We have a 7 year old blue roan cocker spaniel, and we completely love him. He's been problematic from the start, he has absolutely endless energy and even if you ran around the park with him for hours or DH (who was training for the marathon) took him out on every run, he would still get home and be climbing the walls.
When I had DD1 he lived for her. He slept under her cot, growled at visitors and one time (I started a thread about it) bit someone who tried to touch her while out.
This was totally unacceptable behaviour obviously and we got a police dog handler out who helped us to 'restructure the pack order' and help the situation. We also got him neutered and upped his walks from 2 long (plus garden) to 3.
We had DD2 and he seemed to go mad. We thought he needed more exercise to introduced doggy day care and tried to be firmer about the rules the dog handler had put in place, which had relaxed as he got used to DD1.
We've moved to a new house, and he is seriously a complete Houdini. Adding trellis, fences, etc... He jumped over the back while in the garden (almost 6 feet!!) and I had to drive the streets to find him, eventually in someone's garden (!!!) and he growled and snarled at me while I tried to retrieve him from under thorns and bushes... It was awful as they had children and I was seriously worried as he's never really been like this.
It's like he's 2 dogs. Right now (she's up late due to a family thing) my DD1 age 3 is playing with him under supervision and he's totally relaxed and wagging his tail, he lives for a ball being thrown and she's prepared to do it 100 times...
But fast forward to tomorrow and he'll get this look in his eye and I feel like I can't trust that he won't bite her.
He loves DD2 (1 on Wednesday) because she's constantly dropping food everywhere but otherwise totally ignores him) but I'm petrified for the day she tries to catch him or grab him.
The escaping has got out of control... He can (somehow!!) easily escape our garden so he can no longer have free reign.. Which is awful, as he lives for the garden. I tie him on a long line around a tree in the centre so he can reach all corners but he still acts like he's a caged animal. He's pulling ridiculously on walks. He's become aggressive at doggy day care and they're not happy to have him.
In daily life, DD2 is trying to walk, so I'm constantly telling him to go to the kitchen or shitting him out of the living room because I feel like I can't trust him. I feel exhausted, my baby is difficult enough as it is without the added occasional growls.
He has bitten me but he did have an infection, and I'm sure on that thread I downplayed his behaviour, but I need to be honest because this can't go on.
Getting rid of him isn't an option. He's our family and we love him, but he seems so unhappy that it breaks my heart to look at him on a line in the garden.
It's like he's never relaxed. He can never lay down and settle, he's constantly panting and looking to grab something to chew. He's immensely clever and learned every 'trick' going within two second at dog school.
But his life is rubbish. No free run of the garden because of escaping. Growling at children. Never settling.
It's so hard and he's my first baby and I feel like I'm totally letting him down somehow.
Please advise... Sorry it's long!!