Older Puppy Snapping

[Kristin H]

I have a 10-month old female who has just begun to be aggressive to strangers. It seems like a fear-based response, but I am not sure.  Last week she snapped at my dad (grazed skin} and yesterday she snapped at a child and again at his mom outside.  What are the best ways to curtail this behavior? I corrected her by pulling her back on the collar with a big NO!  I have her in AKC Obedience classes where she never acts like this. She is perfectly healthy and happy otherwise.

Thanks for any insights!

Kristin

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Can you provide a little more detail about the circumstances when she snapped? Was she being territorial or resource guarding? I'm just trying to get a better sense for the triggers.

[Kristin H]

Yes! Thank you! She was in the kitchen behind a baby gate with her mom and another younger puppy, my dad reached over to pat her (as he has done in the past) and "snap". The other two folks were crouched down and just reaching out their hands to her outside on a sidewalk. My son also says she snapped at a friend of his who has known and played with her "forever".

[Carol Brand]

Bummer. It's sort of odd behavior. It sounds like sharp-shy where a dog lashes out because it is afraid. However, it seems odd that a dog would do this in the baby gate situation because it would have had ample opportunity to move away from the person it was afraid of.

Regardless, this in NOT a training issue as much as it is a serious behavioral issue. You need to get professional help right away. Find a VERY qualified behaviorist who has dealt with sharp-shy dogs before. I'm sorry to tell you, but this is one of the most difficult behavioral issues to manage because you often can't predict what is going to set a dog off.

You mentioned that this girl was with her mother. Did you breed her? Are you a guardian home for her? Sharp-shy is temperament issue and it is often hard wired into a dog. For this reason, I don't believe that this 10 mth old is or should be a breeding prospect. I would also take a hard look at her dam and sire. Have they produced other puppies with temperament issues? I would contact the owners of the littermates to check in.

Anyway, hopefully with help you will be able to manage this girl's issue so that she can go on to be a reliable companion.

[Kristin H]

Thank you for the input! I had pretty much decided on the behaviorist option. She is not a breeding prospect, but I think the fact that she is under Mom's wings often has not helped with her development . I know all of her 6 siblings very well, and there is nothing like that in them or other related dogs I know, so I think it is an enviromental/social issue. Plus it only started about ten days ago!. (Looking up the ocal behaviorists' phone numbers!)

Kristin

[Kyoko]

Charlie is some what similar to this girl's behavior. Only difference is that Charlie shows these behaviors against other dogs, and not to the people. She started to demonstrate the behavior around 8 ~ 9 months as well. Until then, she went to the dog park, had doggie frineds, etc...We have been with the trainer / behaviorist ever since then, and I was too told that it is hard wired. We have been working to keep her focus only on me in a difficult situations, so that she does not have to worry about the other stimili.
Good luck... I hope you find a good behaviorist!!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I saw the quote below on another site and thought it might also be appropriate advice for your questions. The same site also states that there are 16 different types of agression and it really takes a pro to identify and give you proper information for your specific situation.


"I doubt that any one here can definitively tell you one way or the the other if your dogs agression is fear based or not. We could ask questions and you could answer til we're all blue in the face, and still not get the diagnosis correct. It is that much of a must be there and must see kind of thing. There is so much more going on that average person misses in body language. Doing anything but advising an owner to seek out a pro trainer that knows and works agressive dogs is bad advise."

That being said, why do you think it is fear based? Since she is not normally a fearful dog (many fear aggressive dogs are afraid of other things in their environment as well) Has it only been at home or around or near your property? In that case it may be territorial agression. Do you have "pack structure" at your house? Do the dogs know and understand that you are in charge of the place and that you will protect it and them? Some dogs become territorial agressive because they feel they must protect the family or property. They don't feel a sense of structure in the household so they take charge themselves. There are many factors such as these to consider.

She is at an age where she is beginning to lose some of the "puppiness" and move into more adult behaviors. Again I would go back to the original statement of seeking out professional help and it needing to be someone who has worked sucessfully with agressive dogs. Until you really know and understand WHY she is doing this you won't be able to help her.

[Kristin H]

Thanks very much for the advice!

Kristin

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

You may already know this... but something that I read recently on another post about hiring a behaviorist is to be sure that this person is PROVEN to be successful in the area of agression. Ask for references from people who have encountered this same issue and had it resolved by this person. You don't want to hire someone who THINKS they know what they are doing but really DOESN'T!!

Good luck and please keep us posted as to how things are going!!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

This is complicated. I have no idea why. As you were told here there are at least 16 reasons for dog aggression. What I have been told though is, " Your puppy GOT AWAY with this behavior, once, twice,... and will continue to do this behavior because they have gotten away with it and it worked for him. Plain and simple--It worked.

Stranger, reach, bite, the person backs up and goes away. This is all the dog knows now, it is reinforced in their mind, and will continue unless you take control and show it another way. This may not work either so you have to not allow this situation to happen again for the strangers sake and so the dog does not get away with this behavior for additional reinforcement.

Don't allow strangers to approach your dog. Keep your dog leashed in the house when strangers are present. Keep your dog in a heel or sit with you at all times. The down position may cause more aggression in this situation. If your dog breaks the heel Correct him. It must be with you until eventually it realizes this person will not approach him or hurt him. It is tough.

Good Luck. Stay in classes, and You must learn how to handle this one. Your dog depends on you now to show them a different way to handle strangers. I agree with you --correct the dog, and say no and continue to watch. But do keep them with you. Keep them safe. Don't let the dog get into a situation they can't handle.