# 8 week old female puppy humping and suddenly aggressive!!



## Zara_golden (Nov 24, 2015)

Hello forum,

I am extremely worried today. Our 8 week old puppy Zara suddenly seems to be very aggressive today as well she was humping my hubby's arm while playing. Its her 4th day home today. She's been trying to bite us in a playful way I think...she was playing with my husband and started pulling on his sweater and growling..it seemed very aggressive and scary. I wish I made a video.  She's seems to be extremely sweet and to see her like that scared the hell out of me. 

What are the signs to look for in a puppy to find out if its aggressive or has behavioural issues? 

She starts her private in home training on Sunday. I hope that will help her and especially us since being a first time pet parent. I feel like we are failing


----------



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Rest assured this is typical eight week golden puppy behavior. They are landsharks until around five months when they get all their adult teeth. Learn to redirect with a toy and say no bite. It will end.


----------



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Forgot to mention since its your first puppy a personal trainer is a good idea. It will really help you develop some good techniques to train your puppy since your a new puppy owner. But rest assured this is normal. Make sure your pup gets enough stimulation and develop a lot of respect a respect and you will have a great dog in four to five months. They are still full of energy but you should see it maturing and being a good dog.


----------



## djg2121 (Nov 22, 2015)

My pup is 13 weeks old and went through the same thing. It hasn't fully abated and won't for a while. But you will see big improvements over the next few weeks as she settles in and learns that she is not the dominant member of the household. 

Goldens do pass out of the puppy faze and calm down . . . at somewhere between 2 and 7 years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Make sure the trainer that you bring in isn't one of these old school trainers that think you have to be dominate over the pup. Yes they need to know your the leader and boss but you can do it by building respect. Chloe couldn't be in the same room with my four yearold niece without a leash. That lasted until about six months. Not at eleven months we don't have that issue to much anymore.


----------



## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

An 8 week old puppy is just a baby. The humping is because she's overly excited and doesn't know how to appropriately exhibit that excitement. The biting and growling are just typical puppy behaviors. Neither behavior is dominance or aggression.

Good luck with your trainer. While it's a good idea to have a strong foundation to build on, don't expect a whole lot out of an 8 week old puppy. That's like trying to train an infant to sit at a table and feed himself. It's not going to happen until he's mature enough to do it. Same with an 8 week old puppy.


----------



## Zara_golden (Nov 24, 2015)

Cpc1972 said:


> Make sure the trainer that you bring in isn't one of these old school trainers that think you have to be dominate over the pup. Yes they need to know your the leader and boss but you can do it by building respect. Chloe couldn't be in the same room with my four yearold niece without a leash. That lasted until about six months. Not at eleven months we don't have that issue to much anymore.


Thankyou! I am feeling a bit relieved now. I think I need to get her lots more toys. Not too sure what she will like though...I will have to figure that out. The trainer that I got in touch with is this: DogsUnlimited Dog Trainers, Dog Training, Puppy Training, Dog Obedience - In Home Dog Training and Private Dog Training in Mississauga, Oakville and Surrounding 

I am leaning more towards the second trainer. You tell me what do you think?


----------



## Zara_golden (Nov 24, 2015)

fostermom said:


> An 8 week old puppy is just a baby. The humping is because she's overly excited and doesn't know how to appropriately exhibit that excitement. The biting and growling are just typical puppy behaviors. Neither behavior is dominance or aggression.
> 
> Good luck with your trainer. While it's a good idea to have a strong foundation to build on, don't expect a whole lot out of an 8 week old puppy. That's like trying to train an infant to sit at a table and feed himself. It's not going to happen until he's mature enough to do it. Same with an 8 week old puppy.


Got it!  I know it will be like training an infant but I feel we need to know how to properly handle her and train her so that we are not leaving any room for mistakes. Its our very first puppy and at time we seriously feel lost.


----------



## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Zara_golden said:


> Thankyou! I am feeling a bit relieved now. I think I need to get her lots more toys. Not too sure what she will like though...I will have to figure that out. The trainer that I got in touch with is this: DogsUnlimited Dog Trainers, Dog Training, Puppy Training, Dog Obedience - In Home Dog Training and Private Dog Training in Mississauga, Oakville and Surrounding
> 
> I am leaning more towards the second trainer. You tell me what do you think?


Hang in there, she is just starting to settle in, it is a big step moving from interacting with littermates, to learning how to interact appropriately with people. 

