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Need help with aggressive, kleptomaniac, hyper dog...

2K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  OwnedbyACDs 
#1 ·
Hi, my names Jake and my family and I are getting desperate because we don't know what to do.

We have a 1 year old cocker/springer spaniel names Casey and a 10 month old newfoundland dog named Pixel. They are both female and (for the most part) get along great. But the main problem is with Casey...

-she will bark nonstop
-growls, barks and lunges at anyone but our family
-pulls very hard on walks
-attacks Pixel is she has a treat/bone
-jumps 3-4 feet onto our counters then steals/eats anything she can get
-chews on our couches
-cry's and scratches at the door when ever my mother leaves for work
- and she jumps up on us when she is excited

We should have done something about Casey's behavior when we first started noticing it when she was young. She wasn't abused at all by us or her breeder so we just don't know where is comes from. The reason we are worried though is that we are currently contemplating giving her away or putting her down..... We don't want to, she is a very very loving dog to us and she is a part of the family but her behavior is getting to be to much to handle. She is the pack leader of the house and our other dog Pixel is starting to pick up her bad behavior. We have tried everything we can to try and help our dogs but nothing seems to work, and were not sure if we are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on professional trainers. The neighbors are getting really fed up with their barking as well

Our dilemma is - Do we get rid of her so we don't have 2 bad dogs to deal with, or do we keep her and spend hundreds of dollars and lots of time in an attempt to fix her. It's hard saying goodbye to anything you love and we are worried that nobody would take her so she would get put down, and that if somebody took her, would they treat her nice? We don't have any friends or family that could or would take her in. We just do not know what to do.... =(
 
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#3 ·
I think a good trainer would be very helpful to you if you are considering putting a young dog to sleep because of what are generally very trainable or manageable problems. Also, put "pack leader" stuff out of your mind, that's based on dominance theory which has been debunked, even by the man who originally proposed it (Mech). Crantastic has some great links and info on why it isn't a thing.
But to get you started on some information reading that may help you begin training your dog and see where her behaviors are coming from, I'm adding comments in bold below related to each of your difficulties with her.

-she will bark nonstop
often related to bored or frustrated dogs, sometimes dogs are just huge barkers but starting with making sure she has plenty of exercise and mental exercise (training basic commands and then adding tricks and puzzles etc) is very important
-growls, barks and lunges at anyone but our family
Probably just part of being untrained and maybe unsocialized. Look up "reactive dog" and "leash reactivity" since even if it isn't technically reactivity, lots of the training methods are useful like "Look At That". However, if you think this is true aggression, not just an overexcited untrained dog, then consult a trainer
-pulls very hard on walks
Try a no-pull harness, look up "be a tree" and "penalty yards" for training techniques. Pulling is normal before a dog is trained to walk nicely
-attacks Pixel is she has a treat/bone
Resource guarding is normal although of course not acceptable. Many many people simply give treats and bones to the dogs in separate crates or rooms and let them eat in peace. You wouldn't want someone bothering you will eating your ice cream would you?
-jumps 3-4 feet onto our counters then steals/eats anything she can get
Clean the counters off. Use a baby gate to block her from the kitchen if needed. Crate her when she isn't supervised
-chews on our couches
Crate her when she isn't supervised. Sometimes bitter apple spray (available at pet stores and maybe Walmart) works to stop chewing in a specific spot
-cry's and scratches at the door when ever my mother leaves for work
She may be a little anxious, or just wanting attention. If she's being left completely alone, crate her (crate train first, don't just chuck her in there for the day). If other people are still home, use treats and ask for her to sit and stay and shake and lay down or basically several commands to get her focus away from the door
- and she jumps up on us when she is excited
Yep, that's what excited young dogs do. You can help this by ONLY giving her attention when all 4 feet are on the floor. Ask for her to sit, give a treat and give her attention. If she jumps, turn your back or to the side and stand still. Ask for sit, treat, attention. Don't yell, don't shove her down (those are both attention even if negative attention). If needed, step out of the room for 10 or 20 seconds and then come back and ask for sit, treat and give praise and pets.
To me, it sounds like you have a very typical UNTRAINED and probably under exercised 1 year old dog. She needs at least 2, 30 minute walks each day and at least a few 5-10 minute training sessions each day to work her mind.
 
#4 ·
I second Shell, what you have sounds like a very normal teenage dog & yes, they can be horrid. Believe me I know, I have cattle dogs xD.

