Agressive Puppy?

Kurn

Hi all,

My parents got a new puppy a month or two ago. However about 2/3 times day she becomes very aggressive, she's playing... but very roughly, she will bite your ankles, attack her toys and violently throw them around, if you give out to her or tap her on the bum (gently) to discipline her she comes right up to and barks furiously in your face, she does this with our cat also.

This cat can be vicious i've seen her stand up to Alsatians, but she seems to know this puppy is part of the family and tries her best to stay out of it's way and never attacks back but the pup just wants to attack/play and barks furiously at the cat, the cat gives her warning slaps but again the puppy ignores them. The cat usually would come in at night time for naps by the heater and sleep with our previous dog who passed away. But now she cant come in much unless the puppy is sleeping.

My parents bought a very large cage for the puppy so she does not wonder when the doors are open and for night time. When placed in there for being bold the puppy attacks the bedding aggressively. My father gets up to her 3 times a night to take her out for some air and the toilet.

We have had a beloved household dog for 13/14 years who passed way about two years ago, and this behaviour is very unexpected, at first my parents thought she needed exercise and wanted to play but after long walks and play time, a quick nap and she is ready to bark/fight again...

My parents are hoping this is a child/pup phase and will wear off, but I fear it is part of the breed, not sure what this is as there is some dispute... We had elderly relatives visit and the puppy really acted up, even their gentleman of an elderly dog who stayed away from her she attacked him after accessing him for 10 minutes.

Any advise on dealing with this behaviour, this dogs behaviour has really bought our Christmas down, we seemed to spend the whole day,every day trying to make her comfortable, fully exercised, while she seems to be learning in terms of going to the toilet, she goes each time she is asked/taken out...

When tired she turns to putty and is like a little child wanting to come up for naps, but when has her strength back she will pull the leg off you...

This dog can be in my arms sleeping one minute and staring me down barking at me the next minute, its kinda scary! She is not neutered yet, as it's too early, and she has had all her shots and so on from the vet, apart from a small hernia (to be sorted when neutered), she has a clean bill of health...

To me this looked like the kind of dog you always see barking in someones front yard, but my parents wanted her as there was no home for the pup and was fine when they met her for a trial run...

Is it the breed, is this normal?

Lucy and Harry

Well I would neuter the dog.It may grow out of it as my terrier did and he was nuts as a pup.Maybe the pup was taken away from the mother too soon for her to teach it manners.You could always use the Dog Whisperer style dominance approach and get the dog to respect you.Maybe a vet can also advise you.

Kurn

Lucy and Harry wrote: »

Well I would neuter the dog.It mat grow out of it as my terrier did and he was nuts as a pup.Maybe the pup was taken away from the mother too soon for her to teach it manners.You could always use the Dog Whisperer style dominance approach and get the dog to respect you.Maybe a vet can also advise you.

Thanks for the reply! Regarding neutering her vet has set a date for this, she was taken from her mother at the correct date i'm told, not sure how long that was but think it was 9 weeks or something like that, because they wanted to take her right away but were not allowed by owners of the mother, and believe it or not I bought my father the Dog Whisper's book which he is currently reading!

Lucy and Harry

Usually I get a pup and control the food and hand feed the pup.I put my hand in a stop motion when they are grabbing too much and they seem to learn respect then as I control the food like a mammy.Terriers are often a but hyper and nippy when pups and energetic but can be very loyal when they grow up.Keep at it and good luck.I have 4 dogs 2 are Rottweilers and they are all gentle even the terrier who was wild as a pup always wanting to mess fight with me.

DBB

Lucy and Harry wrote: »

Well I would neuter the dog.It mat grow out of it as my terrier did and he was nuts as a pup.Maybe the pup was taken away from the mother too soon for her to teach it manners.You could always use the Dog Whisperer style dominance approach and get the dog to respect you.Maybe a vet can also advise you.

Please don't use any dominance techniques, and definitely don't pay too much heed to the Dog Whisperer's book, unless it's to get a good idea of how not to sort out behavioural problems: The Dog Whisperer's dominance techniques are disproven, and pretty much guaranteed to make this problem worse. To find out about why this approach is not used any more, read www.dogwelfarecampaign.co.uk

Spaying will not fix this problem either, it is not hormonal, and spaying tends not to bring about any positive changes in a female's problem behaviour.

