King Charles with vicious streak?

Lynfo

Does anybody know anything about King Charles spaniels?
My parents have one who sometimes has a nasty vicious streak. He can be quite nice at times, but spends most of his time barking his head off. If you go to pet him and he's not in the mood he will snap, even if he came to you in the first place! He will not go for walks at all, when we bring him to the local park he sits on the ground and will not budge for love nor money, however, he loves to go for walks on the beach - I had thought that perhaps he might feel threatened in a park with other dogs there, but am just unsure. We're worried that he might snap at a child one day, as he's a cute dog and kids tend to love him.
Has anybody got any suggestions?

Sigma Force

That dog simply hasn't been trained it has nothing to do with the breed.
Have they tried a dog behaviourist and the vet to make sure there's nothing causing him discomfort and making him like that.
Sounds like he thinks he's the boss of everybody.
Does he get a lot of privelages? eg being fed at the table or on demand, allowed sit where he wants etc.

Lynfo

You're absolutely right, he hasn't been trained. They brought him to the vet recently who said pretty much what you did that he thinks he's the boss of the house. He does get a lot of privileges, in fact, he's spoilt rotten, mostly as a result of being home all day with my sister who just gives in to him all the time. The thing is, the dog is 4 years old now - is it too late to start training him properly now do you think?

FranknFurter

We took in one an aunt had rescued not long ago.
She was adorable *but* completely out of control.
Her owner had left her outside rain or shine, morning noon and night. These dogs are not built for being "outdoor dogs". They were actually, believe it or not, over bred for being lapdogs for royalty. They were hand and lap warmers for high-class ladies when riding on horse-drawn carraiges and in cold weather!

They need a very strict trainer and one who won't be influenced by those beautiful eyes. So find a good one and one with KCS experience. (Call the breed assoc or the kennel club for a list).

4 years old is not too old to train any dog, and some people say it is somtimes easier. So dont be put-off by that.

Four golden rules I learnt with Cas tho'

1-NO human food no matter how much he howls for it.

2-Her own enclosed area at night, not allowed to wander around the house
when you are not around, he HAS to comply to YOUR boundries!

3-Snapping at people is NOT an option, and EVERY time he does,
he is IMMEDIATELY put into his box (enclosed bed area) with NO attention
for no less than 15 mins. Say nothing other than a strict *NO!* once.

4-EVERYTHING, toileting, feeding, playing, is done when YOU are ready, not
him. He HAS to know who is the boss. ALL bad behaviour results in him
being put into his box IMMEDIATELY.

Be prepared for a few weeks of hell, they do not like having to do what they dont want to, and everybody they interact with has to be told this is the rule. If one person is'nt doing it, then there is no point and the dog will never be trained.
Get in touch with a professional trainer immediately if you want to have a dog who is under control. And never forget, dogs are happiest when they know where they are in the "pack order". You are not harming him by training, in the end he will be happy and so will you.

B

Arcadian

Wow Barry why don't you just recommend beating the dog too :eek:



Lynfo, i'd advise you to check out Cavaliertalk for lots of information on Cavs in general. You'll get lots of really helpful advice on there.

peasant

Actually Fran N' Furter is spot on.

One problem though ...it's not really the dog that needs training ...its the people around it.

With the sterotypical small cutsey dog owner this kind of strict regime usually lasts all of three days (that's usually when you start to see the first signs of improvement with the dog) and then slowly but surely all the bad old habits creep back in again one by one.

For a "method" that's more easily digestible to cutsey doggy owners I would recommend a good read of "The dog listener" (stupid title but not a totally stupid book) By Jan Fennell. Taken with a grain of salt and a helping of common sense her methods can show the way out of "my dog rules the world" situations.

Available in all good bookshops.

SuzyS1972

Grrrrrrr
had a long conversation with a colleague today about a young KC she has and he sounds mad altogether - pulling wallpaper off the walls - pulling up the carpet and jumping up on the sofa / table / people.
He is now mouthing and nipping if they pick him up.
Sounds a little terror in the making
Ideal age for neutering but she wouldn't have it.
Apprantly " he'd be upset "

They are not doing anything to deter his behaviour and now he is fully grown they don't think it's funny anymore.
I think because they had a KC before and he was dead mellow they just anticipated this lad would self train
They have not even taught him to sit and now they are questioning his " pedigree " - I tell you I nearly fell off the chair for laughing.
It was almost like they thought that coz he had papers he came with a self training manual

Of course all the above is completely useless to the OP - have nothing to offer - just waffling ......

FranknFurter

Arcadian wrote:

Wow Barry why don't you just recommend beating the dog too :eek:

Excuse me??
I would NEVER recommend hurting an animal.
With any dog that is in danger of biting a child or adult the vital thing is to teach it that this behaviour is unaccecptable.

Just because a dog is a fluffy lapdog type breed does not change the very basic training methods. People thinking that is why so many are out of control in the first place.

What I have said above is in no way agressive behaviour and the best way to let a dog know somthing is not accecptable is to teach it that bad behaviour will result in it missing out on somthing, attention.
A dog must know that *you* are "top dog" not him/her.

That is in NO way agressive, it is simple logic.

B

Lynfo

Hi all, thanks for your replies, all very helpful. SuzyS1972, we had a KC before, and he was the complete opposite of the one we have now - very placid, sleepy, friendly dog, and I think, like your friends, we thought this one would be the same - how wrong we were!
Thanks again, I will keep trying with him!

Sigma Force

Crate training might help him, basically it's back to basics and he can use it as his bed at night too. He's not too old to start.