I would definitely go with the second trainer.


----------



## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

Zara_golden said:


> Got it!  I know it will be like training an infant but I feel we need to know how to properly handle her and train her so that we are not leaving any room for mistakes. Its our very first puppy and at time we seriously feel lost.


No matter how much you plan and think you're not leaving room for mistakes, you're going to make mistakes. It's not the mistake that's the problem, it's how you handle it - you have to learn from it, and rest assured, those things will bother you a great deal more than they will the puppy.


----------



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

The second one looks better to me also. There are also some great short videos on YouTube that can help. Check out Zack George.

Also make sure you don't give your pup to much freedom. If you can't supervise the pup needs to be crated or in a safe gated off area. 

You also might want to look into some puppy classes after your pup is fully vacinated.

It's also all right to give yourself a break if your puppy gets to rowdy. Give him some toys or a Kong with something yummy and crate him or use a XPEN. Learn to do some short training sessions can also help if he gets to mouthy.


----------



## macdougallph1 (Oct 13, 2013)

When we were in puppy class this past weekend someone asked about growling and biting clothing. The trainer explained it well. She compared the growling to a child screaming while playing. Same for a puppy, very different from growling (or screaming for a child) when scared or threatened. Also completely normal. It's how they play at that age. Could you try playing tug with a toy and teaching "drop it" by rewarding with a treat when she releases?


----------



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

macdougallph1 said:


> When we were in puppy class this past weekend someone asked about growling and biting clothing. The trainer explained it well. She compared the growling to a child screaming while playing. Same for a puppy, very different from growling (or screaming for a child) when scared or threatened. Also completely normal. It's how they play at that age. Could you try playing tug with a toy and teaching "drop it" by rewarding with a treat when she releases?


This is a very good way to teach them to not bite. Plus your working on drop it also.


----------



## Zara_golden (Nov 24, 2015)

Cpc1972 said:


> The second one looks better to me also. There are also some great short videos on YouTube that can help. Check out Zack George.
> 
> Also make sure you don't give your pup to much freedom. If you can't supervise the pup needs to be crated or in a safe gated off area.
> 
> ...


I am working on her trying to like the crate but she hates it....I have tried giving her treats, kongs etc but nothing works. Maybe she will never like the crate. Should I try leaving her in the crate during the day even if shes crying whining and barking until she stops?


----------



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Zara_golden said:


> I am working on her trying to like the crate but she hates it....I have tried giving her treats, kongs etc but nothing works. Maybe she will never like the crate. Should I try leaving her in the crate during the day even if shes crying whining and barking until she stops?


Crates can be very beneficial. But to be honest we have never crated any of our dogs. We use the small part of the kitchen and used a baby gate. If we had to leave or at night that is where they went. We would always out a puppy pad down in those two instances only. We used the puppypad for about a month and a half with Chloe at night. She was super easy to housebreak and we had no issues. Once we figured out when she was using the pad at night we made sure we took her out before. She would always wake us up at four am crying and before we got downstairs she used the pad. So once we figured that out she stopped using the pad and started sleeping upstairs with my parents at about 3.5 to 4 months. Keep working on the crate but if you can't get her to like it, it's not the end of the world.


----------



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

She is definitetly NOT aggressive. She is 100% normal puppy, she is playing the way she would play with her littermates.

Yes do keep working on the crate training, make the crate a fun place, the place she gets really good things. Feed her there, put treats and toys in there, and don't let her out when she is fussing. Wait to open the crate to get her out until she stops complaining. It's just like a baby in a crib, it's the safest place for her and the best play for her to sleep. So you have to practice some tough love. Put the crate in your room so you can talk to her and she feels less alone.

You've only had her a few days, be patient with her and yourself, you are both learning.


----------



## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Zara_golden said:


> I am working on her trying to like the crate but she hates it....I have tried giving her treats, kongs etc but nothing works. Maybe she will never like the crate. Should I try leaving her in the crate during the day even if shes crying whining and barking until she stops?


For my first pup, who LOVED her crate, I would put her in the crate when I was home for rests or if I couldn't watch her. 

