I love my Ddog but I'm struggling. Quite alot, actually.

[SmotherhoodandApplePie]

He is 3. There's just him and me and I don't work so we're together alot of the time. I had him as a puppy and did alot of searching and researching before I went ahead. He is CKCS. We did puppy training both the Dogs Trust and I had a private trainer to help with all the usual puppy stuff.

Anyway, we had a lovely relationship which is now under stress because of his reactivity. It's really hard to manage (in fact I'm not managing in an emotional/psychological sense and to some extent physically).

The worst part is that every single morning for the past few weeks he wakes at about 6 ish and he is clearly on high alert.He used to have a cuddle and fuss and we would have some bonding time. But now I have to let him out because he becomes out of control reactive and body slams the patio doors whilst yelping and barking hysterically. And straining so hard on the lead to get out that I can hear the strain on his throat.
I have to grab his collar and lead and get it on him whilst holding him back as he is frantically trying to get away and outside. Once in the garden it's worse as at that point all the neighbours can hear him and probably see him dragging me around the perimeter of the garden and everywhere else in between. It's awful..I don't talk to him at this point because I've learned that it doesn't make any difference.

He calms down after a while but by this time I am so upset with him and myself and I'm sure he picks up on that. There is also literally no point in my trying to use distraction or treats - it simply doesn't work for a dog that is clearly in fight or flight.

So a while ago, a fox was hanging around and I get that this would be a trigger. I scatter coffee grounds in the garden every day as I heard foxes don't like them. Last night a neighbours cat was in the garden and all hell let loose.

Now he's also lunging at traffic when we are out on a walk - and to get to green space we have to walk by a road at least some of the time. I've done alot of training with him on that but I feel he is so anxious that he's never fully relaxed now. Once a day we also go in the car either to the beach or the woods so he can roam safely and do his thing.

I've booked a Vet appt next week because I don't know what to do. Ddog is not castrated but did have the implant for a while. Sorry for the long post. DD knows a vet nurse who said the Vet will probably advise a Behaviourist.

Will neutering change my dog’s personality?

If your pet is confident, happy and well socialised, then it’s very unlikely that neutering them will change their behaviour or personality.

However, if they are under-confident, fearful, or have behavioural problems, neutering could make them worse. This is because sex-hormones such as testosterone, tend to boost confidence, so a reduction in these hormones away at the wrong time might reduce your dog’s confidence, making them more fearful and/or aggressive.

Does it matter if he crashes around? He’s a King Charles spaniel - he’s not too big. I had a springer spaniel and they are absolutely nuts. He used to bounce off the walls at age 3 from energy overload. When people arrived he was so excited to see them he would jump high and knock things over. I didn’t take much notice really and let him get on with it. Spaniels need a huge amount of walking. Can you walk him more and tire him out? They do calm down a bit from age 5 ish.

Exactly. Let him run it off. My spaniel used to get up from a sleep, and with no notice whatsoever start doing zoomies around the lounge. Full pelt. We used to lift our legs as he lapped us. Spaniels are high high energy. Can you meet him where he is at more?

You'll pay a consultation fee for the vet to do a quick check to make sure there's nothing obviously wrong with him, then they'll recommend a behaviourist.

Don't let him out in the morning until he's calm. This might take ages.

We looked into this as it sounded like the only solution after we'd explored the castration & chemical castration route and 2 vets refused to do it because of the risk in making him worse. We were directed to a behaviourist but the 3 week residential was £2.5K. I know someone who sent their dog, yes it worked but they had to get a bank loan.

We've worked hard to understand the behaviours and to tailor everything to his needs and he's fine. He thinks he's a racehorse & a bull, very protective over his companion (same breed) and us but we u derstand him now.