I am no training expert but I can list some things that worked for me, don't know if they will work for your dog but its worth a shot:

she will bark nonstop -She is bored, young & not being exercised enough. Is she toy driven? if so, google "flirt pole" ... just do it.

growls, barks and lunges at anyone but our family Not surre if you mean on walks or in the home but I will cover both. If she is doing it on walks, then you can play the "look at that" game with her, using a yummy treat (I always use cheap hotdogs cut up) when she looks at a stranger, say "Look at that!" in a cheery happy voice & stuff a treat in her mouth. if she is reacting, move back til she doesn't. In the home, have your guests toss treats to her, but instruct them NOT to give eye contact or touch her.

pulls very hard on walks the training forum section of this board has a wealth of info on how to "be a tree", check it out. because its way too much info to repeat here.

attacks Pixel is she has a treat/bone This is why I DO NOT give my dogs trets when they are outside or in each other's company where they can get at each other, it causes fights. Mine only get treats when everyone is in for the night either in their own bed or crate. The best of us (me included) have had dogs fight over possessions, which is why I don't leave toys out when I am not outside actively playing with them.

jumps 3-4 feet onto our counters then steals/eats anything she can get There is a simple solution to this, just don't allow her access to them. if she is doing it while you are away, crate her or gate her off in a dog safe room. if she is doing it when you are there, put a leash on her & hold it or tie her to you so she can never be out of your sight.

chews on our couches again ... same as above.

cry's and scratches at the door when ever my mother leaves for work Is she toy motivated? if she is, try bouncing a ball off the door next to her to distract her. or, if you have a fenced yard, when she starts scratching & whining, take her out there & play with her so she "forgets" your mother leaving.

she jumps up on us when she is excited If she jumps, ignore her, cross your arms, keep your back to her & ignore her. to an excited dog, ANY attention (even negative attention) is better then none.
 
#5 ·
You don't have to put her down or give her away. There's lots you can try first.

-she will bark nonstop
-growls, barks and lunges at anyone but our family
-pulls very hard on walks
-attacks Pixel is she has a treat/bone
-jumps 3-4 feet onto our counters then steals/eats anything she can get
-chews on our couches
-cry's and scratches at the door when ever my mother leaves for work
- and she jumps up on us when she is excited
-How much exercise is she getting? Springers are quite a high energy breed and Cockers can be as well. Most field breeds are. At her age, she should be getting no less than 1.5 hours of serious exercise a day, like a brisk walk or jog plus maybe some off leash running, chasing a ball or something AND brain games, like puzzle toys, training, etc. Barking can be highly related to boredom.

-- These net two things can also be due to lack of exercise/socialization. Get her an easy walk harness and begin training her not to pull and to focus on you on the walks. This is likely NOT aggression but probably more likely reactivity from excitement.

-This is resource guarding. It is completely natural for a lot of dogs. Does she do it to you? If so, look up Resource Guarding and Trading Up. With dogs, unless one of them is drawing blood on the other, I would let them work it out themselves.

-I wish I could help with this. The most I could tell for now, though it's an inconvenience, is to keep all the food in fridges and cabinets and maybe gate the kitchen off if you can. If she is crate trained, keep her crated when you can't watch her.

-Again, this is something that could be related to lack of exercise and stimulation. Make sure she has a lot of fun toys to chew from. If you catch her chewing on the couch, offer her a fun toy instead. If she won't stop... I don't normally suggest this, but I would try that bitter spray stuff. Just put it on the couch and let her get a mouth full of it.

-Again, if she has a crate, I would crate her for this. Just have your mother say 'bye Casey' and walk out without really making a fuss.

-Remain calm with her, and pretty much refuse to acknowledge her while she's doing this. I know she will likely continue to jump on you for a while, but praising her or pushing her off or even yelling at her may likely excite her more.

Here are a few videos I'd recommend to you, some things you can start yourself.



This helped me A LOT with my dogs who were insane pullers.







Ultimately, I would recommend getting a behaviorist and/or a POSITIVE trainer to come in and help you. If you go with a trainer please be sure the trainer uses positive methods, no prongs or chokes chains or shock collars, no 'alpha' theory stuff, no hitting or jerking.
Be very patient and consistent in your actions.
 
#6 ·
I wouldn't call this dog either aggressive or kleptomaniac according to your description, just a dog that is not being handled/trained properly. The question is, are you willing to spend the time/money/effort to deal with this behavior? Obedience classes sound like a good idea for your situation, but you will need to work with the dog on your own--don't expect the dog to magically transform at class w/o any effort on your part. It also sounds as though she is bored and needs more exercise--typically dogs can be "brats" when they are left to their own devices and have nothing better to do. Please don't put this dog down just because your family has failed to give her proper training/exercise. This is something that is fixable, and I highly recommend it, as the results can be really rewarding for both you and the dog.
 
#7 ·
Exactly what the above poster(londonsowner) said. You should have put your dog through classes a while ago. You dont just get a dog and hope it turns out good. Every dog I bring home goes through classes. I think someone who gets rid of a dog should not be able to get another one. If you get rid of your dog, dont get another one. If you must have an animal, maybe get a cat or a hampster.
 
#8 ·
She's just under exercised and has resource guarding...work on it and exercise her more...also I quoted this to say there are no such things as hampsters lol just wanted to say that
 
#10 ·
I don't think that it was meant to be rude, but some of us don't need training classes, but I think this poster was saying that the OP might need some assistance if the things we suggest don't Sri or if they have problems applying them.

OP it also pays to remember that no training method is going to work right away, there is going to be a period of what pros call "extinction burst" (google it) where the bad behavior gets worse before it gets better.
 
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