# Help please!!! Aggressive puppy!!



## Xxkirstyxx (Aug 19, 2011)

Hiya 
My family has just got a golden retriever pup he's 12 weeks old and we have had him for 2 weeks 
We love to bits but we have now got to the stage where we are thinking of taking him back to the breeder unless we can stop him being aggressive!!

He is fine with his food bowl and isn't bothered about us going near that etc but if he has a chew or a stick or something he shouldn't have he is very protective over it, if you want to take it away he gets very aggressive he growls, bares his teeth and snaps. Just now he had part of a plant so we gave him a toy as a swap but kept growling. We were told to scruff him and shake him until he whimpers we tried that twice and both me and my mum nearly got bitten if we'd been closer to him, we really don't know what to do we are going back to the breeder tomorrow as she is going to try and help us
Any other suggestions please I don't want to send him back but will have to if this doesn't stop!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

*Please do NOT shake your puppy until he whimpers.* I'm not sure who told you to do that, but it was really really bad advice. You could injure your puppy physically and mentally. 

Are you sure he isn't playing? Puppies growl and bite when playing. It's pretty terrible for a short time, but they grow out of it.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

> We were told to scruff him and shake him until he whimpers we tried that twice


OMG. Please don't do that! Did this advice come from the breeder? Because if it did, I would go elsewhere for help. He should be in puppy classes right now because he is sassing you and testing what he can do to get his way. And it sounds like things are getting exasperated. 

No alpha pinning.

No hitting.

No shaking.

ETA - I should say that with our first golden we were given the advice to pin him for 10 minutes every single day to "break him". What we found was that "pinning" him made him panic and meant he learned to growl and snap to make us back off. Fortunately we were lazy day trainers, almost never did the "daily ten minutes", stopped going to classes after one session, and found other ways to work with a dog who had learned to snap and growl. But this is where using bad methods to train your dog can actually make things worse with him. 

Golden puppies will mouth and growl - and these things can be handled without roughing up or hurting the puppy.


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## kdel (Jul 26, 2011)

If you grab and shake till he whimpers you are hurting him and this will only make things worse as he is going to fear you and act accordingly. Who told you to do this? 

If it was the breeder then I would not bring him back to them for help.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

A puppy will growl around food because they don't trust that there's enough. To punish a puppy that does not have trust will only cause more distrust. 

Please stop taking advice from whoever it was that told you to shake the dog, even if it was the breeder - that would be considered abuse in most places.

I'm glad you've come to the forum. You'll find that many puppies have this behaviour, it is in many ways part of puppyhood. Please search the board for past advice and get the book "mine" by Donaldson.


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## Xxkirstyxx (Aug 19, 2011)

No it's defenaitely not play it's genuine aggression and we can't take him out as he has only had one vax he's starting classes in september we really don't know what to do anymore we were told by quite a few people to shake him but we spoke to a dog trainer who came round and she said ring the breeder no one is really helping us with it


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## Mssjnnfer (Aug 9, 2009)

Little story:

When our Mojo was a wee pup, our vet gave us the same advice. Scruff and shake until he whimpers, pin and hold him until he's calm, BUNCH of other terrible things.

We implemented all of these tactics. We were new puppy owners and didn't know any better.

NONE of this stuff helped. In fact, it made him WORSE. It got to the point where we couldn't even stand within a few feet of him while he was eating or chewing on something and he'd go berserk. 

We stopped doing those terrible things, took a LOT of advice from this great forum and with positive training (lots of it) he's a changed dog. No more snarling, growling or snapping. 

You're gonna get tons of good advice here, please use it and please stop trying to "dominate" him.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Xxkirstyxx said:


> No it's defenaitely not play it's genuine aggression and we can't take him out as he has only had one vax he's starting classes in september we really don't know what to do anymore we were told by quite a few people to shake him but we spoke to a dog trainer who came round and she said ring the breeder no one is really helping us with it


He's only had one vaccination at 12 weeks? 

If you don't mind me asking, but where (state, metro or area) are you located? Somebody might have a suggestion as to a good trainer to go with. 

A trainer should be working with you and your family, showing you how to handle your dog. And the sooner you get this sorted, the better.


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## Xxkirstyxx (Aug 19, 2011)

We live in the uk, the breeder said that she doesn't do the vax anymore a they have the 1st one then go to a new home and have to start again as it's a different batch number she is an accredited breeder with the kennel club and I researched into all tue family trees etc


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Where in the UK are you exactly? We have UK members who can help you.


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## Xxkirstyxx (Aug 19, 2011)

We are first time dog owners, We have never had dogs so we are new to all this we knew it was hard work and we knew what to expect but we didn't see this coming and we are only doing what people are telling us we have either been told to do the above or to just let him get on with it but if it's something we need to get off of him how can we?! We also have two cats so you can imagine that I'm slightly concerned about him biting one of them


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## Xxkirstyxx (Aug 19, 2011)

In Sussex 
We are 1st time dog owners so we are just going on what people are telling us we knew it was going to be hard etc but we are either told the above or to leave him


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I hope that you will not try the scruffing again, as you see it ususally backfires and makes it worse.

