# Agressive puppy behaviour



## Weaktea

I have a 9 wk old male cockapoo. He has been in our family for less than a week but for the last 2 days he has been displaying very aggressive behaviour. He growls, snaps, barks & lunges at everyone. You can hear his teeth snapping together & it is very frightening to my 2 sons who are aged 7 & 4. He doesn't seem to respond to me yelping, ignoring him, saying no. He just carries on & sometimes then barks. Even when he is cuddling he will still snap at my hair & I worry he will catch my face. I know some of it will be puppy behaviour but I have been searching on the net & no one else seems to have such a bad problem. I am very upset about it as my eldest child has always been terrified of dogs & I hoped our own puppy would help him see that most dogs are lovely - my plan definitely seems to have backfired! Please could someone give me some advice on this very distressing situation.
I also have 2 cats - they avoid him & I don't think he has noticed them yet but I would be very worried about introducing them.

Have read responses to cockerpoo peanut who also seems to have same problem but she doesn't mention kids. Their safety is my biggest worry & I don't think I can put up with this behaviour for a whole year! I know it is very early days but the whole idea of having a puppy has started to feel like a big mistake.


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## Marzi

Poor you...
Glad that you have read the responses to peanut's thread...
Your puppy is just being a puppy, you are tired and it is hard work juggling kids and puppy and half term etc etc etc.
Children are very exciting to puppies - they move quickly and made loud noises and sometimesmove their hands towards and away very quickly. All exciting. 
Same things apply to your pup as has been suggested re peanut.
Puppy proof your kitchen - your pup needs to be able to rest away from your children and then need to be safe from crocodog puppy too.
Only have the pup out with the children when you can be closely supervising and be ready to intervene and help them all to keep calm, Get your children to feed the puppy treats and teach that sit. They will love showing off their clever pup and the pup will learn to listen to them.
We used to have GSDs and my brother's daughter was scared stiff of our 3 month old pup, we told her she could climb up and sit on the dining room table - her safe spot - she loved it and quickly got her confidence with Cheka.
Puppies have very sharp teeth... children have very delicate skin...
It won't take a year to get through this stage.
Keep calm and carry on super mum, you will get through this!


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## Cat 53

He is testing you. You have to set boundaries for him. If he snaps, put him down with a firm 'NO'. Everyone has to do it. It's no good laughing at him being naughty one minute and telling him off the next. As soon as he starts, remove him from the room. It takes time but he will get better and in well under a year. A concerted effort at consistency by the whole family will get you over this hump. Also a common theme on here has been that our puppies get worse when they are over tired. So make sure he is not disturbed when sleeping and give him plenty of quiet times as well. Try to maintain a loving but calm environment. It all helps.


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## kendal

Puppy's are never aggressive, it's all play, they just don't understand that can't play with you the way they have been playing with litter mates. 


If your worried about your fingers pop a lead on him and leave it so you can remove him from the situation without having to touch him. It will pass, Every puppy does this.


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## Enneirda.

Sounds like the usual energy filled puppy to me.  I've been around lots of pups like that! Now, not to be mean, but your breeder really should of thought about what pup would fit your clan best. Assuming he's not completely unexercised, it sounds like he was one of the more edgy pups of the litter. It would of been more ideal to of given you guys the snorlax lol. Now as for actual advise, exercise him more for sure. Not just physical (though he could use a lot of that!) but also mental. Maybe look around for some dogs you can let him play with? Do you have friends with dogs? Petcos puppy play dates? Once he's a old enough, you might wanna head off to the dog park pretty often!


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## Weaktea

Thanks for all the advice but even tho we have all fallen in love with him I think I am going to have to send him back to the breeder. My 4 yr olds face is well within his lunging reach & even when I am sitting playing with them both he is snapping and growling & he is quick enough to have bitten it before I have time to react. Very upset about it but can't take the risk.

Sorry, have just reread & it sounds like pup has already bitten my son's face - no thank goodness but I feel it is only a matter of time.


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## DB1

Hi I do feel for you and if you do feel that you really can't cope then I guess have a chat with the breeder about the pup going back, Do you have a crate for him? if he is in the crate some of the time the children could have some time without worrying about him. I childmind and one reason I chose a Cockapoo was because I had read how great they are with kids - I totally understand what you are going through because even at a year old my dog can get over excited with the children and I keep him separate, funnily enough the child who is most relaxed with him is a 2 year old and I do let him come in when I only have her (her granny has a bouncy lab)- the rest of the time when children are here he is behind a babygate in the hall. When he was first here I used to keep him attached to me by looping his lead through my jeans belt - the children had the freedom knowing he couldn't reach them, then they stroked him when he was very tired. Now they love to give him commands and treats through the gate but I guess that it's a bit harder when they are your kids and are there all the time. My own son is 12 so it was much easier to explain the him what we needed to do (now he spends most of the time with our dog on the floor getting licked all over!). Maybe there are others who have had a pup like this with young children that could give more advice, good luck with making your decision - but as others have said it is not aggression, just a young, possibly confused, pup trying to learn what it is that you do want.


