Expert: Delores Beck Date: 6/21/2008 Subject: Vet told me to put down my Cocker Spaniel due to its behavour
Question Hi there,
Today I visited a celebrity vet here in Australia on a big Pet day held at the local pet shop. My Cocker is a 5 year old red female that I rescued 2 years ago from the pound.
Her last owners gave her up because she apparently bit them on the hand when they tried to take food away from her. She is my best friend and I live alone with her so is pretty much everything to me, but since day one she has had major behavioral problems.
She can’t walk on a lead without barking hysterically and at times viciously when she sees another dog.
If another dog comes near her she will try to attack it
She grows at children and I assume try to bite them if I ever let them close enough to her and also on the first few weeks of having her she bit me in the face and I needed 5 stitches (this was my fault really as I went to kiss her on the noise and scared her)
She often will have her legs shake when she is not sure of things and also doesn’t like to be picked up that much
It may sound like a long list of problems, but she really is a beautiful dog and I love her to death.
So today when I asked this animal expert who has a TV show here what steps I can take to change this behavior pattern, he bluntly said she was a ticking time bomb and I should have to put down...oh and that I should get insurance because I will need it when she bites someone.
That is out of the question, what it your opinion? 2 weeks ago I bought a cavoodle puppy to get her used of other dogs and to try to make her not so protective of me and jealous. So far she is doing very well. She put the puppy in her place and will have a little go at her every now and then but I am able to leave them alone during the day knowing they will both be fine.
I have tried dog obedience in the past but didn’t really give it 100%.
I once took her to a vet that would not touch her as she was a red cocker spaniel and said that they have a vicious streak which the vet today also told me but I can’t find anything about this on the internet other than wikipedia saying “Red/golden Cockers were shown to be the most aggressive of all, in situations involving strangers, family members, while being disciplined, and sometimes for no apparent reason. A red cocker’s temperament can be controlled through early basic training.” Which is what I would have thought. Certainly no need to put down my beloved dog.
By the way.. she has never bit me since that day 2 years ago either.
Any help you have with my cocker would be very much appreciated.
Answer Can this be handled? Absolutely yes. But it's going to take an excellent trainer and a lot of work from you. It's too bad you didn't give it "100%" when you tried training.
I too rescued a cocker that was considered unadoptable and today he's a perfect boy but it took awhile and a LOT of training.
In the meantime, whenever she's at risk of reacting, keep a soft muzzle on her. Don't allow her to be in a situation where she is "unprotected" from her own behavior.
You need a personal trainer who'll help you address her issues one at a time and you will need to work hard with her. Right now she's an unhappy dog and the more training she gets the more secure she'll feel. What you're describing is fear-aggression and the more control you take..the more you behave like a pack leader..the less fearful she'll be.
Both vets were ridiculous and for the "celebrity vet" to advise what he did without knowing or assessing the dog was irresponsible.
The vet who refused to treat was plain silly as lots of perfectly nice dogs get a little nuts at the vet's office and any competent vet would have simply muzzled her and got on with it.
But, make no mistake about it, you have a serious problem here and it'd be unkind and irresponsible not to correct things for your girl.
When you call around to find a trainer make sure they understand your problem and ask about their experience in handling fear-aggression.
Call the vets in your area - ask friends - kennels - breeders and know that no good trainer will EVER hurt your dog.
I think my own boy just "knew" the first day he met the trainer that the jig was up and the trainer made it crystal clear that if I didn't "do the work" with him that we would fail. A good trainer will be training you more than the dog :)
Best of luck,
Delores
