Dog aggression - Cockapoo

[David Rountree]

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Has anybody experienced a change in temperament from their cockapoo? Our little man will be 2 in October but in the past few months he's been aggressive at night time when asked to get down from the bed or if our daughter comes into the bedroom in the morning he barks and snarls, more recently he's acted like this out of the blue and in different situations, it is out of character for him but would like any advice from people who might have had similar situations and what they did to over come it, thank you in advance

 

[merlina]

I know people take issue with this but beds and sofas are always flash points. They are your places so to a dog it makes them highly desirable. The one bit of advice I give prospective homes (I'm a homechecker) is to say 'no' to jumping up and coax down with a treat. Never pull him down. I would suggest you do the coaxing and try to wean him off being there in the first place. He's two and he's suddenly a pushy teenager with raging hormones. Not naughty , just growing up.

 

[JoanneF]

if our daughter comes into the bedroom in the morning he barks and snarls,

So is he in the bedroom at this stage? Like @merlina says, the room could be another flashpoint. Cockers can have tendencies to guard the resources that to them are high value so get grumbly when the resource is threatened. Think of how it would be if you were eating a lovely meal in a restaurant and someone tried to take it away - you would get grumbly too. So luring from the sofa with a treat that is at that point, more desirable than the comfy sofa, is less confrontational and easier for everyone. In the bedroom, is he already there with you when your daughter comes in? Is his bed between yours and the door or does he sleep on your bed? I am trying to understand whether he might be guarding his bed, or guarding you. If he is in his bed, and it is between you and the door, I would move it to as far from the door as possible, preferably with your own bed between him and the door, so your daughter entering is less of a perceived threat.

A few words on growling though. Never ignore a growl. Dogs give a series of signals that they are unhappy, but unfortunately most people don't recognise them because they can be quite subtle. To begin with there is often wide eyes, lip licking and yawning. There is also muscular tension in the body. Then the ones we sometimes do see - growl, snarl, nip then bite. If the early signals are not seen (or, in the dog's view, ignored) he won't bother with them because us stupid humans pay no attention anyway; so he may go straight to the bite. So it's important never to ignore a growl.