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## Weaktea

Thanks this is useful advice. Yes I would be really grateful if anyone has experience with small kids & cld make a few suggestions as I would be really upset to lose him. Thanks again


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## femmedufromage

Hi Weak Tea,

All the advice on here is really great. My puppy was a snapdragon until he was about 11 weeks and then it just stopped literally overnight. Consistency is the name of the game and I do have a pup who if he was tired could get very irritable. Ignoring him did not work so I used the very stern 'No' technique and put him in time out in the kitchen. I had a playpen for him too so he could watch us but be safe at the same time.

It does feel like it will never get any better, it does very quickly. I cannot remember the last time I had him hanging off my trousers, socks, ankles etc. 

Hang on in there if you can. At nearly 6 months my pup is adorable and still loves having cuddles without the biting.


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## Hfd

I used time out too - when Billy was snappy I used to say No, stand with my back to him (get the kids to stand like a tree) and stop all games. If he persisted I used to pop him in the downstairs loo for a few minutes. It did help. Also make sure your pup is getting enough rest and time away from the kids. If you can hang on in there it really does only last a few weeks. Good luck


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## tessybear

Dexter was very rough and bitey and didn't react to me saying no- it actually made him worse. He is now the gentlest most docile and placid dog. Try to keep him away from your 4 year old when he is in his naughty mood and either walk him or crate him. Playing with other dogs is a good idea too especially another puppy his age.


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## Weaktea

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm feeling a bit less hormonal today so am trying to think positively as so many of you seem to have got through this. Hopefully we wil be the same. Will keep you updated on progress of the hound of the Baskervilles.


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## cockapoo_peanut

Weaktea said:


> Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm feeling a bit less hormonal today so am trying to think positively as so many of you seem to have got through this. Hopefully we wil be the same. Will keep you updated on progress of the hound of the Baskervilles.


I absolutely understand. I had some very dark days during the first week or two with Peanut. It can be unbearably frustrating when you can't walk/move/stand near the puppy without being bitten. I received lots of great advice on here and have started holding her muzzle shut and saying "no bite" for the past few days and I'm already noticing a difference. We even came close to cuddling this morning...almost, but not quite. 

I noticed that you said you have cats, I have two as well. One of them can't be bothered with her and stays upstairs, the other torments the dog constantly (...can't say I blame her). I try to let them sort it out themselves, but I pull the puppy back and make her sit when she starts getting too excited.


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## Chumphreys

I have a 5 year old,11 year old,14 year old and childmind for a 6 and 9 year old.Malie was a very snappy pup.We used to call her munch and croc when we first got her.One thing we got the kids to do was swap their hands etc for a toy and encourage her to play a game of tug etc.We taught the kids to stand and turn their backs on Malie if she was being particularly bad.We have never send a crate but if I could not be in the same room with the kids then I would always make sure that Malie was with me or another adult.By the time she reached about 4-5 months she had stopped and is now our kids best buddy 
XClare


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## DB1

Weaktea said:


> Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm feeling a bit less hormonal today so am trying to think positively as so many of you seem to have got through this. Hopefully we wil be the same. Will keep you updated on progress of the hound of the Baskervilles.


So glad you are feeling better, it is hard but when they are asleep and you have a good glass of wine in your hand it all seems so much better! as everyone else has said it will pass, I know it feels like an age now but you will look back and think it wasn't so bad.


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## Cat 53

Ha! You will look back and think about getting number 2! Lol


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## MissMolly

I am having the same issues with my 11 week old puppy Molly. She has been excellent in everyway, but a couple of weeks ago started signs of aggression and has progressively got worse. It does unnerve me when she goes mad, her tail isn't wagging so I didn't think she was playing. I am just hoping that it does stop as she gets older as its no fun at the moment. I also feel bad as I can't play as much as I would like as this leads to this behavioiur. I have tried every trick in the book and am being consistent with No and putting her in her crate for a couple of minutes. However now I have contacted a trainer and I hope he can give me some advice. Love her to bits so such a shame she is like this. I can't decide whether its temper, not knowing when playing stops or a dominance thing.


