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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

The doghouse

cocker spaniel

89 replies

lounear35 · 13/04/2015 14:23

Need advice...we have an 18 month old black working cocker bitch. She's perfect with us and most ppl but when annoyed or someone pokes her or bangs on her caged run she growls and jumps and looks like she would snap. She has never attacked anyone or has bitten. She does stay outside during the day in her run which is quite large. And she sleeps inside in a cage at night she is walked for an hr in the morning and for 3/4 miles each evening.
Has anyone experienced a cocker spaniel being snappy and cross.

OP posts:

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Buttholelane · 13/04/2015 15:00

Maybe you should stop poking her and banging on her cage...?
She's probably scared and lonely, most aggression tends to be based in fear.

EsmetheWitch · 13/04/2015 16:14

Aren't cockers a very social breed? If she's alone for 16+ hours a day she's likely to be quite unhappy.

AlbrechtDurer · 13/04/2015 17:08

Why on earth are people poking her and banging on her cage?

And getting a working cocker that only has just a couple of hours of human contact a day, and spends most of its time in a run or a cage? Did you not research this breed at all?

Buttholelane · 13/04/2015 17:55

I should think to keep any breed of dog, no, pretty much any living animal alone all day in a cage with no company is out of order.

MajesticWhine · 13/04/2015 18:06

lounear35 - I have a working cocker bitch. She is not caged. She has very occasionally been snappy, but very rarely. Infact I posted about it recently. They are a very social breed and ours is no exception. She loves to be in close proximity to humans. I wonder if yours is not getting enough social life and that is making her feel anxious and so she is getting grumpy? Or perhaps being caged makes her feel vulnerable about her territory being invaded?

tomatodizzymum · 13/04/2015 18:20

How long does it take to walk 3/4 mile? 20 minutes tops? I think 1.20 hours is not enough. Consider at least 1 hour in the evening and a 15 minute one before bed.
Is she spending roughly 15-20 hours caged or is it less? (I have no idea what a caged run is or how big it is). Why are people banging on it and poking her?

Can she not have freedom of the garden or house during the day? How long is she alone for?

Florin · 13/04/2015 18:27

We have a working cocker spaniel and they are major family dogs they have to be included in everything. I am a stay at home Mum so generally doesn't get left for more than 2 hours a day she just wants to be with us. To be honest I would say that being with us as much as possible preferably being cuddled is more important to her than walks although she does love those too but her family are just everything to her. We have a 2 year old and I do not allow him to ever bang her cage or disturb her while she is eating. Both would naturally upset her.

Florin · 13/04/2015 18:30

Wanted to add that the most common phrase that is used to describe our working cocker is not a bad bone in her body, if you treat them right they make the best family dogs you could wish for, however if ours was kept outside she would be heart broken.

lounear35 · 13/04/2015 19:31

Should have said it's not us poking her cage it's kids round my street and she's not in a cage she's in a steel run that's about 30 foot in size she is crate trained for bed at night inside the house. She's perfect with our family just when annoyed. When I day she's walked 3/4 miles at night that's off the lead on a beach so actually she does lots more exercise running back and forth

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lounear35 · 13/04/2015 19:36

She's not alone I'm home all day she gets lots of attention from me all day. She is walked morning and night and most days in between. She's a pleasure for us as a family loves cuddles and playing. She goes into her run at 7 am after her walk and comes inside to.family at 6.30pm she's a lovely wee pup and is in no way neglected or unloved or left alone.

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Florin · 13/04/2015 19:46

That is still most of her waking hours in her run. Why can't she be in the house my working cocker would really hate that.

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 13/04/2015 19:59

So she's outside in her run all by herself being tormented by strange kids from 7am till 6:30pm, is that right?

lounear35 · 13/04/2015 20:01

She can't stand the heat of the house she was born in a shed she was brought home from a shed we kept her indoors for four months and she was miserable until she got outside. She's very happy in her run it is in no way tiny she sees ppl from the rd, she has grass, paving and soil in different areas of her run so all different sensory areas for her digging claws and playing along with a kennel and toys. She is exercised more than some dogs I know.

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Wolfiefan · 13/04/2015 20:04

She can't possibly be getting lots of attention from you during the day if she's caged from 7am until 6:30.
And how on earth are random kids tormenting her? Is the run not on your property?

lounear35 · 13/04/2015 20:04

She's not tormented from 7 to 6.30 pm I work from home I care for children at home when they leave they bang the cage and she gets annoyed and growls. We can see the street kids going near her and stop them mostly it's the ones who leave my house who are near her. I was only asking advice if anyone else had a cocker that growled or bared teeth when annoyed it's not daily that she does it but wanted advice to nip it in the bud

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Florin · 13/04/2015 20:07

I am sorry it has got fuck all to do with exercise. Please rehome her this is such a miserable life. She needs to be with people I don't easily cry but this is making me very upset. She needs company you are being cruel why can't she just run in and out of the house as needed. If she really gets 'too hot' (never heard of that before ) then she can just cool off in the garden.

Wolfiefan · 13/04/2015 20:10

This dog is behaving in this way because she's unhappy.
Why on earth are you allowing the children you look after to bang on her cage?

Arsenic · 13/04/2015 20:10

Are you in the UK?

lounear35 · 13/04/2015 20:11

She gets a lot of attention from me as I come and go, the postman brings her a treat everyday, the neighbours talk to her personally I know dogs that are left in a utility room from 8.30 am til someone gets home at lunch to let them out to pee then put back inside again til after 5 pm surely thats wrong!!! A dog with a big run that has company of different ppl.coming and going during the day that's walked twice a day without fail that's brought inside to the family at tea time.....I think I know what I would prefer.
I must be such an evil dog owner

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lounear35 · 13/04/2015 20:12

It's not a cage it's a steel run!!!!!

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tomatodizzymum · 13/04/2015 20:12

30 square foot or 30ft in length? Keeping a dog in a 30 square foot pen for 9 hours will make it aggressive. Have you considered limiting her time in there to an hour and only a couple of times a day? Why isn't she with you if you're home?

Buttholelane · 13/04/2015 20:15

I don't think she is annoyed.
I think she is scared

Most aggression no matter how vicious is based in fear - fear of you removing something precious, fear of children, fear of other dogs hurting them etc etc.

Am I understanding correctly that you are a childminder and these kids are banging on the cage?

Not being funny, but if I had a child round my house and they behaved in a threatening, disrespectful manner like that I would be telling their parents and the child that either the child treats my dog with respect or they don't come over my house.

Surely you don't think that behaviour is okay??
I mean obviously growling at young kids is not really ideal, but can you seriously blame her?
If my ds behaved like that the shit would hit the fan.

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EsmetheWitch · 13/04/2015 20:17

But she needs more than that I'm afraid.
She's a working dog, she needs mental stimulation as well as varied excercise. She was bred to work alongside her owner.

I agree with Florin, you should rehome her as this sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

Buttholelane · 13/04/2015 20:17

Sorry, run.
Not that that makes it any better!

Wolfiefan · 13/04/2015 20:17

Nobody is calling you evil. You asked for advice and it was given the run is making her unhappy.
She doesn't have company in the proper sense if she's behind bars. Sorry. P

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