Work on trading him for things when he does not have an item you MUST take away. That way he will be learning to trade you for whatever he has in a non-stress situation, so when you are in a situation that you NEED to remove something from him he will have learned it's ok to for you to trade him. 

He's not an aggressive puppy, this is normal dog behavior between dogs, protecting what they have. Obviously not ok to do with people, and he needs to be taught how to interact correctly with people. 

Even if you can't take him to classes yet, please contact a trainer to come to your home and do some inhome sessions with you so you can learn how to handle things now rather than waiting until you can go to class. As a first time dog owner I completely understand how upsetting this behavior can be, but having a trainer come to your home and work with you will be an immense help and I am sure you will feel much more confident afterwards.


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## Zazoo (Jul 1, 2011)

I'm not a professional (yet) starting course soon.. I agree with goldenjackpuppy, you are making your puppy more aggressive by doing that.. I know you feel like you are at a loss, but there is help out there.. Contact your vet and ask her if there is an Obedience trainer available for your area.. If you can't afford one up front, ask for a payment plan. They'll be more then happy to help you out.. If any of you are nervous or scared, your dog senses it.. Your giving off weak energy, and don't discipline out of anger, and you are feeding into that bad energy and the dog will get more upset.. Please contact a trainer.. You won't regret it!!..


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## Xxkirstyxx (Aug 19, 2011)

Thanks for the help we will try and start again swapping things and really praising him Etc


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Go to the Puppy section of the board, there are hundreds of thread very much like yours that contain lots of good advice and tips for handling that will help. 

It will get better with some good methods for you to work with.


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## kdel (Jul 26, 2011)

I just want to add that when you do need to "trade" him for something - whatever you are giving has to be alot more appealing than what he has, something he doesn't always get like a piece of chicken (just a bite, no bones) or cheese, something like that. Also for now I would not give him any of the the things that he so protective of like chew sticks. 

Also, I know you said he is fine around food but something our trainer told us to do to keep it that way was to walk over when they are eating and drop something special in his bowl of food so that they associate you near him at meal time as a positive thing so they don't become food aggresive.

I don't think you have an aggressive puppy at all - just a regular puppy.
Alot of first time puppy owners are surprised by the unexpected but normal puppy things so don't feel bad! Keep coming back if you need help - people here are very helpful.


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## aerolor (May 27, 2011)

I agree with KDEL I think you have a normal puppy who still thinks it has to compete for resources like he did when in the litter. 
I also think your breeder was not correct about the vaccinations. I am in the UK and my pup came from the breeder at 8 weeks with first vaccination, vet check and microchip. What she had had was on her record card and at 10 weeks my own vet followed on with the same brand (Nobivax). He said if he had not had it in he could have ordered it. The batch doesn't matter as long as it is recorded on the card. At 12 weeks she was fully protected and ready to get out and about. I think your breeder may have been saving money? 

Please don't become frightened of your pup - you may get bitten, but you mustn't back off and definitely don't shake it until it whimpers. That won't achieve anything positive only to fear you. Your pup needs to have trust in you. Try feeding all meals by hand for a while until the pup realises that you have something good - all food comes from you and you are not trying to take things away. If the pup atempts to bite don't snatch your hands away (thats difficult and uncomfortable I know but the pup is only 12 weeks with a puppy strength bite). Sit on the floor and feed your pup. Then move on to putting food into the bowl a bit at a time - the pup should probably soon be looking up at you and wagging its tail - and asking you for more.
As others have said if you need to take something away from your pup, offer an attractive swap - make it exciting and enticing. Don't chase him around trying to get something off him - he will learn to run and hide with his goodies. 
Don't worry about your cats getting hurt. Your pup does need to get used to them and they need to accept him - but I think it is more likely your pup will get scratched and come off worse if he messes with the cats. Once he gets a dab on the nose from one of them he will soon respect them. 
I hope things settle down for you and you can enjoy your puppy.


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## Xxkirstyxx (Aug 19, 2011)

Thanks mylissykY and kdel and aerolor that's a real help I'll give it all a shot


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## Rachel E (Sep 13, 2011)

We had this problem with our older dog, he would show his teeth and be possessive over his chews, napkins etc. We just carried through and took the stuff off him, now we can take anything off him without any trouble at all (unless of course it is a rabbit where he will hold on tight and takes a little extra persuasion).


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Young puppies act bratty because, well, they're puppies. It isn't aggression. They play roughly with their littermates and need to be taught by gentleness and guidance how to play with humans. Your puppy sounds completely normal. Raising a puppy is a lot of work but you will be rewarded with a wonderful dog.

Also, you need not worry about the cats, they can take care of themselves. I have both and always it's the puppy that ends up sporting a scratch across the nose!


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