Advice please - 11 month old cockapoo resource guarding becoming unmanageable

[Scarlet14]

@pleasedoone I've just been reading various threads as we're really at out wits end about our cockapoo and your message stood out as being a very similar situation to ours. We have a very beautiful cockapoo girl who's now 11 months old. We absolutely love her to bits and 90% of the time she's a total sweetheart - but she can also be very bad for resource guarding and it's getting pretty unmanageable. Things started to escalate a few months ago when she started getting snappy, snarly when we asked her to do things she didn't want to do or to let go of things and then things progressed to her biting me/the kids a few times with no obvious warning (i've since learnt a lot about dog behaviour and understand there may well have been subtle signs we didn't pick up on) which was unnerving. On one occasion she properly broke the skin and bit repetitively (just on me thankfully not the kids) We got a dog behaviourist involved pretty early on and she's brilliant and giving us lots of ideas on how to control the situation although she said from the off that given the severity of the situation it may be that we'd need to look at her living in a different environment/without kids etc. Implementing all the things she's suggested - no-one's been bitten for a few weeks - but we're also leading quite a restricted life. The dog's only allowed in one room (she started resource guarding various places around the house) no-one picks her up ever, the kids aren't allowed to cuddle her or put their faces at their level (they're 10 and 12 so are able to be pretty sensible although not all the time) & we're all pretty nervous around her all the time to be honest. You don't know if you're going to get waggy tail or snarl/snap. It can change in a second either way.

We thought we were on an equilibrium but the last few days things have really escalated again - she's started resource guarding the whole kitchen quite often, so we can't come in to make lunch/dinner etc (the behaviourist tells us to back off when she's like that and give her space) so we've been having food upstairs/watching tv upstairs etc. On one day she made it out of the kitchen by accident and set up camp in one of her spots in the hall and absolutely wouldn't let me come anywhere near - which meant i couldn't get back to my office to work - for over 3 hours. Tonight - she was dozy in the kitchen and i think i startled her and she just went for me - bit my foot hard a few times - i had big boots on so was fine but feel incredibly worried about what would have happened if that was one of the kids in their slippers. Half an hour later she did the same to my husband as he had to go into the kitchen to lock the door and despite entering very slowly with head down, no eye contact etc and him not actually approaching her at all, she came and went for him and bit his foot again. I can't bear the thought of her living elsewhere - i'm sure tomorrow morning she'll be waggy tail and our beautiful girl again - but it's really stressful living here at the moment and i'm worried for the kids and also post lockdown for the kids friends coming over - sure we can try and keep everyone separate but the whole point of having a dog was for the kids to be able to enjoy her. Any advice/thoughts gratefully received - we're all pretty stressed and can't think straight on it all anymore.

If you rehome this dog privately it is about the most irresponsible thing I've ever heard.

The only option you should even be considering for rehoming is a specialist rehab rescue centre (but they are incredibly rare). A normal rehoming charity like Dogs Trust etc a) probably won't have much capacity atm with all the unwanted lockdown puppies, and b) would probably never be able to find this dog another home, given its history and behaviour. The dog would probably languish in a rescue centre for months and months at the best of times, and now during lockdown most rehoming charities aren't even open for adoption. Or if it's not a no-destroy charity, they'd probably pts. Aggressive dogs do not easily find new homes...

I know how hard it is, how much you all love her, but am honestly shocked you are putting this dog above the safety and well-being of your children and family, as well as visitors.

@Scarlet14

Thanks everyone - really appreciate all the ideas and the suggestions. I had a chat with the breeder today who was helpful but couldn't offer any new ideas and isn't in a position to take her back if we decide we can't keep her. The behaviourist is suggesting some other things so we'll try that and see if it helps, whilst exploring rehoming options.

Please only rehome this dog via a specialist rescue, and make sure they have ALL the information in your post about her resource guarding.

Anything else is highly irresponsible and could have devastating consequences.

I still think you need to consider having her PTS. I know that's horrible to think about but there are worse fates for a dog than falling asleep with their owners surrounding them.

@Scarlet14 I'm really sorry to say this, but in your situation I would PTS. No doubt about it.

Resource guarding is difficult to manage, tends to escalate (as you've found) and, even with the best intentions, further bites are inevitable.

Right now, you can have her PTS at the time of your choosing, in a calm environment, with her family around her. She will drift off knowing that she is loved.

If she bites a visiting child you risk her being taken by the police and held in kennels, possibly for months, until she is PTS following a court order, surrounded by strangers. That would be far, far more traumatic for her. You risk prosecution and a criminal conviction. And, of course, someone will have been bitten, with the resultant impact on them.

To rehome her privately would be grossly irresponsible, and is likely to set up a cycle of repeated rehomings as owners won't cope. This will be unsettling and distressing for her, which is likely to worsen her resource-guarding.

Rehoming through a rescue, unless you can find a specialist rescue that permanently fosters dogs with a bite-history, again risks a protracted period in kennels followed by euthanasia.

I know it's incredibly unfair, but euthanasia is the least-bad outcome.

I am very surprised that the breeder 'is not in a position to take her back'. Reputable breeders almost always ask to be contacted in the first instance if you can no longer keep the animal, it is usually written into the contract. The fact that she has refused to do that is concerning.

I agree with others that this situation is not tenable. I know you want to do the best for this dog, but I think you are just delaying the inevitable. The dog needs to be euthanised.

I met another owner in this situation recently. Dog was fine outside but terrorising her and partner inside and had bitten her hand etc. Not seen her for a while so I wonder what happened. In her case the breeder refused to help too. She was adamant that she had been duped into using a puppy farm and the puppy wasn't what she'd been told

@Scarlet14 You haven't said if you have spoken to the vet about this. What did they say?

It's a really sad situation OP, but you don't seem to be taking it seriously enough. No behaviourist is going to be able to make her into a safe dog that you can trust. I'm wary of behaviourists personally - it's not a job with any kind of qualification or formal training and they clearly have a vested interest in telling you that they'll be able to help you rather than being honest and saying that she is dangerous and should be pts.

[email protected] specialises in rehabilitating dogs with a serious bite history and takes a highly responsible approach to rehoming. I’d try them - urgently - to see if they would consider taking her. So sad for you all.

[email protected] specialises in rehabilitating dogs with a serious bite history and takes a highly responsible approach to rehoming
There’s nothing ‘responsible’ about rehoming dogs with ‘serious bite history’.

Have you had a complete health check with the vet? That would be my first point of call. She may be in pain, highly stressed and they may be able to give you some pointers.

Then ask them to recommend a behaviourist, or talk to your insurance company about it. There are a lot of people out there that are complete charlatans, sadly, as it's a profitable field and I'd only use someone on repeated recommendation.

Is she being over exercised? Over stimulated? At 11 months, she's in her "teenage" phase and it can be really really trying as she's testing boundaries. Does she have quiet time in a crate? And check her food - is she having too much protein? My cocker was like the duracell bunny on speed with a high protein low carb mix.......... never again. He's a very anxious dog, and needs a calm predictable routine to be truly relaxed.

Don't give up on her - focus on the 90%. MN tends to be very black and white with dogs - rehome or PTS is the standard response. Dogs are just as individual as we are, and sometimes they are hard to understand. But the messages she's giving you are for a reason, you just need to crack them.