# Schizophrenic Cocker Spaniel



## Johnno884 (Dec 1, 2009)

Hi all,

My partner and I are the very proud owners of Oscar, a 2 year old Cocker Spaniel who we re-homed 6 months ago via a small rehoming company.

His previous owners had felt the need to give him up on account of his "energy" after they were not able to cope and resulted to leaving him in a crate for hours on end.

He now gets walked twice daily for 60mins and luckily through my line of work, I am able to bring him to my office every day where he receives no end of fuss and plays happily with my co-workers.

Recently though, he has started to show signs of being very aggressive and territorial towards his belongings (bed and food mainly) to such an extent that his growl turns nasty and he lashes out with hackles raised. He "flips" back to normal soon after and is submissive (belly up) and happy again. 

It came to a head last night when my partner moved his bed and he tried to bite her foot. She then shouted at him and he jumped at her face. I naturally stepped in and forced him off despite the growling and bare teeth. He then followed her downstairs afterwards and was happily around her feet in the kitchen until I walked in and he jumped at me growling and hackles raised and ended up latched onto my arm and bit hold. I removed him with appropriate force and then dispatched him to the garden to "cool down" (in -3 temperature for his trouble). 

This is the first time he has actually managed to attack one of us and it left us both in shock. My wrist is now punctured and covered in teeth marks. My concern is that we will be starting a family in the next 2 years and want Oscar to be a part of it. That said, I will never put him over my family and will do anything I can to fix whatever the issue is! We have ruled out "Cocker Rage" as it is distinctively territorial rather than mindless and random?

Our first instinct is to neuter him as this should remove some aggression, but how successful will this be? Beyond that, we have no ideas what to do! We do not want to give him up as (for now) he is my little man and I cannot imagine being without his daft floppy ears in my life!

Any help/ideas/experience would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Johnno


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## hutch6 (May 9, 2008)

If he's possessive over his bed, toys, chews etc I would be going back top basics so he knows that he can't always get what he wants when he wants it or he sees it as his right to the stuff rather than him having it on long term loan.

I woul ask colleagues to ignore him when they come into your office and not to give him affection straight away as he has to earn this and he will earn it through waiting patiently for it. Only when he has stopped pestering and forcing himslef on people will he be allowed ot get affection. The same goes for things at the home.

Make sure that he only gets things on your terms such as walks, food, affection etc otherwise everything is happening on his terms so he sees it that he owns what he has rather then you allowing him to have them where there are until you say enough.


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

This sounds like resource guarding to me- can be common in some cocker lines.. 
Here is a post that I wrote about resource guarding, it's origins and the correct ways of viewing and curing the problem (which I would add is totally possible ):



lemmsy said:


> Sure
> 
> I'm guessing the way you see it is the dog is guarding because it is "dominant" and wants reinforce their status by letting the other dogs/people know that the toy for instance is theirs and claiming such/simular objects?
> 
> ...


So the main thing to note with resource guarding is that:
1. The dog is reacting out of fear- they feel threatened by a human's presense around their resources and have learnt to use aggressive behaviour to get them to go away. 
2. NEVER scold a dog for growling/bearing it's teeth when resource guarding! You are only confirming the dog's fear that: Humans near toys/food= they take the resources away and I get shouted at! In short scolding the dog makes the problem worse. 
3. You can cure resource guarding by doing the following things:
- To avoid the aggressive/ defensive response becoming even more of a habit do not leave toys/treats/whatever resource the dog may guard around the house. Maybe put all of his toys in a box. 
- Teach your dog that the presence of a human approaching his food/toys is a good thing. If it is a case of food- offer the dog more food as you approach or add more food to his bowl. Do this gradually if the dog is not comfortable with you right next to him and only move closer when it is clear that the dog is comfortable at this stage. With toys and other objects- swaps is a great when of teaching the dog that you approaching him doesn't mean you are going to take his toy. Offer him an equally valuable toy and throw it for him/play with him, rewarding him the whole time (only do this if he is comfortable with you doing this). 
- Once you are confident with the above teach the dog to "drop" on command and immediately replace the toy that they have dropped with an equally valuable one 

*Remember that all of this must be done gradually. Only ever move on to the next stage of the suggestions in the last two bullets if the dog is totally comfortable with the stage you are at. If the dog regresses, go back a stage, lower the critera. Set your dog up for success!

