# Growling, barking and biting: Aggressive puppy?



## Luftstalag13 (Jul 15, 2008)

Our puppy just turned 3 months old last week and she already has some signs of aggression that got us really worried. She used to bite and nip at our hands and feet when following us and when we tried pet her, however I felt she has gotten better lately. She growls really loud for several minutes when she plays with her toys sometimes. Today we gave her a bone, she enjoyed it so much (I guess) that when we approached her (I admit that I wanted to test her), she stopped chewing, looked at us and started barking, curling her lips and showing her teeth. She even tried to come out under the table where she was eating the bone, jumped up at me and tried to bite me. My wife tried the same and she was bitten, unfortunately. It is really not like her, she never growled or barked when we pet her while she was eating her regular food. We were really scared and disappointed. Now we are thinking, along with things such as never letting go when we ask her to drop something (whether it is food or toy from her mouth), she might be a bit too aggressive. 

We don't want to lose her. What can we do? Finding a professional obdience trainer? :doh:


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

Are you in an obedience class?
She is still young and totally workable!!! Don't worry. 
But i'll leave the real advice up to a professional here on the board. Sorry I'm not more help.


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## Luftstalag13 (Jul 15, 2008)

Thanks Nixie, we are going to take her to the puppy class starting next Saturday. We love her very much, other than today's incident she is a fine dog. We were devastated to see her behave like that. :no:


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

Luftstalag13 said:


> Thanks Nixie, we are going to take her to the puppy class starting next Saturday. We love her very much, other than today's incident she is a fine dog. We were devastated to see her behave like that. :no:


That's great you're starting her in a class. 
I totally understand you're upset at the situation. I would be too!!

I'm sure you'll get plenty of responses on how to help the situation. Don't worry.


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

There are quite a few GREAT trainers on here with excellent suggestions for aggressive dogs and I think you'll get some great recommendations from them for correcting this issue. Hence, I won't even touch that. 

Harley is the same exact age as your puppy and plays the exact same way your dog does with his toys. Being aggressive with a toy is not something I would be really focused on, I think the biggest issue (and I'm sure you do too) is the reaction to you and your wife. She does sound like she is showing you some spunk over her bone and I think that should be your focus for sure.


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

Braccarius said:


> Harley is the same exact age as your puppy and plays the exact same way your dog does with his toys. Being aggressive with a toy is not something I would be really focused on, I think the biggest issue (and I'm sure you do too) is the reaction to you and your wife. She does sound like she is showing you some spunk over her bone and I think that should be your focus for sure.


This is VERY true. All the other stuff is typical puppy!!


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## GoldenOwner12 (Jun 18, 2008)

I my pupy Shelley was the same with her bone now after alot of work she now brings her bone to me as like she wants to play. Shelley used to growl and show her teeth to me when she had a bone. What i did was when i feed a bone i stayed close to her getting her used to me being around when shes eatting a bone. I would stand 5ft or so away then gradually as she got used to me being around move in closer. When i got to be real close i would then sit next her. She decided to lay on my lap and eat the bone when that happened i started patting her on the bum first work my way up to her head. When i got to her head i then worked down to the jaw till i could touch the bone. All the way through this i was prasing her and telling her good girl. If she showed signs on being uncomfortable i took a step back. With my dog Shelley it took about a month to get her out of this bad habit.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

What she is doing (protecting a very very valuable treat) is normal, but not acceptable...
Until she learns not only how to surrender objects, but that it is to her advantage to surrender objects.....dont allow her to have anything worth protecting.
Needless to say, do not allow her to be alone around children ...

IMHO resource guarders are best dealt with with positive training methods...teaching them what "to do" rather then what "not to do". 'In your face' 'do what I tell you to do and do it now' training will make what is now a small problem a very big problem....

Teaching her how to trade...
Really stepping up her basic obedience (sits, downs, stays, recalls, leave-it)
Keeping her mentally challenged will truly make a big difference...
Be sure your instructor knows you are delaing with resource guarding

Search "resource guarding" both on this board and online - 
I live with a resource guarding dog. A challenge at times, but very, very doable. 

