Aggressive Cockerpoo :-(

[DogGoneOrDogTrainer]

Hello.

I’ve name changed as other posts may ID me along with this issue but I am a long time poster (Sistine screamer/penis beaker/villa thief etc)

I have a 13 month old Cockerpoo who is a total nightmare.

He is walked 4 times a day with plenty of other games/ puzzles and wants for nothing.

In the last 3 or 4 months his resource guarding has got worse.

He has started to lunge and bite me if I go near him when he has anything of high value such as a treat, a toy, a pair of stolen socks etc.

Tonight, it is raining so we have just come back from his last walk of the night and I started to dry his feet and he has bitten me through my jumper and broken the skin underneath.

There are no thorns or anything like that in his pads or for and there are no underlying health problems as he was castrated 5 weeks ago and had had 2 follow up vet appointments since. The most recent one on Saturday morning.

I am at my wits end. I don’t know what to do. My head is saying he can’t be trusted if he’s biting me but my heart says when he’s not biting he’s the most loving dog ever.

I guess I’m asking for guidance as to what you would do?
More training?
A behaviourist?
Bootcamp?
Re-home? (Unlikely with the biting)
Euthanise?

Thanks for reading and any help would be gratefully received.

He also advocates holding dogs by the scruff of their neck. Which is never acceptable. He also breeds three types of dogs - never the sign of a decent person or breeder.

More importantly, PP is right - every dog with him looks bloody terrified. Quite frankly, if he wasn’t as posh as he is people would treat him the same way they treat dog daddy (pressed send too soon)!

Just to say, whilst I 100% agree with you that that guy PP mentioned is awful, very few gundog trainers use aggressive methods like his.

I do a fair bit of working with my boy and none of the trainers I’ve met through it, or owners of the dogs I’ve met, have ever advocated anything like his style. He is a posh puppy-farming outlier (anyone breeding multiple types of dogs who leaves them - in his words - ‘caged’ from 8 weeks is a bit scummy!) As I said above, if he wasn’t as posh as he is, he’d be looked at in the same light as dog daddy.

Edit - spelt gunfighters, not gun dogs !

As with all dogs, he needs to recognise that you’re the boss - you can’t ‘baby’ a puppy then expect them to follow your lead without question. A long term owner of working labs and springers, we’ve always given ours a cage from day one, and once poo trained, allowed them to have this (open) place of their own to retreat to thereafter.
I know I’ll be shot down for saying this, but a cockerpoo is a mongrel - how well were his parents chosen for temperament, health etc? A vet tells that too many aren’t that stable, worsened by the cuddly treatment when young.

I have a pure cocker and she would be wired up to the eyeballs on adrenaline with 4 walks a day, the breeder warned us that people often think they should tire a working dog out physically, then end up creating extremely fit strong dogs who need lots of walking, mental stimulation by sniffy walks or scent work is better - if the dog isnt working then it just seems like too many walks really. Are you taking a ball on these walks too? Mine cant have balls very often, she behaves like an addict and it was worse at the age yours is, if you played with a ball with her she would be bouncing off the walls for at least a couple of hours after.

Do you have an idea of how the resource guarding started? Did you do any training specifically towards avoiding resource guarding when he was younger, or was it something you weren't aware of so would be starting from scratch with now, as if so other than a good trainer we can suggest ideas.

Fair points, i have always thought they were well known and reputable trainers the waiting lists are long apparently, so dog owners are using them,

Sadly, I’ve found the fancier the website and longer the waitlist the worst a breeder or trainer is (ironic coming from me, I know - though mine is due to lack of litters more than anything else)! It’s rotten though as people fall for it and it never ends well

Good to know that most gundog trainers aren’t like this. I know there are good ones - Jane Ardern for instance.

Good point about people being seduced by a posh accent, tweeds and a fancy website.

I’d love to see how he’d tackle a different, less people-pleasing breed. Either he’d lean more R+ in which case any not use that anyway, or as I suspect his aversives would crank up.

It was the dog daddy point you made about dog daddy was jarring, I thought right ok fair enough, it just shows how fancy gillets are seductive ! I have never used him tbh they are very expensive,
I do follow Jane Arden and we use a local trainer/behaviourist

@Coffeeishot @TheHungryHungryLandsharks I know him, have spent time up there and don't recognise some of these criticisms to be honest. His dogs are amazing and very happy and the set up is great. I'd have one from him any day and probably will do next time round. I've seen far, far worse from gundog trainers as far as handling goes in even my much shorter time around them than at least one if not both of you.

We all differ on how we train our dogs of course and we all use our dogs for different things. For what his clients want, his dogs are 10/10 but they won't be for a lot of people and that's fine, he and all other breeder-trainers of his ilk know.

(@Coffeeishot just to add that as @TheHungryHungryLandsharks knows, I hold no brief for him, was just reading idly as it's sad to hear of any spaniel causing their owners trouble.)

Some dogs experience an increase in anxiety following a neuter.

The sudden uptick in aggression, especially around touch, also sounds like he may be in pain for some reason. I know you said you've been to the vet recently for his neuter and follow-up, but perhaps he needs a more in-depth examination in light of recent events?

Please don't send him to bootcamp, he's already clearly struggling.

It is common with this mix but absolutely manageable in an adult only home.

Im a behaviourist and so advice as follows.

Vet. Full exam and possible pain trial. Ask for a referral to a behaviourist. I’d say trainer but there are a lot who don’t understand that RG is a fear response whereas behaviourists tend to.

Make sure they have repitabke qualifications and experience in dealing with RG. Make sure they use science based modification not punishment. I love my vet but wouldn’t take behaviour advice from him (and he knows not to give it 🤣) Their training is broad and often out of date unless they keep up to date.