OP, from what you describe, this pup has serious problems with impulse control, and dealing with frustration. This may be for a number of reasons, it could be an underlying medical problem (which a vet will not discover without targeted blood testing), it could be a result of her early upbringing (before your folks got her), it could be complete lack of any structured, understandable-to-the-pup training (the tapping the pup for bold behaviour is not going to work, and clearly hasn't), and lack of appropriate boundary-setting. It could be a combination of some or all categories.
Whatever it is, this is not a problem that is going to be sorted via an internet forum. Your parents would be well advised to get professional help, from someone who is properly qualified to give them help (the Dog Whisperer Botherer certainly is not!).
What part of the country are they in, perhaps we can suggest a properly qualified behaviourist in their area?

tk123

It sounds like it's just normal puppy madness and play biting - dogs and pups look and sound like they're killing each other when they play. She's not "staring you down" or any of that outdated dominance crap - she's a puppy who needs some training and guidance. Stop tapping her or interacting when she bites - just say a bold word/phrase like no, enough etc put her out of the room for a few mins and let her back in. When she's bold it's game over - she'll soon learn. Also the crate is her den - it shouldn't be used a jail for punishment...
Have they taken her to any puppy socialisation classes or even to a park where there's other dogs? She'll learn what's acceptable from other puppies or from well socialised dogs.

Also I've noticed you've made a few references to her breed without actually saying what it is? Are you maybe being a little prejudice like you expect the pup to behave a certain way ie viciously?

Lucy and Harry

Is it a staffy?

terenc

Hi Lucy and Harry,
Pups can sometimes be pretty aggressive, so the faster you deal with this behaviour the better, I have dogs myself and have come across
this behaviour with puppies and what I would do in your in case is when the puppy misbehaves put the puppy into the cage, now can you put the cage outside or in a place where the puppy dose not see you and get rid of any bedding , just puppy and cage, leave him(2-5 minutes),bring him back out be nice and gentle great to have him back but your in charge , reinforce this every time. Dont leave him /her in the cage more the 10 mins.
terry

borderlinemeath

OP what is the puppy being fed? If the food contains colourants and additives (pedigree, bakers etc) then you can compare it to giving a toddler a bottle of coke and watch the hyperactivity ensue.

barbiegirl

Do NOT use the cage or punishment. This is a puppy playing and asking you to teach it the rules. The cage/pen/crate is it's safe place and must be kept so. Always associated with good things. There are numerous ways to train your dog but consistency, kindness and patience are required for them all. We use timed outs. They wear a small leash in the house, if they do something we don't like such as barking at the windows we say no, if they ignore it then it's ' that's it' and we but the dog the other side of the door threading the leash through so we hold the other end. Count to 30-60 seconds let the dog back in. Any longer the dog has forgotten what the punishment was for. It is very, very effective.
Also for play biting squeel like a puppy and stand up and stop the game. It is massively important you teach the puppy the limits with it's mouth. You must teach it to soft mouth. Our retriever cross sounds like she is killing you when playing but is so gentle you never feel her teeth at all.
The puppy is your families responsibility and you are now it's teachers, step up to the plate. Dogs are hard work but will reward you a million times over. Give this puppy a chance to show you all the love it has to give.

Synyster Shadow

I agree with tk123. I have a dobberman and he was actually easy trained and was in no way dominant as a pup or adult dog and people think his breed is dangerous! I have seen loads of pups try dominate the owners only because the owners find it cute at first until it becomes a problem then it becomes a teaching process. My uncle got a German shep and I tried tellin him not to pet her when she's biting for attention and instead wait till she settles down and sits for him. The simple things like that can make a big difference they pick up on little things as rewards and we may not realise we did it at the time but they do. Don't give the attention when it's demanded and try do basic training like sit and down etc.
It can be tedious but the rewards are great

Kurn

Thanks for all the advice, the tapping does nothing as you say and we gave up on that poor advise , I squealed a bit when she bits and she stops but dives in harder a second later. To the person who mentioned the food, she is on an expensive food with no additives and natural ingredients - not from supermarket. She is also fed fresh cooked chicken.

