Aggresive Dog Behaviour

[celticharmony]

We own 2 beautiful and healthy Cavalier King Charles spaniels the older, Max is 7 yrs old Monty is just over 1yr. Max is a very placid, cooperative and affectionate dog, but unfortunately Monty is showing increasingly dominant and aggressive behaviour, something which we have never witnessed in all the years we have kept Cavis.

He can be very affectionate, but always on his terms and in such a forceful way, by literally pushing his face up against your neck. If there is any attempt to cuddle or stroke him outside of this he growls, snaps and often nips. He will do this also if moved from an area where he is not allowed. He steals items of clothing and guards them with such vigor that he will snap at your heels if you try to take it from him. My only way of dealing with this is to offer a treat and remove the object. However, I guess this could also be seen as rewarding bad behaviour. I have to stress that he has never ever been so aggressive or angry as to show his teeth.

We treat both dogs equally, but Monty always asserts his authority over Max, or tries to. Fortunately when pushed, Max can hold his own and calmly holds him down with two paws around his upper back/neck region. Sometimes we only have to barely stroke or touch him gently and he will suddenly turn, snap and try to nip us. It is so very upsetting and causing us distress, especially as he is otherwise so lovely, merry and full of life. He swims every day and runs for a full hour on the beach, so there is no question of boredom playing any part. The dogs are also never left for more than an hour at a time, have lots of stimulation and play time, so there is also no separation anxiety or frustration to consider. Also if he is even gently disturbed from his sleep the same procedure occurs.

[celticharmony]

Sorry. Forgot to add that right now we cannot possibly afford the amount quoted by a Behaviourist who would also have to be paid for travelling over 100miles to our house! We so want to do what is right for our little dog and any help or suggestions would be gratefully received.

Since submitting my previous mail Monty has bitten my husband on the foot and toe drawing blood. This occurred all because he stretched his leg whilst lying on the sofa and managed to gently brush off Monty's side whilst he was asleep. It was so distressing and left us feeling so sad and at a total loss as to how we can help him. He is such a young dog and the very thought of having to part with him is heart breaking. On the other hand we cannot allow this present behaviour to continue.

[miss_morph]

Hi, i'm no dog expert but just go on my own experiences...have you ever heard of Jan fennell (author of 'the dog listener'), her method of dog training works on the basis that the dog is a pack animal. i implemented her 'rules' and within 4 days it had worked.
The dog is a pack animal, and as such realises that being removed from the pack shows that they have done wrong, when monty misbehaves could you pick the dog up and place him in another room for 5 minutes to 'cool off'? i would understand if that would be hard if he is likely to bite you, but this is what i used to do with my pup when she was bad, and she would cry and whinge for a while but i wouldn't let her back in until she'd stopped whining. then when she did come in she'd had time to calm down.
hope this helps
sarah

[mick11]

Hi celticharmony,

At the top of the main page is a section called "Expert Articles". There are some excellent articles written by Nick. Nick also has a very informative website.
At 1 year old your dog is still a puppy and probably sees a lot of this as play. You are also encauraging the behavior by feeding treats at the wrong time.

Mick

[nick_j007]

Originally Posted by celticharmony

We own 2 beautiful and healthy Cavalier King Charles spaniels the older, Max is 7 yrs old Monty is just over 1yr. Max is a very placid, cooperative and affectionate dog, but unfortunately Monty is showing increasingly dominant and aggressive behaviour, something which we have never witnessed in all the years we have kept Cavis.

He can be very affectionate, but always on his terms and in such a forceful way, by literally pushing his face up against your neck. If there is any attempt to cuddle or stroke him outside of this he growls, snaps and often nips. He will do this also if moved from an area where he is not allowed. He steals items of clothing and guards them with such vigor that he will snap at your heels if you try to take it from him. My only way of dealing with this is to offer a treat and remove the object. However, I guess this could also be seen as rewarding bad behaviour. I have to stress that he has never ever been so aggressive or angry as to show his teeth.

We treat both dogs equally, but Monty always asserts his authority over Max, or tries to. Fortunately when pushed, Max can hold his own and calmly holds him down with two paws around his upper back/neck region. Sometimes we only have to barely stroke or touch him gently and he will suddenly turn, snap and try to nip us. It is so very upsetting and causing us distress, especially as he is otherwise so lovely, merry and full of life. He swims every day and runs for a full hour on the beach, so there is no question of boredom playing any part. The dogs are also never left for more than an hour at a time, have lots of stimulation and play time, so there is also no separation anxiety or frustration to consider. Also if he is even gently disturbed from his sleep the same procedure occurs.

Hi.

This does sound pretty serious and is likely to build.

The question is how far will you allow it to go before you are forced to act?

