude or a lifestyle, and it does 
not involve other species, status, privileges, who gets to boss whom about, or any other add-ons; 
it's about RESOURCES - food, treats, toys, access. 
access-issues *may* - emphasize *may* - include access to a person, generally the owner, 
but in some dogs novel visitors are an access-issue to quarrel over; luckily, this is uncommon.

*dumbinance* blames any and all possible status, access, obedience, compliance, and all other 
possible conflicts On the Dog - the dog is deliberately resisting, rebelling, and so on.  
dogs aren't anarchists, they are compliant when they *know* what is wanted of them, 
AND are *rewarded for their compliance* - with praise, with access or freedom, with toys, 
food, games, walks and other real-life rewards, and so on.


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