My Cocker Spaniel is 5 years old. She recently has developed an aggression problem. I have never had a problem with her in the past. She will sit next to me on the couch with her head on my lap so I can pet her. Then she growls and comes at me with her teeth showing. I was sleeping the other day and she jumped up on the bed and I woke up to her biting my wrist. She has never even been spanked or hit so I don't understand why she would try to come after us. When she does this I pull her away by her collar and tell her that she is a bad dog. She will then go and play with her stuffed toy and come back in about 5 minutes and scratch on my leg and give me kisses to say she is sorry. I am very nervous about having her out when we have company. This behavior is scaring me. Please if you any one has any suggestions on how I should handle this situation please reply.

I think you should have a vet check done to make sure there isn't any health issue causing the trouble.Does she seem unaware of her biting at the time she is doing it?This could be an epileptic problem(some call it rage syndrome)

Your cocker spaniel might show aggression because of it's coat color. If it is gold, it is more likely to develop the problem. The best solution is to keep it out of the sun. You can keep it in the sun for a little while, but not too long.

To Gwen:
Has anything changed in your household? Did you add a new member or change around the furniture or get the dog a new doggie bed or anything? I had this problem with my dog too. A similar breed, but she just needed her own space. I had to give her-her very own spot in the house and her own personal everything...bed, etc. She still could sleep in the bed with me, be on the couch, everything, but she needed her own space and to know it was hers alone. Also, in my case, I had gotten married, so there was a new family member and that caused my doggie to become very jealous and controlling because she used to be the boss and now it was "him"....you know what I mean--that caused the aggression. I had taken her to my vet and everything, no significant problems and my doggie is getting up there in years, but it wasn't her age either. It was simply the competition and her feeling threatened by it. I've had other dogs that got that way because I got new furniture and it didn't smell right to them, so they do get angry just like us and they don't know any other way to express it except by aggression. Think really hard and figure out why your little doggie is mad at you. Maybe something is different and it might not matter to you, but it does to your doggie. It's often hard to figure out, but put on your thinking cap and I'm sure you'll figure out what it might be. It could also be a combination of things. Maybe she needs more personal attention from you--like taking her for more walks,rides in the car, to the park, etc. Worth a try...**

Gwen, my name is evanne gray and i have been a dog trainner for 5 years and im also a vet tech student right now. one thing that i come across a lot when doing lessons is that most dog owners do not relise that there dog is getting old and have mood swings. what you sould do is watch when she is doing this e.g: time? where are you? what was going on before she started this?. keep a note book. just to let you know this is not aggression what your dog is doing. aggression is when your dog will come after you and injure you and will not stop by you grabbing the collar. if you need anymore help please email me at alleycat81@attbi.com. good luck

Gwen:
I am not a breeder but have owned and raised cockers for several years. I would definitely get your cocker checked by your vet. There is a thing called cocker rage but given your dogs age and the fact that there have been no agression until tis point it sure sounds like like you need to get her a good checkup to rule out any medical. Also check her ears for infection as cockers are quite prone to this and could be a conection.
Molly