Sudden aggression of dog w my 4yr old

Andso

My Springer spaniel is nearly 3 and we have him since he was 8weeks old. Great dog, lovely temperment w the exception of food guarding as a pup. He will let you pet him when eating but it's obvious he was uneasy. As a result there is a clear rule never go near him when eating. Anyway a few weeks ago my 4 yr old told me dog was growling at her, i observed them and all seemed ok, he is very happy to continually run around house after her on her bike. He was in his crate and she gave him a treat, she told me he growled again. I thought it was his space being encroached so warned her if hes in crate he wants to be left alone. Yesterday we were all in trampoline together and he slipped, got a little fright and i was hugging him. 4 yr went to rub him and he bared his teeth at her. This morn he was lying on front step and as she passed she rubbed him and again he bared his teeth.
I'm at a loss as to what to think, he is a very much loved dog, included in alot of our family activities such as mountain walking but cant have this continue and compromise my daughters safety. Am planning a visit to vet in the morn but would welcome any thoughts

tk123

Definitely vet. They’re great at hiding their pain - could be something going on with him and you don’t realise.

khaldrogo

Get rid of it. End of story

Andso

should also mention I have 2 other kids , 9 yrs and 7 yrs and he has no issues with them

Flibble

It's possible that he experienced something negative in the presence of your daughter and has created an association of some sort with her and whatever happened. She might have done something intentionally or unintentionally, or it might have been something external that just happened near her.

If the vet doesn't find anything physical, I'd focus on re-building a relationship between the two of them that involves positive activities- get her to help train him, play ball etc etc. If you're not confident on managing the situation, seek out a trainer to assist.

And don't be tempted to chastise your dog for growling, whatever is going on, a growl is always better than a bite! At least you get a clear warning that the dog needs space.

cocker5

Sudden change in behavior is usually always down to pain etc - full vet check is required here to rule out pain

From your post it appears your dog associates your 4 year old with a negative incident .. go back to basics do not allow any child near his crate / or pet him when feeding it’s not fair in him.

Start by your 4 year old sitting down and calling him over to give a treat - no petting .. do this each day for a week or two then over time introduce petty again .. your dog is afraid / maybe associates ur 4 year old with pain .. growling is a waring sign ur dog is uncomfortable.. so minimize interaction and start with treats not in his bed / but call him over

You need to give your dog positive experience with ur 4 year old .. and they’ll be fine

Do not allow ur 4 year old to approach the dog until you do a few weeks of reintroduction .. he’s afraid

Bells21

Op fair play for seeking advice so that you can help your dog. As already suggested a vet check in case of pain and if that's ruled out then back to the drawing board to help repair the relationship between your child and the dog.