Best of luck and I hope this has helped in some way


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

I forgot to add that a really good book about resource guarding which is totally worth reading is the following:
Mine! A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs by Jean Donaldson

Amazon.com: Mine! A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs (9780970562944): Jean Donaldson: Books

I think contacting a good positive reinforcement behaviourist would be a really good idea. 
Whereabouts in the country are you? Someone may be able to recommend a decent behaviourist. 
The APDT are excellent:
Welcome to APDT - Association of Pet Dog Trainers UK


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

hey, johnno! :--)

desex is an excellent step-One, full marks for that! :thumbup1: 
it reduces aggro across the board, and altho not a stand-alone, it is a huge help to any B-Mod that is begun, since the dog 
can learn more effectively without the added fillip of testosterone to put an extra edge on him. 

as for coping with the RG / Resource Guarding, i would NOT avoid labeling this as a rage-case, there can be triggers that 
are known - Rage is not usually idiopathic to the degree that the dog just snaps-out whilst lying on the floor, as the family 
sits watching telly, after all. 
there IS something that sets the dog off... often more than one something. 
_*identifying every trigger is Step One.*_

the big diff between *Rage* and ordinary-aggro is the intensity and duration of the response - it is both extraordinarily violent 
with relatively-low provocation or threat, AND it is an extended event - the dog may bite more than once; or bite and shake 
violently to rip; or bite one person, then when another person tries to intercede, re-direct and attack the 2nd person with 
equal or greater intensity.

some terms U need to know - 
trigger, desensitization (DS), threshold, conditioned response, counter-conditioning (CC), calmative, relaxation response

once the triggers are _*found and noted, careful and intensive == Management == is begun, to avoid ANY and All confrontation over these fraught issues, until the dog and family have had time to get well into a good B-Mod 
protocol to literally TEACH the dog new emotional responses, to these disturbing (to the dog) events, 
circs, and stim. *_

_*Management example - *_ 
U want to safely feed the dog - 
BEFORE his next meal (slightly hungry), set-up a shipping crate in the kitchen; have treats on hand, 
preferably high-quality Low-Fat human protein, like tuna tidbits, skinless chicken-breast, etc. 
have the dog first APPROACH the crate to get a goody off the floor, one tidbit at a time, then a treat from the door sill, 
just inside, 4-inches back, and so on.... until the dog is cheerfully + happily going _*all the way in to get / eat ONE 
treat, and coming back out.*_ 
no reason NOT to drop another tidbit to reward every 2nd or 4th return to outside the crate either - speeds up his exit! :thumbup1:

Next meal: 
fill bowl, PICK up CRATE, set bowl in doorway, TURN CRATE to face dog, place on floor; dog enters, 
LATCH door quietly. walk quietly away... 
dog has finished? approach crate At An ANGLE - not face-on. 
have another delish tidbit, if need be on a long SPOON - like low-fat cream-cheese to lick?... 
offer the spoon after asking quietly for a sit... he sits, he gets dessert. 
walk away... repeat at least 3 times,TILL * HE * SITS _*Before U have TIME to ask... 
he has just displayed self-control in the presence of a trigger, his bowl. 
in a low pitched, warm voice, praise him fulsomely! 
NOW - unlatch the door WHILE standing to ==ONE side=== not in FRONT of it, and have more treats at the ready!! 
when he exits stand stock-still, offer NO eye contact, say his Name and ROLL a couple of treats across the floor, 
AHEAD of him + AWAY from U... *_ 
while he scarfs them up, quietly LATCH the crate-door. when he finishes those, send him OUT of the kitchen, same thing - 
Sacred NAME, toss across the floor / threshold, he exits. 
NOW - that he is out of the room - U can pick up the crate, un-latch the door, take out the bowl for washing... 
if he is one who will return to the kitchen, hoping to cadge, install a BABY-GATE to preclude that so that U can 
get the bowl from the crate safely, no worries over a snappy dog barreling into the room.

any triggers are handled the same way - set up a PLAN that prevents any confrontation, and gives the dog No Opportunity to react with suspicion and aggro. 
he is not doing this on purpose - he has had some experience that made him feel that HE must protect HIS food, space, and person.

