Some Dog Behavior Tips Help an Aggressive Cocker Spaniel

Xander is a ten-year-old Cocker Spaniel who lives in Omaha. His guardian scheduled an in home dog training session with us to train him to stop his dog aggression and human aggression towards people he doesn’t know.

Xander made it crystal clear that he did not approve of my presence as soon as I arrived for the session; barking, lunging and pulling towards me in a territorial way. Had he not been on the leash, a bit or nip most certainly would have occurred.

I adopted some dog behavior tricks to help Xander settle down. These worked really well and got him to stop acting aggressively within minutes. According to his guardian, this was the quickest he had ever settled down when a guest arrived at his home.

You can watch this greeting and get some free dog training tips by clicking the video below.

Later in the session I would share some additional tips I have come across consulting with some of the best dog behavior expert and PhD’s in the country. The important things to remember; to not let the dog move in front of the handler, not allowing the dog to pull towards the arriving guest (wait for the dog to stop pulling before walking towards the guest again) and avoid holding the dog back by the collar and leash as this usually increases their reaction.

In the roadmap to success video at the bottom of this post, I share a positive dog training tip that should help Xander stop seeing arriving visitors as threats. With enough practice, his guardian will be able to successfully complete this behavior modification.

While it will be important to practice the new technique once a gust steps inside, there are things the guardian can do to help Xander learn to calm down and be less reactive when guests knock; teaching the dog to adopt a new behavior before opening the door. I demonstrate how to train a dog to behave at the door in the video below.

By increasing the distance between the dog and the door, then breaking down the door answering ritual into small steps, Xander’s guardian can train the dog to behave how he wants throughout the entire door answering ritual.

Xander is a great dog once he gets to know you. By adopting the techniques outlined in the videos and rest of the session, his guardian will be able to train the dog to adopt a friendly demeanor and eventually see arriving guests as a good thing.

We wrapped up the session by shooting a roadmap to success complete with free dog training secrets to stop Xander’s aggressive door behavior for good. You can watch the video and get these dog behavior secrets by clicking the video below.