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The doghouse

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

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Original poster

My dog just attacked me and DH

120 replies

inlectorecumbit · 03/05/2016 21:17

We have a 4 1/2 year old cocker spaniel. Tonight he grabbed a balloon and started guarding it. DH took it off him and he attacked him and has severely bruised his arm and leg. This was after he drew blood from my hand.
This is so unlike him he wasn't threatened and we didn't take it off him- he did snarl at me last week when he had finished his dental stick as l walked past
I have a 3 year old grandchild and l am scared. I think he has to go.
Any advice l need handholding

OP posts:

Wyldfyre · 03/05/2016 22:27

*absurd

Original poster

inlectorecumbit · 03/05/2016 22:35

Believe it or not he is otherwise a lovely dog who is now very subdued. My heart is breaking as l don't feel l can keep him. I am going to phone dog rescue places tomorrow for advice. Perhaps we handled it wrongly - l adore the boy, l don't want him put to sleep.

OP posts:

hillyhilly · 03/05/2016 22:37

We rehomed our dog who behaved similarly- we undertook months of behavioural training first but could not get rid of agression and could not feel that any of us were safe.
Thankfully my dog sitter kept him, she has several dogs but no other adults and more importantly, no children in the house, I think he still has "issues" but she manages him in a way we couldn't.
It was utterly heartbreaking but totally the right, in fact the only, decision

Ruthiesj · 03/05/2016 22:40

Could it be Rage Syndrome? It's commonly associated with cocker spaniels and is likened to an epileptic episode. Do you believe your dog remembers the attack?

There's a brief description of the condition here: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rage_syndrome

ScrotesOnFire · 03/05/2016 22:41

Ahem.
I am not 'old school'.
I don't believe in dominance theory.
My dog is mostly positive reinforcement trained.
Dogs are a big hobby of mine, I spent many hours a day improving my knowledge of body language, the newest medical breakthroughs, diet, training etc etc.

I did say previously that resource guarding is fixable.

BUT

I also said it takes long, dedicated, hard work to fix which is true.

We are not talking about a quick bite and release either. 5 times is an attack. That kind of repeated, sustained biting is very worrisome.

When you add children to the mix, it becomes even more worrisome.

I am a dog lover. Through and through.
But I still prioritise the safety of children.
This dog is not safe.
I think trying to fix the problem with a three year old in the house is risky.
I wouldn't do it.
I think to rehome it would be dreadfully irresponsible.
So what do you do?
I would put it down.

I can't say I think it terribly fair to rehome a dog that has bitten when a nice family pet that has never and would never hurt someone is put down and if I took on a rescue dog and then found out that it had a bite record, angry would be an understatement.

villainousbroodmare · 03/05/2016 22:42

I would never, ever let him be in a room with your grandchild, even with you present. The speed of a dog attack can be terrifying and as you have sadly seen this evening, there is little you can do at that moment to prevent it.

Moving15 · 03/05/2016 22:49

This is very sad but I would have him put to sleep. So sorry

Chuckading · 03/05/2016 22:49

We had a cocker spaniel when i was a child. One day it came into the house form the garden and out of nowhere suddenly attempted to attack a friend (child), when my mum grabbed his collar to pull him away he bit her and then attacked my dad, as my friend and i ran out of the room. Completely unprovoked. It was like someone flicked a switch in his head! My parents asked the vets for advice and they were told they could no longer trust the dog and it was unfair to rehome to another family. The vet thought it was highly likely to be Rage Syndrome. He was pts. If i was you, id be asking the vet to assess your dog asap and taking whatever his advice is.

muddiboots · 03/05/2016 22:53

What was the course of behaviour training you mention?
Is it possible that this was some misguided dominance type training that has contributed to the issues you now see ?
Regardless, I think it would be foolish in the extreme to have this dog anywhere near children, ever.unless you have a situation as above, where a responsible adult you personally know, is willing to rehome him, in full knowledge of his actions, I would have him pts. Rehoming him will just lead to a downward spiral for him, goodness knows where he would end up. Most dog rescues would not be able to accept him as renaming a dog who has bitten in that manner would leave them legally and morally liable were a similar situation to arise.

giraffesCantReachTheirToes · 03/05/2016 22:54

How awful. What a horrible situation

WellErrr · 03/05/2016 22:54

Let's put out children to sleep when the bite at nursery! Does that sound absurd? Of course it it.