Q - how is he for grooming? 
many an impatient groomer has created huge issues in dogs with rough handling or painful de-matting, or just impatiently expecting them to STAND * BLOODY * STILL!!, ya maroon, for TWENTY minutes of comb, pick, comb, pull, comb, scissor, comb... lie-down, turn over, stand up, no give me that foot...  :frown2: 

the book * Click to Calm * is a wonderful DIY resource, with pages or step by step, laid-out B-Mod protocols 
in the back of the book. U can buy it on line, or borrow it from the library - if the local-libe has no copy, 
Interlibrary loan should snag one.

happy B-Mod, 
--- terry


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## k8t (Oct 13, 2009)

Hi

Sorry to hear about the problems and everyones advice is good. It could be that now the dog has settled into your environment it is beginning to feel more at home and therefore becoming more confident to behave how it has in the past. Most re-homed dogs start to show behavioural problems around the 3 - 6 month stage in the home. Which is why it is a good idea to set the structure and routines from day one.

However, I really would suggest you seek professional help through a behaviourist (your vet can refer you if you are insured), or through the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors. You don't say what area you are, but a list will be found on their website.

The APBC | Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors

I am concerned that you call it 'Schizophrenic', as this would infer that he is alright one moment and not the next or at the least unpredictable, which is obviously of concern to everyone, especially as you are taking the dog to work.

Unfortunately, some Cocker Spaniels have not been bred for good temperments, but more for their looks and breed line, although this is being bred out by responsible and good breeders there are some Cocker Spaniels that can be unpredictable and are not the easiest of dogs to live with on a day to day basis. I understand that you are aware of Cocker Rage, but this is a bit of a misnomer, as it isn't just flipping out over nothing and then alright, it is 'triggered', in the way that you describe. In 17 years I have come across three Cockers (two reds, one black! (sorry put wrong colour edited), who were similarly triggered. Two of them had intensive programmes (not by me, but a Behaviourist), one unfortunately was so unpredicatable, it couldn't be rehomed.

It doesn't sound like your dog is in the latter catergory, but I feel that professional help would be a good idea.

It may be worth asking the re-homing centre, if this was ever evident in his previous home - although in my experience, most owners never give the 'real' reason why they are giving up their dog after a couple of years.

Sorry I can't be of more help, but I do think it is too difficult to advise without seeing the dog and assessing him in a bit more depth.

Best of luck

Kate


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## Johnno884 (Dec 1, 2009)

Thank you all, for your very useful responses.

Resource Guarding would appear to be the clear issue here and I will take steps to read up on it as much as I can and immediately start to rectify my routine with him and begin to alter his behaviour to us.

Incidentally he has a vaccination appointment with the vet on Friday and I will raise the issue of having his "walnuts whipped". Not the best present for Xmas but i'm sure he'll be happier in the long run!

Thanks again!

Johnno


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## Maria89 (Dec 2, 2009)

Our Cocker Spaniel was exactly the same, only with food and his bed too but he didn't get as far as biting, that's not to say he never will but I feel for you both because i personally felt like i hadn't been a good owner to him if he was lashing out like that. However, I am a good owner and we all want what's best for our dogs, so, when he displayed this behaviour we took the item away, the last time was a few months ago (it's happened about three times) and it was over his bed so we took it away from him all night and so he slept on the floor and he hasn't displayed this behaviour since and hopefully won't again.

Good luck!


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