Your pup is still very young...the time to address this is now....do not wait...take advantage of this developmental period in her life. Waiting even as little as 3 weeks will put you at a disadvantage....


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

bumping up for more opinions


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Ditto to what Mary siad. Also will add --

* If she has something you need to get back, TRADE her for something WONDERFUL. And by WONDERFUL, I mean, really, really, knock-her-socks-off WONDERFUL like a chunk of cheese or meat - something she'll happily accpet in exchange for what she has. This isn't a pup you can just TAKE things from. You want to teach her that you're BOTH willing to SHARE, so no real need to guard on her part.

* As she's eating her daily meals, walk past her and w/o saying a word, drop a piece of the something WONDERFUL right next to her and keep going. You'll need to do something to slow down her eating - like put big rocks in her bowl so she has to eat around them, etc. You need time to get to her for this to work. You're just trying to teach her that you being near her bowl when she eats insn't a threat.

* Find a POSITIVE trainer who can help you.


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## beargroomer (Jan 2, 2008)

It's all perfectly normal behavior for a dog. They'd have to resource guard to survive in the wild. Unfortunately, it's unacceptable behavior in the human world, so it needs to be controlled. The experts above gave a lot of good advice. Take classes with her and practice the methods Quiz and LibertyME suggested. If the problem gets worse, please find a good trainer or a behaviorist. 

As far as growling and shaking her toys while playing, that's not "aggression" at all. It's normal doggy play. I encourage tug of war playing and lots of play growling during the play with my puppy because it's such a good outlet to get his pent-up energy out and it's something we're doing together.


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

I agree with all that's been said above, especially that it's normal behaviour although unacceptable and it's what you do now that counts. This situation may never ever happen again if you play it right. For the time being, I would definitely not give her any high value items, as she is treating you like a litter mate who she has to protect her 'prize' from. The way I've always avoided resource guarding is to distract the dog whilst offering an even higher reward. This distraction, lessens the focus on the object being guarded, enough for you to take it away. Unfortunately if you don't nip this in the bud, it can become a major issue... take my hat off to you for seeking help so promtly.

At the end of the day if you were walking your dog and they picked up a chicken bone or something dangerous (this happened to me the other day!) you need to be able to go into their mouth without fear of being bitten and remove the item. In this situation, it could even save their life.

Good luck with the training class - hopefully you'll look back on this exerience in a few months and be glad you managed to turn the situation around.


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## skylielover (Sep 27, 2008)

Don't give up. She is still so young. My skylie also shakes and growls at her toys. She will trot walk towards us with a toy in her mouth and growl at us. I think this is her way of playing or toying with us. She also bites and pulls at my pants while I walk. From what I've read, this is all normal. 

What I've been doing is carefully taking her toys away sometimes and giving them right back. I also pet her and sometimes let her eat from my hand while she is eating... just to get her comfortable with me . .


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## nictastic (Aug 21, 2008)

Tasha did this once with a bone but never anything else...she was the same age and still trying to establish her place in the pack. i worked on trading with a piece of meat or something and she was fine.

When she eats her normal food i put my hand in it and pay with it and after i have done that i offer her some ham with my hand in the bowl so she knows shes going to get something tasty. Fed the pup in the crate and walk past, sit by the crate so she knows you are not a threat.

I was also advised to try the NILF ...make your pup do something you want for a reward of what they want e.g sit for the door opening, leave their food until you give the command to take it (at first i would close the crate door on the food so tash had to leave it) she does it well now.

Also she growls when playing with her toys she will growl, but then, dogs growl when they play! Personally i dont think there is anything wrong with this..but, i could be wrong.

ALL THAT BEING SAID I HAVE LESS EXPERIENCE THAN SOME MEMBERS AND THESE ARE ONLY SUGGESTIONS I HAVE USED 
Good luck xx


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## wagondog (Aug 24, 2007)

Everything said is right on the mark with resource guarding...........I'll just add my little 2 cents for what it's worth. As loving owners we are always testing our dogs for their reactions when training to deal with difficult behaviors. Resist the temptation to proof test your pup until you are 100% positive he/she will give you the desired response. Be patient, if you test and the dog fails it undermines the training you are doing. You will know when you are going to get a good proof test.
Good luck
Wagondog


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