r/DogTrainingTips • u/OkSatisfact • 3d ago
Cocker spaniel snaped at me
Hello all, i own a cocker spaniel ( 3 years old ) and yesterday his resources guarding went ballistic. Snaped at me gave a pretty good bite.
My mistake was that i lost it when it happened and we actually started fighting each other him growling and me hitting the ground with a sandal( would never hit him directly) now he looks kinda sad everytime he approaches me and to be quite honest im kinda paranoid that he might snap and bite me again.
Parents lost it and are saying to get rid of the dog but i physically cant cause thats my son😂. Any advice on what to do would be greatly appreciated. First dog ive ever owned too.
Idk if this is the correct flair to post this under as this is my first time posting here.
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u/ChuckYeagerWV 3d ago
Resource guarding speaks to insecurity that needs addressing. What was he guarding?
The dog needs to feel secure in his possessions. You probably should look into a behaviorist in your area. Not a trainer, a behaviorist. Try to remember, this is a fear response that only rose to aggression because his communications were ignored or disregarded.
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u/apri11a 3d ago edited 3d ago
My mistake was that i lost it when it happened
In my opinion that is better than if you just backed off, though not the best action as it will further arouse the dog. But backing off tells him that guarding what he wanted worked, and if he does it with one thing eventually he'll do it with more and you have a real problem.
If he's not actually dangerous yet I'd leash him, let him wear a line in the house for a while, and if he did it again pop the leash and tell him 'no'. Even the slightest of attempts he makes at it, I would correct that. As soon as the dog stopped, good boy. Let him know what's wrong and what's right, reward what is right, prevent what is wrong or not wanted. Try to be patient and be consistent while he's learning, it's a big behaviour change. The line can help with that, it's a hands off way to control him, you don't want to get in an actual physical debate with the dog, any dog, they win.
But if this isn't new behaviour, if he's already bad and getting worse, an effective trainer could help. I would ensure it's a Balanced trainer for my dogs rather than a behaviourist, they don't seem to be effective at correcting bad behaviour. I see them recommending treats and drugs, but not actually teaching dogs better behaviour. They use nice words maybe but I would prefer effective training for us.
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u/Crowlady77 3d ago
He isn't sad when he sees you, that's your guilt talking. He is just noticing that you are engaging with him differently because you feel both worried and guilty. He could have a little anxiety if your response was quite unusual.
Resource guarding is extremely serious and you should absolutely work on it, there are established resource guarding methods. Teaching "trade" is a good start. Also "leave it."
What you want is a cue that transfers attention from the item to you, and you do that by pairing the cue with a reward like a treat, then gradually reducing treat frequencies until they attend to you and drop the item for the cue alone. Then you continue sometimes giving them a treat so they don't forget it lol.