Young working dog without a job. I have just met Sam who is seven months of age. Sam is so very like my own Working Cocker Spaniel, Pickle. I have had over five years with Pickle, learning how to give my alert and energetic working dog a sufficiently fulfilled life so that he’s Read more…
Baloo is born to guard. His entire life centres around guarding his family. He’s ‘on duty’ all the time.
I sat down at the kitchen table and they opened the door. The most enormous dog charged towards me giving a giant rumbling WOOF.
He stopped short of me (fortunately!). He’s a lot bigger than he looks here – they say he weighs about 11 stone. (more…)
There really is something so endearing about a Cocker Spaniel! Cockers haven’t been put on this earth to be ignored. My own Cocker, Pickle, is totally different to Toby in that he’s not a guarder, but he, too, can be a handful. He is a working Cocker and keeps himself, Read more…
Unpredictable aggression? Unpredictable only because they can’t see inside Banjo’s head. If they could, and if stress was visible, they might see a little pressure cooker in there; they would see how over the past five months or so things have simply become too much for him. Unpredictable also because Read more…
They had been told her guarding behaviour couldn’t be fixed which is pretty unbelievable really. They were told nothing would stop her picking up and guarding anything that was lying around. The two main problems with beautiful and mostly loving Cockerpoo Nell are that she will steal things, run off Read more…
Ollin is a Xoloitzcuintli. I have never even heard of a Xoloitzcuintli before let alone visited one. Where did the possessive behaviour come from? Ollin has been perfectly happy with her humans touching something she’s eating should they need to. She lets them take her toys. She’s having none of it however Read more…
Things are a whole lot more serious when children are involved. This is from the original email the lady sent me: “Alfie has started growling around his food, toys and bed since June. He is very possessive and he bit me once as well. We have been trying to stop him Read more…
We all know what Pugnacious means! Frank is a delightful, friendly and playful ten-month-old Pug French Bulldog mix. He is a typical teenager in that he likes to play his family up – he is a clever boy! What I was called for is Frank’s behaviour around dropped food, bones Read more…
Stress. Is it cause or is it symptom? It’s like merry-go-round. Chicken and egg. Barking for attention = stress = barking for attention Barking at the neighbour’s dog = stress = barking at the neighbour’s dog Shredding the mail = stress = shredding the mail Wild excitement before meals = stress Read more…
‘Wary’ is the word I would use to best describe little two-year-old working Cocker Spaniel, Nico. He has lived with the couple in his new home for three months now. It is a very good bet that his problems stem from having not been adequately socialised from a puppy onwards. Read more…