DBB

OP, I'm going to differ somewhat from some advice given.
Absolutely bring him to the vet. I hope the vet finds a problem... Don't take that the wrong way! I hope it's something easily sortable that would explain why your spaniel is throwing warnings at your youngest.
But to be honest, I wouldn't be hugely surprised if nothing wrong is found. I do not think you're looking at a new behaviour here... You've already said he's a food guarder, and dogs that guard food very often go on to guard other stuff, including their own bodily space/feeling of security... Also, sometimes they're more guardy around kids than adults, or men than women, or strangers than owners... But your dog DOES have a predisposition that you know about, and this sounds to me like he's pretty much broadening his repertoire with your youngest in certain situations.
Him running around after her is not related to, nor does it spark any guarding behaviour. Her approaching him when food is involved, and/or when he's physically confined (in his crate? In your arms on the trampoline?) is a problem for him, and I'd bet my bottom dollar that he has actually been exhibiting somewhat tense behaviours in such situations for some time... It's just gone unnoticed, because to us humans, the signs tend to be pretty subtle. It has been shown via research that younger children are notoriously poor at discerning when dogs are giving off "back off" signals (eg when shown pics of snarling dogs, younger kids interpret it as the dog smiling, which leads the child to believe the dog is making friendly overtures when in fact, he's doing the exact opposite, with inevitable consequences). It's not limited to kids either... I regularly meet dog care professionals who don't recognise the signs either. Once you know about them, they scream out... But until you do, they often don't.
So. I'd advise that you do not encourage your daughter to draw him to her with treats. He has already growled at her when she offered him a treat, but also, offering treats to an unsure dog can draw him closer than he's comfortable with to the person he's not happy to be close to. Such dogs take the treat, then suddenly realise "uh oh... I'm wayyyyy closer to X person than I'm comfortable with", and that's when a fear-induced bite can happen.
I'd be inclined, for now, to keep a barrier between them at all times (until you get help), and do not allow your daughter to approach him in the crate... By doing this, she's cornering him (albeit unwittingly), and this will certainly cause a bigger reaction from the dog.
On the assumption that your vet finds nothing wrong, I'd strongly encourage you to seek the help of a properly qualified behaviourist (this is not a training issue), because this problem IS growing legs and most likely IS going to escalate given the right set of circumstances. Don't tinker around with problems between dogs and younger kids on your own... Get someone in who can properly assess what's going on, and how to go about minimising the problem, if it's safe to do so.
Getting a decent behavioural practitioner is your next problem... There are so, so many self-professed "behaviourists" out there, but there are also some really good ones. If you let us know roughly where you are, hopefully we can recommend someone suitable.

Andso

Thank you all for your replies. Alot of what ye have said makes sense. Im so surprised this has happened as he is such a lovely dog.
@DBB, I agree about child not recognising the signs as she initially thought he was talking to her till i investigated exactly what he was doing. No one has petted him while eating bar my husband since he was a baby, food is put down n he is left alone to eat in peace. My daughter can give him treats for tricks which he does very willingly for her .The vet will be my first stop but i will need a professional help for his behaviour as I'm not confident in dealing with this myself. I'm afraid that if i take it on myself I am not taking adequate care of my daughter. I'm in north cork area so would be grateful for any names you could give of a reputable trainer. For the time being 4yr has been told not to go near dog.

DBB

Hi op,
There's a bit of a breed tendency in Springers to guard resources. Cockers too.
Have a look at the various APDT Ireland certified trainers in Cork, Limerick and Tipp... One of them may be near enough to you depending on what part of North Cork you're in.

http://apdt.ie/index.php/find-a-trainer/

Yes, I know... They're certified trainers! However, most are also good behaviourists. If you're looking for a fully accredited behaviourist, Nanci Creedon in Togher in the Cork suburbs is the lady to talk to.
Best of luck op. It's good that you have spotted this and are keeping a close eye.

Edited to add... Leaving him to eat in peace is a sensible option. However, it doesn't address the underlying problem, as the dog is never taught to feel more positive about people being nearby as he eats.
So, just be aware (I think you already are ) that he's still a food guarder, he just hasn't been given a reason to guard his food due to you taking avoidance measures over the years. If your wee girl was older, chances are that this approach would work just fine! Unfortunately, smaller kids tend to have a less cautious approach, which brings them into conflict with dogs who have issues in certain situations.

Graces7

Andso wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies. Alot of what ye have said makes sense. Im so surprised this has happened as he is such a lovely dog.
@DBB, I agree about child not recognising the signs as she initially thought he was talking to her till i investigated exactly what he was doing. No one has petted him while eating bar my husband since he was a baby, food is put down n he is left alone to eat in peace. My daughter can give him treats for tricks which he does very willingly for her .The vet will be my first stop but i will need a professional help for his behaviour as I'm not confident in dealing with this myself. I'm afraid that if i take it on myself I am not taking adequate care of my daughter. I'm in north cork area so would be grateful for any names you could give of a reputable trainer. For the time being 4yr has been told not to go near dog.

Wise wise parent. To make sure of that..