Cocker spaniel behaviour problem

Hi
Any advice would be greatfully received!. I have a lovely, generally well behaved 9 year old cocker - basic training was completed at about 1 and she is pretty good although extremely lively even at 9. I now have a 16 month old grandaughter and when she comes to the house its extremely stressful with my dog (Tilly) there too. Tilly becomes extremely excited and starts panting and pacing around excitedly and if we remove her from the room we are all in because of this behaviour she doesnt stop yelping and barking. If I pick up my grandaughter she again barks continually as though she is jealous and seeking attention which she generally gets plenty of. We all make sure Tilly gets plenty of fuss and try to calm her down but we cannot do that all the time when we have visitors. I do not know what to do now and would appeciate any advice/ideas please.

While I have some experience of dogs, I'm afraid I have little experience of children ...

However, I am guessing that at 16 months your granddaughter will be quite exciting for your dog. She will move in an exciting way and make exciting noises. To a dog, toddlers are not like just mini versions of adults. Have you considered a baby gate so Tilly can see what is going on, along with a high value long lasting treat like a frozen Kong (maybe with a special filling that is only used when your granddaughter visits) to keep her attention away from your granddaughter? That along with a strong 'settle' might help a bit.

My slight concern with questions like this though is that your dog might be resouce guarding you. And spaniels do seem to be predisposed to resource guarding. If that's the case you might need some professional support to observe the behaviour first hand and help you work on a strategy. If that is a route you want to explore; if you can say roughly what area you are in we might be able to suggest someone.

Hi Joanne
Thankyou for responding.
Actually at the moment my grandaughter is fairly quiet and just potters about - what concerns me is when this changes how tilly becomes then. We do already use a baby gate and use it all the time but we thought shutting tilly out might make things worse and thought having her in with us would get her used to others easier if we watched her closely. Obviously this isn't working though & we end up putting her behind the gate anyway as it all gets too much and she gets over excited, tail wagģing, panting and won't calm down. I live in the walsall/Wolverhampton area so I would appreciate any names/numbers who may be able to help/advise.

Also I may add when we do put her behind the gate she continually barks and yelps.

The main issue with dog behaviouists is that it is an unregulated profession; which basically means that my 90 year neighbour who has never owned a dog in her life could if she wished set herself up in business as a behaviourist. There are however two respected organisations in the UK who do demand their members meet professional standards, the Association of Pet Behavioural Counsellors and the Centre of Applied Pet Ethology. I have put links below, I hope they can help.

www.apbc.org.uk/help/regions/area/westmidlands

CAPBT - COAPE Association of Applied Pet Behaviourists and Trainers

Your insurance may cover this.

Many thanks for your help Joanne