For my current dog, who really hated the crate, I never put her in it while I was home. That was akin to torture for her. She hated being separated from me, even just by an x-pen. I knew if I tried to crate her when I was home, it would make the hatred of the crate worse. I knew she would have to get used to it for when I went back to work, so I would put her in it and leave for a very short period of time, and come back. Very low key leavings, and very low key returns. Because it did not seem to be getting any better (she'd be howling when I left), I got a puppy cam and would go out and sit in Starbucks and watch how long it took her to settle. It felt like forever, but it was never much longer than about 10 minutes (it was longer at night when I would put her in at bedtime for the first couple of weeks - because she wanted to be with me, not in the crate). We worked up to longer times in the crate, but she did still cry when I went back to work (which was when she was 13 weeks old). And she cried when my walker put her back in after their outing (though, that didn't last too long because she started to give her a meal in the crate just before she left and then Shala would settle and sleep). So, this could take several weeks or months. It will get better. Eventually, Shala would go into her crate on her own when I was leaving for work. She didn't like it, but she accepted it.


----------



## _bella_ (Jun 2, 2015)

Zara_golden said:


> Got it!  I know it will be like training an infant but I feel we need to know how to properly handle her and train her so that we are not leaving any room for mistakes. Its our very first puppy and at time we seriously feel lost.


Everyone makes mistakes with their first puppy, even people with years of dog and animal experience. It happens, but dogs are resilient and if you make mistakes at first you can retrain those mistakes later. Dogs are very forgiving that way.


----------



## Zara_golden (Nov 24, 2015)

Poor Zara is not feeling well. Just got back from the Vet.


----------



## _bella_ (Jun 2, 2015)

Oh, I hope it's not serious!  jingling for you both.


----------



## macdougallph1 (Oct 13, 2013)

Zara_golden said:


> I am working on her trying to like the crate but she hates it....I have tried giving her treats, kongs etc but nothing works. Maybe she will never like the crate. Should I try leaving her in the crate during the day even if shes crying whining and barking until she stops?


My pup was the same way with the crate. I was given the advice to spend a lot of time working on the crate while I was home so he didn't always associate the crate with me leaving. They should associate it with good things like you said. What I did was smear a little peanut butter (very small amount so he didn't get diarrhea) inside the walls of the crate so he had to work to lick it off. I would do that during the day and leave the door open so he could go in and lick and come right out. I would also throw milk bones in there all the time. After a few days of him going in and out to get his treats I would sit on the floor next to the crate and close the door. He would cry and dig at the door, but I would ignore him except I would put my fingers in the front of the crate to soothe him. I would wait until he quieted even for a minute and then let him out. After a few days of doing short sessions of that I would leave him in and do things around him. He would still cry, but I would give him a sharp "Shhhh!" and always only let him out when quiet. After about a week and a half of this, my pup is great with the crate. I sort of treated it like a process. I also leave a hollow bone with peanut butter smeared on the inside for him when I leave him now. He also has some trouble getting everything out of the Kongs. Also, when putting him in when leaving I would put him and and leave immediately without making a fuss. Good luck! I know it can be so tough when they don't take to it immediately.

NB: I should tell you Mack is not only great with his crate now at 11 weeks, but he loves it! So there is hope! I was so worried in the beginning that I was going to cause separation anxiety if he didn't already have it, but I can say now he immediately and readily goes into his crate to relax now! Hope all works out well for you!


----------



## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

When Noah was little, we got a small carrier, more cat carrier sized that we brought him home in. We also had a 36" wire crate with a divider that we planned to use at home. He had other ideas. He preferred the plastic hard sided crate we brught him home in. 

When he outgrew that, we tried the wire crate - hated it - so we bought a larger plastic hard sided crate. He did great in that. 

When he outgrew that, he was then ready to accept his full sized wire crate, which we had a crate cover for. All crates were located in the bedroom on my side of the bed, so he could see me during the night. 

He screamed and cried when he was little, unless he was very tired. Now, he goes in with no fuss at all. It just took time and persistence. 

Your puppy sounds normal for her age!


----------



## Zara_golden (Nov 24, 2015)

Thankyou soo much everyone for all your help! Feeding her in the crate is definitely helping. Shes staying in it and not crying or whining as much anymore. She was quite lethargic since yesterday but after one dose of Metronidazole vet gave her shes been good. We had 2 play sessions since 4pm and now shes sleeping like a baby  We were getting really worried yesterday and my husband was having second thoughts but I guess its all normal. 

We will be starting her training next weekend now just so that shes 100% well by then.


----------



## macdougallph1 (Oct 13, 2013)

Glad to hear Zara is feeling better and things are moving in the right direction!


----------

