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Why is my cocker spaniel snapping? How can I stop this behavior?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cocker Spaniel | Female | spayed | 3 years and 8 months old

My cocker spaniel s snapping and bring unpredictable for no reason were all on edge

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on November 10th, 2016

I'm sorry to hear that! Owner-directed aggression is a complex behavior issue that's difficult to address succinctly in this format. It would help to have more information about what kinds of situations cause her to snap or bite, as well as additional details about her personality overall, how she acts with family vs. visitors, etc. If you want to request a one-on-one consultation to discuss the situation in more depth, I would be glad to try and make more specific suggestions. If you prefer not to do that, I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist for an in-person evaluation of Fern - he/she can help you understand why this behavior is happening and set up a step-by-step treatment plan to help you address it. In general, I can tell you that treatment for this type of aggression issue is based on identifying triggers for the snapping and biting, and using positive reinforcement to change how Fern feels about these situations over time. Outside of training sessions where you are specifically working on the problem, it's important to avoid these situations as much as possible to avoid continuing to provoke the aggression and make things worse. Punishment of any kind is not recommended for this behavior, since this also tends to make things worse over time by making the dog more anxious and defensive.

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