Valhalla? Advice please

[Brewster]

HI,

I have had a read of other threads here and see that you give good advice and know what you are talking about.
Please help me out!

We have two dogs. A 8 year old american cocker spaniel - typical girl and really rolls with the punches, cant really phase her.
We also have a 6 yera old bernese mountain dog who is very timid and shy.
We have always had issues with her being timid and not as appraoshable or as friendly as the cocker.
In the past they have had a few growls at each otehr and the odd little scuffle but in the past 2 years it has gotten unbearable.

THe berenese has had a TPLO and TTO on her back legs and takes metacam and seraquin daily. Teh recover was long for both but we are now back up to half hour walks daily and some days a 10-15 min evening walk too.

We have a 2.5 year old and it is only very recently that the bernese has allowed hinm to touch her or come near her. She used to just run away when he came near

So...now ..the problem is that most evenings (ocassionally in the day) the bernese starts to growl. nothing seems to set it off. sometimes the cocker is nearby or walking past other times noone is even moving.
The growling sets the cocker off growling back and it then escalates into a fight. we usually step in in time but like tonight I stepped in and just as I was about to put the baby gate over to have them in separate rooms one shot past and they had a fight.
If we keep them separated at night then it ends up that the bernese is on her own away from us all and that is just horrible.

I cant find rythm or reason to the growling. speaking to tthe vet it isnt due to pain though her arthritis is getting worse.

we have had 2 behaviouists in but neitehr was that helpful though we did do what they said.

she does seem happy and settled with no growling when she stays with the lady we leave them with when we go on holiday - - FYI the cocker is there too everytime yet no growling!

my theory is that the arrival of our son was not welcomed by her and her world was turned upseide down. she now isnt getting the sleep she needs in the day as he is obviously loud and runs about the house and then by the evening she is just pissed off with everyone.

I cant bear keep shutting her away from us but the fighting needs to stop....

any advice?

Thanks so much for reading all this!

[Vallhala]

I'm not a behaviouralist so please don't take my word as gospel. I can only think that she's growling in reaction to her immediate surroundings - ie you and yours. She's maybe insecure, maybe jealous, maybe views others as a threat to you but whatever it is it needs to stop.

This is ONLY my experience, and something I've done myself and seen work, and that is to come down on the growling like a ton of bricks. A really loud, deep, fierce bellow of NO!! WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT!! might just shock her into realising that this is not acceptable behaviour. Whether you can do this depends on the dog - it would work on my gutsy Labrador but would send my elder GSD in search of a corner to hide before he growled again. (My younger GSD doesn't know how to growl and even if he did would just bounce and lick me enthusiastically if I yelled!). Maybe it might take you being strong and loud and arsey to convince her you don't need protecting if that's her game and that you are NO WAY going to put up with it.

Sounds like ske's pushing her luck if she doesn't do it with your dog-sitter, doesn't it? Dogs seem to sense who they can try to bully control. I had two plumbers here yesterday - the first professed to be scared of dogs and got barked and growled at by my protective elder Shep (who got told off by me as a result!). The second, it transpired, breeds Vizslas and is cool with dogs. My shep was equally fine with him, quiet as a lamb and perfectly accepting of him.

[Brewster]

So you think she sees the cocker as a threat to us/me?

But often the cocker is no where near us.

At night if I go to say goodnight to her and go to stroke her she will growl at me!!
other times of the day I can give her huge cuddlesand put my head on heads and kiss her - the usual....


I figured she was warning us and the cocker away from her rather than protecting us....

[DooinMeCleanin]

Is she tired when this happens? My dog is, atm, alseep in the his 'new bed' i.e. my washing basket and growled at me, when I walked past him. He is warm and comfy and doesn't want to be moved.

He will move, if I ask him to, but grudgingly so and will growl all the way. He's just a grumpy old sod.

Also the fighting are you sure it's fighting? Hackles raised, out to kill etc? My two play very noisily and roughly with lots of growling from grumpy dog, but it's just play. I stop them by making a loud noise to distract tem and then give them a tug rope to play with between themselves.

[Brewster]

It is definitely fighting - they have drawn blood before and they never play together.

Yes she is tired but she is not in her bed she is in different places around the house.
sometimes she will take herself upstairs to be alone but other times we cant encourage her to go up and if I force her she just cries and barks up there.

I can make her go rest by shuttingher away ina room by herself but that seems mean to have her away from teh rest of the family for long periods and then she cant decide to come join us when she is ready.

[DooinMeCleanin]

Er just to be clear my dog is not meant to be in my washing basket. He has just decided since it is next to the radiator it makes a lovely, comfy bed

Advice from trainer, which worked at reducing the growling and snapping a lot, was to put a house line on him for a few weeks and buy him beds or pillows to place in corners of the rooms he liked to be in. When he went onto our furniture or anywhere he was likely to be disturbed and thus growl, we had to get hold of the house line and lead him to his bed. He was treated once in his bed and was always offered treats when we spotted him on one of his beds.

He was only allowed on our furniture when he was invited up by me or dh.

Haven't a clue what you could wrt the fighting though.