We are used to dogs, but this one seems very troubled, and walking away seems to be the best option when she is aggressive, but when you return it's still there, we will be taking her to the vet and asking for his advise asap.

Someone said not to use the cage, we have to, we dont want to hit her so use the cage... ignoring her does nothing and she goes at your legs from all angles playing (ish). She does not stand down to any verbal commands. I should point out the cage was bought for while she is a pup only and for night time use as we live near a main road and don't want to risk anything. It is also not her daytime bed.

Saying NO to this puppy seems to make her very angry, and if you point like to tell her to go to the bed, she gets worse... hoping the vet can help her. I bought her to my aunts dog who is 11+ and very gently and loving and she went nuts he tolerated her fine but she wanted to play aggressively, now he avoids her when I bring her up. Even with warning snaps the pup does not get it.

Re her breed, I dont mention it, because we are not 100% sure, she is a mix, that is why I attached the picture.

Lots of contradicting views on here (as expected - everyone has a view), but lots to consider, one thing for sure is we will be seeking advice from the vet before proceeding. Thanks again for the information.

tk123

Whatever you do make sure everyone's on board - eg for mouthing if everyone is putting the dog out but one person is sticking their hand in the pups mouth they're not going to learn or may act differently around them. I had this problem with my retriever jumping up when he was a baby - one family member refused to stand up and fold their arms - insisting they weren't going to let him dominate them blah blah blah and were trying to pull all these Cesar Milan moves when they thought we weren't looking - we ended up having to put him on his lead or into his crate with a kong/chew when this person arrived because they were undoing all of our hard work - he was going bananas when they came. It all came to a head a few months ago (my dog is 3 now!!) and they were told our house, our dog our rules - they swallowed their pride and did what we asked and problem solved - the dog greets them when they come and then goes back to whatever he was doing!

DBB

Ask your vet specifically about thyroid function op, and also a full blood panel. I agree, from what you first described, that this is more serious than your average cheeky, chancing-her-arm pup stuff.
Let us know how you get on, won't you?

barbiegirl

If you use the small lead you are not simply ignoring her but also removing her safely and giving her an appropriate punishment, without using the crate for punishment. Unfortunately vets are not well informed on behavioral issues but where are you located geographically as I'm sure we can recommend a good behaviorist. We used citizen canine and found Emmeline brilliant. I'm just not sure you have a behavioral issue as yet, more a training one. The harder to train they are the more satisfaction and joy you get when they get it right. :-)

meowski

I feel you pain, mine did exactly the same when she was a puppy but mine would also try and attack the cat too. I was at my wits end.
I put it down to a mixture of youth and energy. I stared to take her out more often and play (very) long games of fetch to tire her out (normally I was the more tired) and then i used a water spray. I would only spray her when she had her back to me so she didn't see it at me attacking her, and i know its not ideal as it just disturbs the behavior but it seemed to work.

She stopped doing it when she was about 6 months (thank god)

edited to add: mine is also fed Hills so I knew it wasnt that

Kurn

@DBB I fear you might be right, but hope you are! Worst of all is my parents could handle this beter if I lived here... but I live in Dublin, I normally handle the pets in this household, they always seem to look to me through the years for protection and so on, I have never come across this and its bring a grown man to tears!

Will let you know, I wont come back to this post until I have an update for you...

@barbiegirl we are in North Tipperary, our vet keeps very up to date so we are going to see what he says and he may recommend someone, but if you know of anyone we will keep a note of it too and very much appreciate it too!

natnifnolnacs

my lab/gsd was a bit like this as well. He would get a bit frenzied occasionally and the only way to stop it was to let him get it out of his system....After a few weeks it was getting a bit much though (he was approx 3 months) so we started using a water spray. He learned very quickly not to do it and is really good natured now. He's 7 months and I'm really glad we got on top of it early before he got too big.

Lucy and Harry

My Staff used to play fight with me and I used to have scratches all over my arms from his baby claws and teeth.He is loyal now and would never hurt his pack.Dogs grow out of things.A good long walk every day and if you have the money obedience classes when young will help a lot.