Afternoon all,

First post on this site, I'm hoping there are people out there that have the same problem.

We have a 3 yr old bitch Springer. She has over the last 6 months started to become aggressive. I'm hoping there's is a way I can stop it. I'll give as many facts as I can and hope you can help:

Lives at home with 2 adults
Well exercised walking at least 3-4 hours every day, more on Saturday & Sunday
She eats twice a day
Vet is very happy with her weight and general condition
We have had her since she was 6 months old
She is walked 2-3 times a week (depending on our working routines) with a very competent & qualified dog walker
She was always a playful dog in the park but has recently become withdrawn and only likes to play with us
She has to be muzzled when put in her cage in the back of the van as she becomes very agitated. She growls barks snaps etc at other dogs and even our dog walker.
When walking she doesn't plAy with other dogs and will stay on her own or by our feet.
Other dogs are reluctant to go near her when out walking
She displays no signs of aggression in the house. We can take away food toys pick her up etc
She gets spoiled slightly in our home. On the sofas tit bits etc
I know there is a lot of information but I want to paint as clear a picture as possible  I think our dog walker may soon decide to stop taking her which is bad news. She is rarely left alone for more than 2-3 hours. I think she may have been spoiled a little with our attention (no kids!)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, any questions about routines lifestyle etc I will be happy to answer

Thankyou

Dan

Sounds to me like she has had a bad experience whilst with the dog walker (with another dog), and is now scared of other dogs -and by muzzling her and forcing her to still go for those walks, it is just made worse. She is showing aggression because of fear. A bit like if you were bitten by a snake, then forcing you to meet snakes every day would not make it better, you would just dread each occasion. I would stop using this dog walker and try to make alternative arrangements as the problem will only escalate.

Im not certain this is the case. Our dog walker isn't aware of any incidents that could have freaked her out. In fact some days she is the model student and will play and be friendly etc. it's just that the bad days will soon outweigh the good days and we want to rectify as soon as we can.

>Our dog walker isn't aware of any incidents that could have freaked her out.

Are you sure your dog walker is being honest with you? When I was young I worked in several boarding kennels through school holidays and weekends, at all kennels we were told to always tell the owner the dog was happy, playful and loved being there though some didn't eat, were miserable and snappy.

Chaumsong I had similar experiences when I worked as a dog groomer, was always told by my boss to never let on if a dog was unhappy. :( Something MUST have happened for the dog to be so stressed out when being put in the van, it doesn't just happen for no reason. The fact that she is normal at home says a lot. It can be something minor that was a big deal to the dog, but might not even have been picked up on by the dog walker. To be honest, the fact that the dog walker will even consider forcefully caging a dog that is clearly very stressed out and having to be muzzled would ring warning bells with me.

Replying to myself here rather than editing previous post and adding this. I have a 12 week old  pup. He is very VERY happy and outgoing, loves nothing more than meeting new people and exploring new places. We've been pretty much everywhere and even loud noises has him run towards the sound to investigate. I started taking him to training classes as soon as I got him. The first week he was a bit hesitant walking around the hall with lots of other dogs, but I put it down to it being new to him. The second week he was worse. The third week he totally refused to move at ALL. He just sat down and refused to move. The fourth time I did not take him in the beginner class.The beginner class is full of dogs, and some of them can be very noisy. We sat and watched the class instead (he was fully relaxed then) and I worked him in the more advanced second class, which is much smaller and only has quiet dogs. THEN he happily walked around the hall. It was a simple fact of feeling overwhelmed by a large number of dogs, in particular the noisy ones. It was just a situation he was not comfortable with, and by continuing, it got worse for each time. By removing the stressful situation I can gradually work towards him being happy around larger numbers of dogs.

To be honest this was my initial thought, but the dog walker is a friend. She has done everything she can to help us out. We were one of her first customers and she has helped us out with all sorts of springer quirks. The van could be an issue I suppose but it doesn't happen everytime. Like I said some days she is fine some not. We looked to see if it was a specific dog or if she hadn't eaten her food that day but there are no patterns. It's like she is just stroppy teenager! We even had a journal from our dog walker that we thought could highlight and behavioural patterns but to no avail.

Appreciate the feedback thus far, please keep it coming.

Is she not just being a normal springer? My springer is a very active girl but she doesn't like the company of other dogs outside at all.  She would rather be bounding about or chasing a ball than 'socialising' with other dogs.  If a dog insists in approaching her, she will stand stock still for a few seconds and try and leave and if she gets to leave, it's fine but if the other dog follows or tries to play, she will bark in their faces/try to deck the other dog.  It's just her way of saying, she doesn't want to bother.  She is very rarely far away from me and is always focusing on what I'm up to to be bothered with other dogs.
Springers have been bred for many years to be accepting of other dogs but not necessarily playful.  I mean, how useful would your springer be if it just wanted to play with the other dogs on a shot instead of getting the job done?
My girl will also act aggressively in the car.  Total over-excitement cos she knows she's going out so she gets muzzled in the car so she can make all the noise she likes but she can't bite the other girls when going out.
This might not be your issue but I hope it helps.  It does sound like your girl doesn't want to be social with the other dogs.  Maybe you could find a walker that does quieter walks for her? Or your friend could maybe just let your dog out for a piddle in the garden rather than a multi-dog walk?

You have provided much information, although I do not see whether she is entire or spayed?

If she is not spayed, and is having seasons, I would bet that this behaviour change is due to fluctuation in hormones, ie possible phantom pregnancy.

However, I would put the dog walker on hold for the moment, so that you can be absolutely sure exactly what experiences she is having and what behaviours she is exhibiting.  You can always re-start the dog walker again when she gets back to normal.