I wonder if there is anyone who can help us at all? we are at our wits end with our working cocker spaniel who is now 7 1/2 years. We have had him since he was 9 weeks old and never a real problem until the last 18 months.

We have 2 children aged 5yrs and 2yrs. jasper is part of the family and has a good temprament with the children and I have never had any concern that he will harm them. We always teach the children to give him his space etc .

Jasper however over the last 18 months (gradually getting worse) is pinching toys/items that may be on the floor taking to his bed space or under the dining table and chewing them up. He is extremely aggressive when we request them back. He will not obey the drop command!!!! We have tried using a treat but is this not rewarding bad behaviour????? By the way he  has his own basket of toys and raw hide bones.

I am not sure if it is a jealousy issue he has???? We always try to give him attention (cuddles/playing etc). He has never missed out on his walks every day etc.

We had him castrated about 6 months ago

Also over the past few weeks he has taken to barking on his bed for no aparent reason (should we ignore this????)

I feel that we have tried everything to help him and not sure what else we can do?????? Advice MUCH appreciated!!!!!!

>We have tried using a treat but is this not rewarding bad behaviour?????

I've always been told that when you take something away from a dog always replace it with something else,like a treat.If you keep taking things way from him he will probably end up getting even more protective of stuff he thieves.

Something I learnt a long time ago when children are introduced is to make sure your dog can not get to their toys, clothes, furniture etc, there is probably an element of jealousy and of him letting the children know this is his home by taking their things, dogs do this to other dogs too as a way of saying this is my home, I live here and you are in my territory.

Does Jaspar have his own sanctuary somewhere only he is able to go, where the children do not follow? Having his own basket may not be enough.

When the children have their toys out, put Jaspe in the kitchen, tidy them away in a toy box or somewhere once finished, stop him going upstairs, (if he does) to take anything. Avoiding him from getting to their things will stop the confrontations from both sides, and don't allow the children to take his things, unless they are being supervised in playing with him.

The last 18 months seems to coincide with your youngest being born and getting to the crawling stage, is your youngest, noisy?

Above all else he needs his space, if he is barking he is stressed about something, try to work out what it is, he may very well need a vet check just to  make sure all is well with him, has he an ear infection, tooth problem, (this may also be why he is chewing and growling and barking) so have him checked over for these things. :-)

Hi

I'm not an expert but do want to offer you some support. I can only imagine that with a family there could be so many reasons as to why this is happening that you may never find out the exact reason .  A behaviourist may be able to help its worth checking your pet insurance to see if the cost of a behaviourist is covered. 

It might help others reading if you could explain more your 'coping strategies' for these instances...

Maxine 

Has he had a thorough vet check, including blood panels (incl. full thyroid panel)?  If his behaviour has deteriorated after years of being fine, there may be something up with him.  Thyroid problems certainly can manifest as all sorts of behaviour problems.

If there's nothing medically the matter - and have the vet check him over physically, as dogs hide pain well and he may have something that's causing him discomfort - then I would get a behaviourist in to see him in his home environment and better advise you.  www.apdt.co.uk is a good place to start.

Given the timing - when your younger child was about 6 months - is there any possibility that he has become jealous, or that that child is doing something he doesn't like?  The barking on the bed is intriguing; it could be a sign of discomfort, frustration, or maybe even eyesight troubles - or something completely different.  But of course it's impossible to say for sure over the internet.

Also, can you define "extremely aggressive"?  What some people see as totally unacceptable may simply be a careful warning from the dog, a little more detail would help on that.  Offering a treat is not rewarding the behaviour - that would only be the case if you gave him the treat and allowed him to carry on!  I would start doing swapsies with him - try to keep whatever he's pinching out of his reach for now (difficult with young kids I know), and start swapping low-value stuff (whatever he'll hold but isn't particularly interested in) for something he wants, such as the treat.  Build it up gradually, swapping higher value toys etc for higher value treats, so he learns that giving something up is a good thing.

Personally I think a vet check and behaviourist visit is your best course of action though - the B will be able to see very subtle behaviours and signals that you may have missed, as well as seeing the behaviour in context.