Please Help
Hello, my name is Sarah. I have recently adopted a dog from my local SPCA in South Africa. They had her down as a Bouvier - which is a little bit scary since she is without a shadow of a doubt a Spaniel cross. I think the other part of the cross is Basset. I recently found this article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_Spaniel

There is a picture in the "History" section titled: Long bodied Field Spaniel. My Molly Mop looks almost identical to this pic!

I have had her for just under one month now and she has settled in beautifully. I have an 18month Mini Schnauzer (dog) called Murlo and the two of them are the best pals - I could not have asked for an easier adjustment period.

Molly Mop is approx 2-3years old and was spayed by the SPCA just before I adopted her. Unlike Murlo however, I have no knowledge of her background or previous life. I am starting to notice a few behavioural issues and I was wondering if someone could please give me some pointers so that I can nip this in the bud.

1) A couple of times I have started to gently move her out of my position on the sofa and she has growled at me. My immediate reaction was to firmly push her off the sofa and make her lie on the floor for an hour or so.

2) Both Molly and Murlo spend the day down at the office with me. I very rarely leave them at home and when I do leave them it is not for longer than 4 hour stretches. At the office when I pop out - they are left with three of my employees. Molly gets beside herself when I return - and nothing I say or do can get her to calm down so that I can enter the door on my terms. She has badly damaged a wooden door from her anxiety to get to me. My employee says that when I am not in the office she doesn't make noises or behave in a frantic manner, but she definitely does not settle.

3) Barking - if somebody so much as glances in our direction she barks like a dog possessed. Whilst I don't want to completely discourage the barking, I need her to stop when I say so. If we are at home - I will always go out to look at what she is barking at - if nothing is there she listens relatively easily but if someone is there, short of making her go inside (also a drama) she will not relent. It is this in particular that is frustrating me the most.

4) Other dogs - if another dog comes up to her, her first reaction is to snap at them, before she is even aware of their intent. Any dog that runs away from her (either in submission or from her lack of friendliness or from complete disinterest) she runs after them very aggressively, barking all the while. When she catches up to them she either backs off or snips at their hindquarters once or twice.

She is such a loving and affectionate little thing and she has crept into my heart, and because of this, I know I need to address these seemingly small issues. My history with dogs includes Yorkshire Terriers and Mini Schnauzers - both very easy to train (although the Scnhauzers are stubborn) and obey easily.

I am sensing that I have a whole different kettle of fish with my beloved Spaniel cross.

Any advice on typical Spaniel behaviour and of course advice on how to deal specifically with the above mentioned issues will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Sarah

PS I should probably mention that I take them to an off leash dog park a minimum of three times a week. There Molly gets to run until she falls down. She is also exposed to other dogs - some she gets on better with than others - but for the most part not at all. When she hides behind my legs, I move away from here - I don't want to encourage her fear.

For other exercise, her and Murlo chase each other around the house to the point of collapse twice a day. Physically I think she is getting what she needs - I think you will advise me to include mental stimulation..... what is particularly effective with Spaniels?