Hi my friend has a 18 month old cocker spaniel he is very sweet untill it comes to his blanket as soon as she puts it in his basket at night she then cannot touch him he will growl and snarl he also guards washing and the mop. He has also taken to stripping wallpaper off the walls any advice would be good this dog is nicknamed dillan the villain he is well looked after walked alot and not left on his own for too long at a time thanks delli

Does the growling start before or after he's in the bed?  Does she physically 'put' him in the bed, or does he go byhimself?  Re the gaurding - can she manage things so that he can't get to them to gaurd them (put washing on work tops, leave mop outside out of reach etc).  Re the wallpaper stripping - what does she do when he starts?  Does he have access to any boredom busting toys such as Kongs or Buster cube?

hi digger i made a mistake dillan is 9 mths old he sleeps in the kitchen so when she says bed time he goes in his basket then she gives him his blanket then would not beable to go near him. with the washing and mops the washing is on the table out of reach but he will then jump up and growl when told to get down he will growl even more. he guards my friend aswell against other members of the family and as even bitten one of them. the wallpaper is done when she is out so she feels she cant do anything because he will have forgotten about the wallpaper when he did it recently he was told off and put in another room on his own. he has many toys but guards them aswell any thoughts be very gratefull

I suggest you get hold of a respected behaviourist and nip this problem in the bud before something serious happens.  Failing that I suggest you purchase Mine! A practical guide to resource guarding in Dogs by Jean Donaldson available in the UK only via WTM publishing (net) at £10.99 plus postage and packing. ISBN 0970562942  This gives a detailed step by step programme for all types of resource guarding; this will not go away over night but it IS treatable providing you have the patience to work through all the steps.

Up to now the dog has given you plenty of warnings. Act NOW before the bites become less inhibited please.

Good advice Tohme :)

Lindsay

Tohme has suggested a very good book - I would add that your friend should make sure she's not making a common mistake, and that is using the 'down' command for both 'get off' and 'lie down' as this simply confuses the dog - and if it's then enforced can result in the dog thinking 'well how the h*ll was I supposed to know!' and feeling he doesn't have a chance..... His teeth my be playing him up, he may also be suffering seperation anxiety or boredom, which is leading to the paper stripping.  Cockers are smert cookies and will quickly pick up on all sorts of activities to stimulate them.

hi thanks for the advice will pass it on let you know how he goes delli

Sounds like this pup has a dominace problem to me.  Is he free fed?  Allowed on furniture?  Has constant access to his toys when ever he wants?  If so here is what I would do.  No more free feeding.  I would make him lie down or sit before putting his food on the floor and then it is only there for 15-20 minutes.  I would not let him on furniture any more.  For some people this is hard so if he wants to be on the furniture you have to make him do something like shake a paw or sit or such first.  Basically teach him that nothing in life is free and he has to look to the leader for everything.  Same with toys.  He has to do a command first.  I would also consault a behaviourist like others have said if he has bitten or tried to bite already. 

Resource guarding is not an indicator of a "dominance" problem. The two are not inextricably linked; even the most submissive dog may resource guard. 

Whether one allows a dog on furniture, has free access to food and toys, follows a work to eat policy will not have the slightest impact on reducing resource guarding. 

A targeted programme of desensitisation and counter conditioning is the only course of action and must be implemented and maintained over an extended period by all members of the household to ensure that the current issues are resolved.