# aggression



## sidsmom (Feb 15, 2012)

Sid is our first cockapoo. We got him from a breeder when he was 6 months old. He is now 2 yrs. We have a 13 yr old labrador and they get along very well. My concern is that when we walk them and other dogs are around, Sid starts to cry/whine like he wants to play, but then if other dog gets too close he starts to growl. When we would take him to dog park he was ok with the other dogs.(haven't taken him to park in a while) My concern is his aggression to the other dogs. If other dog comes towards our lab, that's ok, but I pull Sid away to my side. He is very attached to me and my husband so maybe thats his way of trying to protect us?
Right now I am sitting at home, he is under my chair, and when my new housekeeper comes into the room next to where I am, he starts to almost growl = granted she is new, but he would do the same with my other housekeeper who he knew. maybe (again) its a "protection" thing.
Sid is shy when new people come in, but he is fine with me, my husband, lab and a cat we have
can anyone offer some advise on what to do?


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

He sounds more like he is scared to me. How much training and socialising have you done with him?

I would start from scratch and try to take him out and reward him for being aware of other people and dogs whilst not reacting - this might be when they are a very long way away and you can very gradually over the course of lots of sessions get closer. You could enroll on a good positive reward based training class if you can find one but you need to be very careful as the last thing he needs is to be told off for his reactions as currently he is telling you he is unhappy.

With the housekeeper - do they try to interact with him at all? Maybe they could just drop a biscuit or treat as they walk through so they are doing something positive but not trying to coax him out or scare him any more than he already is.


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## Soo (Dec 16, 2011)

Sounds like he needs a good bit more socialisation around other friendly dogs and people.

Perhaps a one to one with a trainer would be an idea? There may be ways that you are not aware of that you are rewarding him showing the nervous growling behaviour that will only be spotted by someone with experience watching you. 

Im a trainer and behaviourist but for aggression truly prefer to see and experience what triggers a dog as very often its something different that the owner is thinking.


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