She has biten probably 5 people. This happens when she is sleeping and people try to pet her, or if people are too excited when she is not. she is also extremely territorial when it comes to other dogs in her space. What should be done? We have even though about putting her down but it would be so hard to do. HELP?!?
2007-01-25 03:28:22 · 8 answers · asked by gumdrop8812 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
How old is she??? This may not be what you want to hear but...this is typical spaniel behavior. They tend to be very snippy with people and it only gets worse with age as the hearing and eye sight weakens. Being a female dog also makes her extremely territorial. So with that out of the way she is only being a typical female spaniel, now it's up to you if your willing to walk on eggshells around her and isolate her from children or if you don't want to deal with it anymore at all. That's really your decision. You can't really train her out of her inherited quirks...you just know that next time not to pick this breed of dog. If she's not too old you could possibly give her to a breed specific rescue for re-adoption to someone who knows how to deal with the breed and is willing to work with her.
2007-01-25 03:45:46 · answer #1 · answered by knightn_gal 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The place to start is to get her a crate and keep her in "her space" which is safe and away from what she perceives as threats whenever you can. She's probably just had enough and is snipping back because she can't get her point across any other way. Crate training is the most humane way to take care of a snippy dog because it not only protects people from her when she's moody, but it gives her a safe place from people and a sense of security. It will also cut down on the territorialism in the rest of the house if her "territory" is a crate in a quiet, out of the way place. You need to find a good trainer (and interview many..."good" trainers aren't as easy to find as you think), and preferably find one who specializes in behavior therapy. Your vet can prescribe anti-anxiety drugs for the short term to break the cycle, but at the same time you need to look at what's happening in your house that's causing all of this anxiety.
The one thing you wrote that's very telling is that she snips when she's sleeping and people try to pet her. Why let people bother her at all when she's sleeping? Seems that maybe the humans in the house need a little training of their own on how to deal with an unhappy pet.
We had a chocolate lab who was constantly growling, would wet himself if you raised your voice, and nearly bit the kids a couple of times. We seriously considered putting him down...which would have been tragic. Then one day, totally by accident, I saw my 12 y/o son go after the dog with a shovel thinking he was "controlling" the dog. Apparently his grandpa taught him how to use sticks, shovels, whatnot to hit the dog and get him inline. The result was a dog who was constantly in fear and never able to relax. We did some serious work with the dog, the kids and the grandparents for many months. Grandpa couldn't see how he did anything wrong, even though the kids opened up about all of the horrible things they'd witness him do. When it was clear that just seeing Grandpa would put the dog over the edge...and that Grandpa had no intention of changing...then it became obvious that Grandpa wasn't coming over anymore. If he was going to attack our dog, we didn't need our kids exposed to his attitudes and actions. It took months to figure this out, but in the 2 months that followed, the dog calmed right down. He's now the biggest baby and barely growls even when he probably should.
So there is hope, but the problems are rarely the dogs' alone. We have to look at ourselves and our homelife to figure out what we're doing that's triggering the behavior.
2007-01-25 03:47:14 · answer #2 · answered by GenevievesMom 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Have you had her checked for Rage Syndrome? This is prevalent in all spaniel breeds, but has mostly been seen in English Springer Spaniels. Its a brain disorder and its hereditary. They are great dogs, and all of a sudden for no apparent reason they snap. Biting the closest thing around, and not just humans but other dogs, animals, and even furniture. They think its just that the brain was wired wrong at birth. Its irreversible and you either have to live with it, or not. If its Rage Syndrome there is little a vet can do but to try to prescribe anti-seizure or psychotic medications but this only lowers activity and severity. It doesn't cure the dog.
this site is informative and helpful with understanding Rage Syndrome and Heightened Aggression issues.
http://www.vetinfo.com/daggressp.html
2007-01-25 03:37:06 · answer #3 · answered by I luv Pets 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
This doesn't sound like Rage Syndrome, though a good probability.
You need to create a safe space for her. When you're nervous she's sensing that and is also nervous, it's putting her on edge. Inform people around your dog that they need to relax. Control the environment. Remove her from a sitution that is causing her stress.
If removing her from a situation isn't phesible then maintain her training. You must remain Alpha - not leaving her feeling that she has to fill in the void because she feels unprotected and unsafe (which is what may cause the dog aggression.)
Sit and down are submitting. Redirect her attention to you. Snap the lead, use a shaker bottle (a bottle w/ sand, rice, rocks etc in it), a loud noise of some sort to grab her attention. Keep her focused on you. Put her in sit and then down. She has to see that other dogs are not a threat and YOU are the one to determine if they are and handle the situation.
I would recommend calling a trainer to come to your home and help you. Petco/Petsmart or other facilities don't handle aggressive dogs. It's more beneficial to have a trainer come to you in your environment.
Good Luck
2007-01-25 03:44:52 · answer #4 · answered by sillybuttmunky 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you know that she will bite when startled, you must be a responsible pet owner and leave her alone when she's sleeping. Yes, have her checked out by a vet and see a behaviorist - if you're fighting an inherited problem, it's best to know that sooner rather than later, after more dogs and people have been hurt.
2007-01-25 03:42:31 · answer #5 · answered by Misa M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have a springer spaniel X and learnt a lot about this breed and how they are territorial by going to google
2007-01-25 03:43:50 · answer #6 · answered by dumplingmuffin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Please don't consider putting her down until you've consulted a dog behavioralist, or at least a trainer.
2007-01-25 03:49:55 · answer #7 · answered by Pink Denial 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
are u in uk?
2007-01-25 03:36:16 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