Possible aggressive puppy?

[JessicaR]

While I am waiting to hear back from the trainer I thought I would ask for advise here.

Here is the situation... We picked up Rosie, a 7 week old black lab puppy last Friday. Now that she is more comfortable with us I have noticed some behavior that has me concerned. 1, is she is stalking the cats, which right now she isn't hurting them but she does tackle and plays a bit rough. The cats though usually put an end to that with a good smack with the claws. 2, she has been going after Summer (4 year old intact sheltie) I think it is just play but could possibly be dominance issues? With the other dogs she has tried it but they will put her in her place, Summer unfortunately just runs away, which results in Rosie hanging on to her fur while snarling. The last thing, which for me is the most troubling/concerning is the other day Ethan was walking, Rosie went underneath him, well at 1 year old he is still not the most steady on his feet especially with a puppy underfoot, Ethan fell and landed on her, Rosie's response was to snarl and bare her teeth at him. We do not let Ethan and Rosie alone unsupervised and we do not allow him to be rough.

Any thoughts/ideas would be appreciated.

 

[akane]

Sounds like she has a lot of energy and a chip on her shoulder. Lots of exercise for both body and mind. If you can get her somewhere she can run and try to encourage it with things like teaching her to fetch. For now you will have to stop before she is fully tired due to age and not wanting to strain her joints. Take more walks/hikes, especially if you can't take her somewhere she can run. How much basic obedience are you doing? I think all dogs should go through an obedience class with a group because not only does it teach obedience commands but all the dogs and people help desensitize them so they are less reactive to all things. Make sure you can handle her all over and then make sure your child can handle her all over with treats that she is taught to take nicely.

Partially it's just going to take time. At 7weeks she shouldn't have even left her littermates. They would be teaching her not to be rough. If I had children I would probably look for a breeder that keeps their pups even longer to 12weeks instead of the standard 8weeks because of how much they will learn and how much better they could be about matching their play to their playmate. She's a bored, confused baby in a new home with no playmate on her level.

 

[Dood]

Sounds like normal puppy behaviour to me

You wouldn't expect a toddler to control their anger if another kid sat on them, however, the pup does sound like it may have a more outgoing temperament and need more guidance on the house rules, but at only 8 weeks old you must expect to give frequent reminders and it sounds like the cats and most of the dogs are doing just that.

If the shelti is a push over then you'll just have to be the one to stop the pup from being too rough with him.

I agree that is sounds like the pup needs more stimulation and I would start training/teaching games like fetch, tag, hide and seek etc..

If I recall this pup will be future seeing eye dog and the program you got him from should be able to offer advice on how to stimulate the pup in a constructive way that is age appropriate

 

[JessicaR]

To clarify, she is technically not our puppy she belongs to the guide dog school.

I don't care for the 6 weeks thing either, but that is the age the school starts putting pups into their foster homes, we have fostered pups as young as 6 weeks old from them.

Right now we are working on the basics, she has sit down good (without distractions) and is working on down and leave it (that's the hard one), with leash training, she tends to act like a bucking bronco when you try to lead her :roll: She definitely has a lot of energy I have been having her run in our yard and have been using a modified teeter (2 inches off the ground) and tunnel to try and tire her out. So far she hasn't shown any food aggression but I have been giving most of her food as training treats.
We don't normally start obedience classes until she is 4 months old, but our trainer said he will work with us sooner if needed, he is just out of town for the holidays right now.

 

[LittleFluffyBunnies]

I also have a Lab named Rosie! She is one year old, and actually not a purebred, as her grandmother was a Collie, but she still has mostly Lab characteristics.
When she was a puppy if you got on the floor she would stalk you, and then pounce and pull your hair and try to eat your face, doing a little play growl. She was also quite nippy when played with. We just discouraged any nipping or growling by firmly saying no with a gentle tap on the nose, and then ignoring her until she calmed down. We also did plenty of easy obedience training, like sit, stay, come, and leash training. We introduced her to lots of people, and once her vaccinations were done we took her to the beach to play with other dogs who were gentle and friendly. Now, at one year old, she is the gentlest thing around, and has not once after her puppy stage growled or nipped. She loves playing with babies and is like a nanny dog to them. She does sometimes stalk our other dog who we got when Rosie was about 6 months, but we are pretty sure it's just play.

I hope this helps! Have fun training your little Rosie, Labs are so sweet and super smart, they just want to make their owner happy.

 

[Random Rabbit]

To clarify, she is technically not our puppy she belongs to the guide dog school.
.

I would suggest talking to the guide dog school... or trainer, when he gets back. They have a vested interest in knowing about possible issues.

 

[dayna]

run her run her run her. In fun and happy ways.

A tired puppy is a well behaved puppy. That'll solve the problem till the trainer is back. Sounds like she is just a very strong minded dog, and with the right training and handling might make an excellent guide dog. I know those are some of the things looked for in bomb dogs. Prey drive, outgoing, pushy, energetic. lol

 

[JessicaR]

Things are going much better now! She still has her moments but what do you expect from a puppy :lol: Trainer said our problem is a high energy/prey drive pup and she is seeing Ethan as a littermate not someone higher in status as her. She is a smart pup though so lots of mental and physical stimulation is need to keep her out of trouble.