i was lying in bed with my dog this morning and my sister was sitting on the end of the bed, i had to get up so i asked my sister to move the dog, which is usually fine, but my dog growled and snapped at her.
i yelled at minnie my dog to get down off the bed and she did but she dived under it. i tried calling her to come out but she didn't, i tried to pull her out but when i put my hand under the bed she growled and started snapping. in the end i shut my bedroom door and left her in there for about 20 minutes, she still wouldn't come out when i called her so i rang the door bell and that made her come out. then i took her by the collar and walked her to the back door and she has been outside since.
i just don't know what to do about this. i know it could easily happen again but i don't know how to change it. she obviously just wanted to get her own way and she knows once she's under the bed i'm too scared to put my hand in and drag her out (i've tried just doing it any way but my reflexes keep pulling my hand out when she snaps)
i'm really worried about this, if she will snap at me she will snap at anyone and what if she does more than just snapping? does anyone know how to deal with this behaviour and what i should do to prevent it happening again?
she's 12 months old now, i got her from a breeder (who i now suspect was probably not as reputable as i thought at the time) at 8 weeks of age. she's a cocker spaniel. it's not a totally new behaviour but this is the worst it has been. when she steals something like a pen from a coffee table she runs behind the couch with it and growls if anyone comes to get it but that has pretty much stopped now. at night sometimes when i call her to go to bed she will growl but she usually comes the 3rd or 4th time i call. anytime she has growled and snapped it has been because she wants something and we are not going to give it to her. she doesn't mind it i take a bone off her or her food bowl or anything like that
also, just as a side note, now that we've had a "fight" she will be perfectly behaved. for the next 2 hours until she can tell i've calmed down she will respond to all comands perfectly, if i let her in the house she will just sit quietly on the mat watching me to follow my ques, if i get up she will follow but when i sit down she will sit at my feet. she will be perfect, totally non agressive
i yelled at minnie my dog to get down off the bed and she did but she dived under it. i tried calling her to come out but she didn't, i tried to pull her out but when i put my hand under the bed she growled and started snapping. in the end i shut my bedroom door and left her in there for about 20 minutes, she still wouldn't come out when i called her so i rang the door bell and that made her come out. then i took her by the collar and walked her to the back door and she has been outside since.
i just don't know what to do about this. i know it could easily happen again but i don't know how to change it. she obviously just wanted to get her own way and she knows once she's under the bed i'm too scared to put my hand in and drag her out (i've tried just doing it any way but my reflexes keep pulling my hand out when she snaps)
i'm really worried about this, if she will snap at me she will snap at anyone and what if she does more than just snapping? does anyone know how to deal with this behaviour and what i should do to prevent it happening again?
she's 12 months old now, i got her from a breeder (who i now suspect was probably not as reputable as i thought at the time) at 8 weeks of age. she's a cocker spaniel. it's not a totally new behaviour but this is the worst it has been. when she steals something like a pen from a coffee table she runs behind the couch with it and growls if anyone comes to get it but that has pretty much stopped now. at night sometimes when i call her to go to bed she will growl but she usually comes the 3rd or 4th time i call. anytime she has growled and snapped it has been because she wants something and we are not going to give it to her. she doesn't mind it i take a bone off her or her food bowl or anything like that
also, just as a side note, now that we've had a "fight" she will be perfectly behaved. for the next 2 hours until she can tell i've calmed down she will respond to all comands perfectly, if i let her in the house she will just sit quietly on the mat watching me to follow my ques, if i get up she will follow but when i sit down she will sit at my feet. she will be perfect, totally non agressive