Dog Behaviour

He's probably just keeping an eye on them that's all. Is it mainly girls/women he does it with? I can't tell from your avatar as it's quite small, but is he a spaniel? They are bonkers at the best of times lol. And yes I can say that, I've had two!

Yes Pammy it is with the girls, I wonder if it's something to do with his hormones because we haven't had him "done" yet. He's actually a Shihtzu but he's definitely bonkers!

Sounds hormonal then. I would just keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't get amorous, that can freak kids out. But don't rush into getting him done either. Don't know how old he is, but I'm a firm supporter of responsible dog ownership and that means being able to control them to prevent unwanted pregnancy etc. not having to resort to chopping bits off them. Never had my boys done and have never had any problems. It's a bit of a soapbox of mine lol. And sorry if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs too.

Anyway feet back on the floor, if he does start becoming a problem, you can try chemical castration to see if the op would have any effect. It doesn't always make things any better. But while it's not a problem, just look out for him, and the girls. It might just always be a little characteristic that everyone lives with and loves x

Pammy the only reasons we are considering have him Neutered is because of the risks that come with Testicular and Prostate diseases, they are significantly reduced. The other reason is Ray has started to become a bit growly compared to his lovely placid nature and I feel that having him neutered will stop this. The vets have highly recommended it too. Not once have I thought neuting him because of an unwanted pregnancy as like you say this just comes with the territory of being a responsible dog owner and we've not had a single issue arise with Ray, he's off his lead every day and he is extremely well behaved. It is only down to health reasons we would want to do it.

And those are imho the right reasons .

I'd give the chemical castration a try first to see if his grumbles are reduced. Vet's will tell you it's the right thing to do and that the risks of certain conditions are reduced, but I think the jury's out on it really. I know a lot of people in the dog breeding/showing world (gun dogs mainly) and none of them have their boys done for obvious reasons. I don't know of any that have had any condition that castration would have prevented. But I'm not up on toy breeds and if your breed is susceptible, then it's worth considering. More often than not though, castration does not resolve behavioural issues. It can actually cause them as hormones are messed about with. If he's growling in certain scenarios it's worth exploring what's happening to make him growl and address that first. He might just need his position clarifying. They can get confused bless and that's when you often see less desirable behaviours coming through.

You could have a chat with a behaviourist as this could all be linked to his attraction to the girls.

Thanks for the advice. It's so hard to know what to do right by your pet isn't it. He's growly more so when you try and take something off him that he shouldn't have, for exmaple he has a thing for tissue and if it's lying around he'll soon have it in his mouth, when I try and pull it out he growls but he doesn't snarl, I always manage to retrieve the tissue away with no fuss but he know it's not his so he shouldn't growl should he?

I don't really have anything to add about his behaviour, but I love Ray ❤️. If I came to stay he could follow me around!

No he shouldn't. But it sounds to me like you've got a bit of a teenager. Is he about 1 1/2 to 2 years old? What you need to do is train him to release something to you and that you are the leader not him. I could always take anything off my boys. The number of times my hands have been down their throats to retrieve bits of plastic and the like! Never ever a growl. They would sometimes clamp on if they got it into their heads, but in the main if I said it was for me, they would give it up. TReats are the way to go though.

Try getting him to drop the tissue by offering him a tasty treat, something he can't possibly resist and take the tissue, say good boy, then give him the treat. Turn it into a fetch type game with reward for him for letting go. You need to make him want to give it to you. Then he won't growl.

Another trick is to make sure his food is controlled, don't tease him, but control his food. Forgive me if you do this already, but make him sit and wait for his food. Put it down, then give him the instruction to eat. If he starts to move before you put it down or have given him the "eat" instruction, stand back up again and make him wait. He'll soon learn. Then you can take the food away while he's eating - only briefly. Tell him good boy, sit and wait and put it back again. It's hard to do this, but it helps reinforce that you control things, not him.

Hope this all makes sense.

Great advice from Pammy, it's something I've done with P since she was tiny, put my hands in her dish when she was eating, took it away and made her wait for it. My mum was amazed the other day as I told her to 'leave' the bone she was eating and she gave me it, mum said not many dogs will give up a bone! I suppose it's a gundog thing though - it's in bred they have to give up the goodies!

ATB he would adore you!

Pammy he is 2.5 years old so I do think his age is playing a part and he's testing the boundaries, I will also admit that he does rule the roost because I'm so soft when it comes to him. Will definitely try and toughen up. He does wait for his food and he'll wait for treats too so I don't think I can make a difference in that sense.

That sounds great Claire you just need to encourage him to give up his tissue in exchange for a treat. The other thing to do with certain bad behaviour is to ignore it too - they soon get bored. As long as he's not going to get hurt and eating a tissue won't harm him that much. If he knows you want it he'll clamp on. If he see's your not bothered, he'll drop it. That's the point at which you reward and praise.

Yeah I take it all on board and will put it into practice the next time it happens. Thanks Pammy.