possessive/aggressive behaviour




we have a springer x cavalier spaniel. We introduced a new baby to our family 11months ago. over the past 2 months however the dog has become very possessive over the baby and has bitten my 7 yr old son when he went near the baby. the dog also guards the baby's toys. she is not aggressive towards adults. 2 behaviouists have told me it is a common springer trait - do you have any advice?




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possessive/aggressive behaviour

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Dec 09, 2009
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by: Michele

You called behaviorists....besides telling you that was common in Springers, did they advise how to handle it?

Any dog can become possessive. I don't think that is necessarily a Springer trait,in fact this is a natural behavior in most dogs. One of my Springers is very protective of her toys and has to be reminded that we humans are allowed to take them from her.

When dogs display this type of behavior they see themselves as the leader of your pack, which means they are the dominant dog. You must take back the alpha dog title in order to break her of this. I would contact that behaviorist again and get some suggestions. Or find a good dog obedience class and sign yourselves up.

It is very important to handle this immediately because this type of behavior only escalates if allowed to. A dog must never be allowed to get away with challenging you or any other member of your family. This is definitely something that can be 'fixed', but you will need to work on it.

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