Aggressiveness and Allergy Issues in Cocker Spaniel

Question

I rescued a male cocker spaniel last November from the Georgia Cocker Rescue Society.  He had been found in a recycling center the previous month and fortunately the local humane society contacted the Cocker Rescue instead of putting him down.  Of course, no one knows what his first year was like (he was determined at that time that he was about a year old).  He was vaccinated, neutered and his coat was completely shaved down to the skin as when he was picked up, one side was horribly matted and the other side have been partially shaved.

When I saw him in the pet store where the adoptions were being done, he was extremely calm, sat on my lap (me on the floor) and didn't give a negative nod to either of my grandchildren with me or any of the other dogs around at the time.  I thought I had a winner......calm for a young dog, liked my grandkids and seemed like he wanted to be loved. 

Well, never having had a Cocker before ( have had two mixed breeds, one male and one female, both of whom died at 14 and 16 years), I wasn't too sure what to expect.  I did put him through training with a respected dog trainer in my area and found that I do not have the "Alpha Dog" mentality so his training didn't succeed as the trainer would have liked.  He can walk on a leash, sits on command and does stay on command. 

Now nearly a year later he is aggressive toward other dogs.  I cannot take him to a dog park without him acting out before we even get in the park.....just to dogs walking down the sidewalk.
I am going to try the Rescue Remedy to see if that helps him at all.  Unfortunately, I am a single, older woman who works full-time, so he is crated during the day.  Evenings are spent with him running around the fenced backyard, playing fetch for a tennis ball and a 30 minute walk, just to get him some exercise after being penned up all day.  He does sleep with me, either on my bed or in a chair in the bedroom. 

First, do you believe that Rescue Remedy will help his aggressiveness toward other animals???  Any noise he hears, he's running to see what it is, or any birds or squirrels in the backyard drive him nuts.....barks and runs after them.

Second, food has been a problem.  First food was a hypo-allergenic food "Blue" which gave him extremely loose stools.  The trainer I used suggested Blackwood 5000, which immediately fixed the stool problem, but then he was biting and itching continuously.  The vet suggested it was a food allergy and asked that I do a 3-month trial on Royal Canine, which I did.  I saw a brief improvement, but before the 3-months was up, he was back biting and itching again.  I really felt it was environmental and not his food, so he is back on Blackwood 5000.  Do you know anything about this food....good or bad?????

Sorry for the length of this, but I don't feel my vet is too holistic in his approach and doesn't like the fact that I have taken my buddy off the Royal Canine and put him back on Blackwood as he has never heard of it and wouldn't "approve" it, stating that any holistic vet would insist on the Royal Canine because of no meat, poultry or any "food" ingredients. 

Thanks for any help or advice you can give.

Betty P.

Response:

Hello Betty,
Thank you for your inquiry to Holistic Pet Info. Please keep in mind that Cocker Spaniels are working breed dogs. Therefore pursuing birds and squirrels are part of his nature. Not everyone can have the alpha dog mentality but letting him in your room at night to sleep is placing him on the same authority level as you. It appears he does not at this point have consistent guidance and therefore the aggressiveness gets worse. I don’t think Rescue Remedy will resolve the aggressiveness but may reduce anxiety during training. I highly recommend you try another trainer that can work with you and give you daily training exercises to do at home. Behavior modification is a daily task that must be continually reinforced.

The Blackwood food is very good, definitely much better than the Royal Canin. The fact that your dog did respond for some time does seem to have a food and environmental allergy component. That is very often the case with it getting worse seasonally. You may try other formulations that contain different proteins and carbohydrates to see if he responds better to the novel foods. Probiotics and antioxidants should also help his immune system balance properly therefore decrease the intense response to exposed allergens. Gastriplex and Immugen by Thorne should both help the immune system as an anti-inflammatory and immune modulator. Best of luck.

Sincerely,
Colleen Smith DVM, CVA