Any Advice? VERY Agrressive Puppy

(Quick run down)I am the grandma to this pup as I own the mom & dad . My daughter's boyfriend baught the pup and took her home. She was Spoiled and treated like a Queen there and started to get aggressive with regards to food and coming over to visit w/ her borther's.
She is a 5 mth old Cocker Spanial pup and the Boyfriend has since Purchased the Brother too. In Other words she was given Alpha status and We have been trying to take it back ever since.
I explained the mistakes to him,but she has since become more and more aggressive to the tune of 10 stitches in his mouth breaking up a fight. These Pups are only 6 mths old... Still babies..lol
Can Anyone Give some Advice as to how to fix this problem. We started repremanding her when she starts the growling...you can only punish a pup so many times before they always think they are in trouble... this doesn't seem to be working either, she is always sleeping like she is in prison.

Any Help or idea's would Gladly be appreciated.. My Daugter's Boyfriends family do not want her back home now. :cry:

Thanx
Blu

 

How old was the pup when she left the mother (or your house)?

 

You cannot punish a pup for growling. If you extinguish the growl, you will no longer have any warning signs before she bites!

You will need to work on desensitizing her to the things that set her off. If she is guarding her food, a good book on resource guarding (Mine!: A practical guide to resource guarding in dogs, by Jean Donaldson) will help a lot.

A few good books on aggression are:
The Cautious Canine, by Patricia B. McConnell
Dogs are from Neptune, by Jean Donaldson
How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong: A Road Map for Rehabilitating Aggressive Dogs, by Pamela Dennison

Patricia McConnell also wrote "Feisty Fido" which is specifically about aggression while on leash, but the techniques of desensitization apply to most situations.

How to be the Leader of the Pack...And have Your Dog Love You For It, by Patricia B. McConnell, is a great book on dog ownership in general, as is Bones Would Rain From the Sky, by Suzanne Clothier. Ian Dunbar also has a lot of good books out.

Essentially, you need to look at POSITIVE forms of training. Punishing an aggressive dog usually makes it worse. You have to desensitize her to whatever triggers her and reward her for GOOD behavior while managing the bad until it is resolved.

You also want to do the NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free) program with her. She must know at least one command, such as sit. Then, she has to perform the command before EVERYTHING she wants to do - food, playing, going outside, going for a walk, petting, etc. This will help her to know she has to earn the things she wants.

All of the books I mentioned are available at amazon.com.

 

Sorry I took so long in responding.

The puppy was 6 weeks old, and was over visiting here every day back with mom & dad and brothers.

 

I agree completely about possitive praise...

Thank you for your response.

I agree with the praising of possitive behavior, Which is what we have started doing. My Daughter will praise her with a lil pice of doggie treat when she doesn't growl at he brother's when they come near ect. Some days it seems better others it seems the same.
I might also add that the pup is a female and is now with my daughter when it was her boyfriend who baught her and had her as his own.
While her brother is now with the boyfriend and she is with my daughter here at home.
Would this have anything to do with the behavior now?

I will check into those books, thank you

Peace
Blu