Good behaviour people are not cheap (myself included sorry), but it's far better to deal with it now before things get out of hand.

How would you cope with a large vet fee?

It's extremely difficult to address these issues on a forum. This needs a full assessment of your own behaviours and to build up a new positive way forward.

Best wishes,

Nick

[celticharmony]

Thank you so much for your response Nick and I appreciate and understand fully all that you have said, particularly the importance of an assessment. We are in a bad position in that we live in Rural Ireland and the nearest behaviourist is so far away that on top of her fee we would need to pay for her journey of over 100ks. She has informed us that more than one session would definately be required, so we knew immediately that this was financially impossible at least right now. We are both pensioners and simply do not have that kind of extra money. Our dogs are well insured medically and are never in contact with children or indeed any members of the public without their leads, except close friends and family members, with whom Monty behaves impecably and very affectionately. This behaviour only shows itself towards us. We do remove him to a place on his own when he behaves badly but not sure if this is correct or not. I no longer give him a treat of any kind if he refuses to give up any object which is in his possession, but distract him in other ways ie, calling him to the garden to play. I can understand how one cannot address this situation fully at home, but until we can afford the services of a behaviourist we would be grateful for any basic suggestion which could help us in the meantime. We love our dogs and want them to have a good quality of life. I meant to say that Monty is perfect when being groomed and will sit for ages allowing you to comb vigorously, clean eyes and ears etc without any negative behaviour. What amazes us is that the older dog only needs to put his paws around his neck without any growling or aggression and Monty is as quiet as a mouse. Why he doesn't try to bit or snap at Max is beyond my understanding.

Anyway thank you for taking time to respond and your comments are appreciated.

[nick_j007]

Originally Posted by celticharmony

Thank you so much for your response Nick and I appreciate and understand fully all that you have said, particularly the importance of an assessment. We are in a bad position in that we live in Rural Ireland and the nearest behaviourist is so far away that on top of her fee we would need to pay for her journey of over 100ks. She has informed us that more than one session would definately be required, so we knew immediately that this was financially impossible at least right now. We are both pensioners and simply do not have that kind of extra money. Our dogs are well insured medically and are never in contact with children or indeed any members of the public without their leads, except close friends and family members, with whom Monty behaves impecably and very affectionately. This behaviour only shows itself towards us. We do remove him to a place on his own when he behaves badly but not sure if this is correct or not. I no longer give him a treat of any kind if he refuses to give up any object which is in his possession, but distract him in other ways ie, calling him to the garden to play. I can understand how one cannot address this situation fully at home, but until we can afford the services of a behaviourist we would be grateful for any basic suggestion which could help us in the meantime. We love our dogs and want them to have a good quality of life. I meant to say that Monty is perfect when being groomed and will sit for ages allowing you to comb vigorously, clean eyes and ears etc without any negative behaviour. What amazes us is that the older dog only needs to put his paws around his neck without any growling or aggression and Monty is as quiet as a mouse. Why he doesn't try to bit or snap at Max is beyond my understanding.

Anyway thank you for taking time to respond and your comments are appreciated.

Well if you think the lady is worth her salt I would save your pennies and get her in

If the behaviour is only with yourselves, then it is your relationship with the dog that needs addressing, and an experienced hand will be able to guide you without too much difficulty.

Removing him to his own place when he misbehaves is not bad as such, just rather inneffective as you're finding.

Due to my own workload I am unable to go into depth here, but a few ideas for you that may assist, and pointers on further research for you to carry out. The web is a great thing, you just need to know what to look at.

Keep a trailing lead on him for a few weeks to allow non confrontational yet swift corrections and removal from areas when you need to. A rapid response is important...no dawdling...just pick the lead up and correct him and then remove. Keep pretty quiet, verbal cues do not help much when the pressures on.

Place him in 'time out' (small room free from interest) for no more than 1 minute and then allow back in and ignore to settle. repeat as needed.

No access to sofa/beds due to his behaviour there.

Affection and attention seeking sounds like a sticking point. It should be on your terms not his. Read this article which I'd like you to implement for a couple of weeks than report back: Nothing in Life is Free
Plenty of attention, but strictly initiated by you.

Guarding items:
HowStuffWorks "Stopping a Dog's Excessive Guarding"

Again, the long line on combined with a lifting of all toys and play items will assist you. Teach the hold and give command: Teaching The Take, Hold and Give Commands

These are articles I've just found online and I have no connection to them otherwise. A quick read through and it seems to agree by and large with me

Now, do as I say and IMPLEMENT this list.

I sincerely hope you're giving good feed back soon.

Have a Guinness for me.

Nick

[RDW]

How did you get on? Might have to pass those articles on to a friend haveing similar problems. thanks