Your argument sounds absurd.
A dog is not a child.

Jumping straight to "put it down" is a knee jerk reaction - usually from old school dog owners who never try to understand "why" when it comes to canine psychology

This wasn't a quick snap. This was a sustained attack on two people.

'Why' is immaterial. This dog hasn't bite inhibition and is dangerous.

And I'm not 'old school' either.

OP PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do NOT send this dog to a rescue centre. If you decide you cannot keep him then your only responsible option is to pts.

You cannot send a known dangerous dog into kennels in this way. It would be incredibly unfair both to him, and to anyone who may rehome him.

WellErrr · 03/05/2016 22:56

*has no bite inhibition.

VilootShesCute · 03/05/2016 22:58

Our wolfhound started guarding. That is not a dog you'd want to go up against so every single meal was hand fed bit by bit. Every toy was held by us and taken back by us when finished. It took ages. It was bloody hard work and took ages but you have to TRY at least, no way giving up at the first sign of possessive aggression was an option for us. Good luck with the training hope you can fix.

JemTheAngel · 03/05/2016 22:59

I don't have any advice to offer that others haven't given already. But I'm the owner of a cocker spaniel, so I wanted to say how sorry I am for you, you must be devastated.

Salene · 03/05/2016 23:00

My first thoughts would be spaniel rage , there prone to it

Discuss it with your vets.

lougle · 03/05/2016 23:07

It's very unlikely that a rescue will take a dog who has bitten for rehoming.

Original poster

inlectorecumbit · 03/05/2016 23:25

I have just googled Rage Syndrome -- the dog often goes crazy when out walks snarling and biting my feet- just mine. I can't move from him biting usually mu Ugg boots and this lasts several minutes before he is distracted and then "shakes it off" l didn't know what it was...
I feel such a failure

OP posts:

tabulahrasa · 03/05/2016 23:26

You don't have to try to fix him...living with a dog that cannot be trusted is not an easy thing to do, it is absolutely fine to decide that it's not for you, it's a huge commitment to take on.

If you do want to work on it, your vet is the first place to go, firstly they can rule out any physical causes (they seem fairly unlikely, in the circumstances you describe, but better to do that than not just in case) secondly, they can then refer you to a behaviourist.

If you feel that you cannot keep him - in all honesty, rehoming isn't actually the kindest option for a dog with a bite history, if you can even find a rescue willing to take him, they're going to struggle to rehome him and the best case is that he'll more than likely sit in kennels for a very long time...you need to consider having him PTS, because the alternative is probably that someone else is going to have to do that after he's already been disrupted by leaving you and even possibly after more incidents where he could cause serious damage.

Atenco · 03/05/2016 23:26

I'm afraid I think he should be pts. I know that is easier said than done, but what would happen if he got free while your grandchild was in the house?

Original poster

inlectorecumbit · 03/05/2016 23:33

I lost my DM 4 months ago - how do l cope with losing him as well .. I know what l have to do but my heart is breaking

OP posts:

tabulahrasa · 03/05/2016 23:34

There's huge amounts of debate as to whether rage syndrome is a real thing or not...but, from what I've read it's not usually linked to the situations you're describing - it tends to happen on waking, not in what would be fairly normal times for a dog to be behaving like that.

ScrotesOnFire · 03/05/2016 23:40

If it is rage syndrome then I believe that is genetic.
Absolutely not your fault and nothing you could have done to stop it.

MuttonCadet · 04/05/2016 00:04

Could you muzzle him? We have a rescue who has never bitten, but growls at people he doesn't know, so he wears a muzzle.

It doesn't seem to bother him.

tabulahrasa · 04/05/2016 00:08

You couldn't keep a muzzle on all the time though...muzzles are great for dogs who may bite in certain situations, but if he's going to guard unexpected items like a balloon, it would have to be on all the time.

MuttonCadet · 04/05/2016 00:14

Why can't dogs have muzzles on all the time? The can certainly drink with them on, so maybe just need to be in a separate room to eat?

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