# 8 month old puppy aggression



## HydroJason (May 26, 2011)

Our puppy Lady is usually a good girl. She listens to me fairly well. The problem is that on several occasions, Lady has gotten aggressive with my wife Rachel. She has bitten her 3 times, never broken the skin, but left bruises. Lady will show her teeth and snarl at Rachel. It has gotten to the point that my wife is getting scared of the the dog. What can we do????


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

What are the circumstances surrounding each "attack"?


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## HydroJason (May 26, 2011)

Usually our kids (18 months and 3 years) are getting our of control, Rachel is trying to put lady outside or in her crate to remove her from the situation.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

From your comments it sounds like this is happening during chaotic situations. I would highly suggest looking for a trainer that could come and evaluate the home dynamics. They could then give Rachel a very specific plan so that these situations don't happen.

Again from your comments how is Rachel removing Lady from the situation? 
Is she giving verbal commands and Lady isn't following them?
Is she actually attempting to move Lady by physical means? such as grabbing her by the collar and pulling her?

First thing, Rachel needs to build up her confidence on being Lady's leader. To do this I would suggest that Rachel take Lady to training school. Then spend time without the children around practicing basic commands, Daily. 

Rachel needs to figure out when the chaotic times are and put Lady in the crate or yard before it gets to chaos using management and prevention. But being able to get everyone behind the gates, in the crate or in the play pen before it gets over the top exciting. 
Baby gates, crates, x-pens, and child playpens to separate everyone can be useful tools to help Rachel keep her sanity with 2 very young children and a very young dog.


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

I can't really tell from sitting on the other side of this screen, but it sounds to me like bratty behaviour rather than an actual attack. Harley snarls at me and bites me when he gets excited and wants to play, yes he has left bruises on multiple occaisions but at no point have I ever been attacked. If this is the case you need to separate the dog from the excited situation or redirect to a different situation or object. Both dog and person would benefit from an obedience class with Rachael as the handler. 

If it is an actual attack that's a whole different ball game.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Find a good trainer and talk to them about what has happened, and your wife needs to be the one taking the class with Lady and doing the training. Training _practice _should be done in a quiet zone without any chaos, so that Lady has the opportunity to learn to work with your wife without distractions and when things are calm, that way when it is a busier time she will already know what is expected and hopefully it will carry over and make it easier to handle her.

I would keep a leash on Lady all the time, if Rachel needs to move her it will be much easier if she can just take the leash and lead her away.


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## Radarsdad (Apr 18, 2011)

They can sense when you are afraid of them and they will take advantage it they can. Your wife as the others said, might put her on lead, and one on one run her through some obedience. Doesn't have to complicated,heel,sit,here that establishes your wife as a leader and to be respected. Training classed would go a long way also.
Sounds to me like Lady is not being so much a lady with your spouse.
Does your wife jump away from her when this happens or try to get away that will trigger a chase.


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