Pup Aggression

[jimmy8 6]

Anyone encountered aggressive puppies?

Can puppies be aggressive? In the proper sense not playing amongst themselves towards owners

[skycat 6,174]

It depends on what you call aggressive. Terrier pups can be very full on fighting amongst themselves. I even had a lurcher pup that went absolutely spare when I cut its claws at 6 weeks old. Really turned on me trying to bite, growling. She lost the plot completely. I just held her calmly, didn't tell her off or reassure her. Eventually she calmed down and I finished cutting her claws. By the time she was 8 weeks old she was just like any other pup. Her brain just needed a bit more time to figure out how to react to the world around her, including me.

One of my Airedale lurchers was also super feisty as a very young pup. She would latch on to a hand and try to sink her teeth in. As an adult she is the most docile and sensitive of dogs, but very highly driven. I put her apparent aggression down to that high drive as a pup, a drive which had no real focus at 8 weeks old. When a pup is brim full of those traits needed to 'go to war', they can appear as aggression. Once the dog has matured and found a focus in the hunt, and has learned that its human is the most important thing in the world, that so-called aggression disappears. It is a big mistake to punish a pup at a very young age because it only learns to fear you. I'ts a bit like punishing a small child for playing too roughly in the playground: it's essential to offer alternative activities rather than hitting the wrong doer. I used to think that was liberal bunkum, but as I get older I see very clearly that those who need an outlet for apparent aggression, both in humans and dogs, are those which often go on to achieve good things, providing they haven't had it beaten out of them.

[Casso 1,261]

Anyone encountered aggressive puppies?

Can puppies be aggressive? In the proper sense not playing amongst themselves towards owners

Give us a for instance bud

, aggression can be a blocked attraction , put it this way, a pup has to act when stimulated , it can't not do something, it normally plays out that when stimulated there's a lot of jumping round , shaking off,grabbing , chewing on , you know yourself , basically the energy caused by stimulation has to go into some sort of canine behaviour , normal shit

 

When a dog is corrected too much , confined , approached by something strange, it feels resistance but it also feels stimulated but it can't make a normal connection do all the normally doggy stuff of shaking it off and jumping up etc so it offloads into what we call antisocial behaviour , growling barking biting

 

Blocked attraction / feels too much resistance , you will find food will promote aggressive tendencies but the food is only a trigger for what is already inplace

There's is a Dogo/Corso mix here, that was hand fed from 6 weeks, food has become a way of interacting with me,it is impossible for him to be hostile around food, I've worked hard on him because I know the potential, he has never been dropped a bowl and given space because by doing that your elevating it in the mind of the dog to something it's not, food is just a training tool not a prized possession

[jimmy8 6]

The new pup did a kind of snarl towards me and a very aggressive sound. I'm not sure what the reasoning behind the noise was but it wasn't anything like the usual puppy growl when playing.

[terryd 8,651]

Mine was the same had few problems in that area and I have to admit i didn't handle it well and in hind site I would second what Joe said.

[Squeamish5 309]

I'm no expert (Haha! quite the opposite!) but I learn a lot from these threads so I'm interested to read other people's experiences.

How old is the pup? What was the situation when he snarled/ growled?

[jimmy8 6]

The pup is 10 weeks mate and she was doing summat, playing what have ya and then this snarl, we've had her a fortnight and there has been no physical reprimanding. Now I don't know if she has caught something out the corner of her eye or what. She' doesn't go round snarling all the time but I'm guessing most 10 week old pups don't but 8t was just un nerving more than anything., didn't sit right

[Casso 1,261]

Have ya got it in a crate or kennel or anything ??

How do ya manage it

[jimmy8 6]

Crate her at nights and a few hours during day when we r out, not got a kennel set up yet.

Lots of interaction with lots of types of people men women children, and she's been around my cat for a fortnight also.

clicker training her with play, treats or fuss as a reward

[leethedog 3,071]

Yes pups can definitely be aggressive I was given 2 terrier pups a dog and a bitch I received them at 8 weeks and the dog pup is flat out mental at a weeks old he would posture like an Alfa male and flat out attack any dog that stood it's ground to him I'd never seen this behaviour in a pup of such a young age to this day the dog pup is mental

[gnipper 6,546]

The terrier I've got at the mo was a right vicious little b*****d at 7 week old and I think it was from getting her at 6 weeks where she hadn't yet learnt right from wrong off her dam and siblings. The only thing that worked was pinning her down and growling at her (seemed wrong as she was small) and she soon got the message that people weren't on the menu.

[jimmy8 6]

That had crossed my mind but in the bk of my mind I'm thinking I don't want to make the situation worse

[jimmy8 6]

If there is a situation that is, there has been nothing since so I would hope it was isolated but if it does happen again I will hopefully understand what happened a little better

[gnipper 6,546]

This thing of mine was biting and meaning it so it was a last resort really. You wouldn't think she had ever done it now and I'm pretty sure she doesn't remember it either.

[neems 2,406]

My lurcher was an evil little b*****d for about a month when he was a pup,he'd push his head into gaps (mostly the fence,into the corner of the couch once) and if I touched him he'd attack me.

Like Skycat I just held him until he calmed down.

He grew out of it quickly enough and turned out a nice,steady and relaxed dog.