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## JasperBlack

It sounds like you've made a positive step forward. The trainer will give you the reassurance you need and hopefully help you to bond with Molly and encourage positive play. They are so clever, jasper is two and I have just had to reinstate myself as pack leader as he decided he quite suited the role. Little monster, all is good now and we are both much happier. Hang in there, hope training goes well xx


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## 2ndhandgal

Pack leadership and ideas of dominance have largely been debunked and really are not helpful when considering living with our dogs. Useful link here 

https://apdt.com/docs/resources/dominance-and-dog-training.pdf

Hopefully the trainer can soon put you on the right track but pups get tired and tired pups are grouchy bitey things (much like grouchy toddlers) they also need to learn that humans are delicate creatures and they can not play with us as they play with other pups. Tail wagging is not going to tell you very much about whether play or not. This is a short clip of my two playing, black dog is a pup or around 3 months, the other is Molly a 3 year old cockapoo. There is very little tail wagging but it is nice even play until around 26 seconds when Molly stops playing and warns the pup off.

http://beanydogz.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/playing.html


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## JasperBlack

I disagree and believe that a dog requires a pack leader. But everyone is entitled to their own opinions.


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## Mazzapoo

MissMolly said:


> I am having the same issues with my 11 week old puppy Molly. She has been excellent in everyway, but a couple of weeks ago started signs of aggression and has progressively got worse. It does unnerve me when she goes mad, her tail isn't wagging so I didn't think she was playing. I am just hoping that it does stop as she gets older as its no fun at the moment. I also feel bad as I can't play as much as I would like as this leads to this behavioiur. I have tried every trick in the book and am being consistent with No and putting her in her crate for a couple of minutes. However now I have contacted a trainer and I hope he can give me some advice. Love her to bits so such a shame she is like this. I can't decide whether its temper, not knowing when playing stops or a dominance thing.


Hi! It can be a lot more taxing than you ever imagined can't it?! You never hear the difficult stories before you get your pup - people just melt and go all gooey when they hear the word 'puppy'  But hang in there, I can bet you it's not aggression, don't mistake it for that, she's a tiny baby of a thing and needs to sleep for more hours than you think, about 18-20 per day apparently. Without sleep you end up with an overtired crock who thinks with her teeth - been there and done that! Get yourselves into a structured routine of sleep, exercise and play (try not to over exercise either - apart from the obvious problem of damaging her growing joints she'll just get over stimulated again). It's really not easy at first and we didn't enjoy our first few months much but you'll reap what you sow and get a lovely dog before you know it. Keep things positive and enforce some naps 
There are some great threads on here with wonderful advice and I'm sure people much more experienced than I am will help you out on this thread but please don't get bogged down with the idea that she's aggressive xx


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## DB1

JasperBlack said:


> I disagree and believe that a dog requires a pack leader. But everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I think its basically like being a good parent, the 'top dog/ alpha leader' etc terms have been overused as has the dominance theory but I must say some of the 'pack leader' stuff does seem to work but definitely not any of the physical stuff, ie - i have learn't its better not to challenge a dog but to distract with something fun.


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## fairlie

I prefer a pilot, co-pilot approach. You could grab your co-pilot by the scruff of his neck and roll him but he'd likely want to crash the plane when you let him up.  Better to lead by example with kindness and come to the understanding that you both want to stay in the air.


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## JasperBlack

By pack leader I did mean as in role model, someone to look up to. Anyone that has followed jasper since a pup knows that he's not dominated and has been nurtured. Like all children he just needs a reminder now and again that I'm the mummy! Jasper has never been neutered so is quite strong willed, we do lots of play and fun stuff together, he is a family member and we adore the fluff off him. 


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## JasperBlack

He has grown to be a lovely happy boy so I obviously did a good job! 


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## RuthMill

My theory is that if a dog is displaying unwanted behaviour this is because the human has not provided the necessary guidance. In really broad terms when you are a good manager, could be of a household, office, nursing team, classroom; you need to set ground rules of what is acceptable and what is not. A manager who is strong, supportive, but works as part of the team, provides training and guidance and comfort when it's needed is a good manager and will have a group of staff who work very well.

They key is guidance, if you've failed (I don't like the word fail but it gets the message across) to guide, the dog won't know what is acceptable TO YOU, they are not mind readers. Failing to guide is not your fault necessarily, the manager needs training too! "Train the trainer" is really important, this comes from reading, talking to others with experience and attending training classes with or without your dog. 

Rather than worrying about dominance issues, which I don't believe really exist, think of it as needing to become a better guide, manager, trainer. 

Children, dogs, employees, push boundaries or head off on the wrong path if they don't have a person to be their guide, mentor, trainer. There are times when strong will plays a part and manager and employee don't see eye to eye, but that's the managers job to look at the situation, understand why the employee wants to do it another way and work out a solution.

I think we complicate things with dogs sometimes. All the same rules we use everyday with our own species apply.


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## JasperBlack

I agree completely! My daughter is an angel most if the time but like jasper pushes boundaries from time to time which causes friction. We have a discussion and it is sorted. We can't talk to dogs in the same way so we have to get the message across in a way the dog understands so we can all live together in harmony. Jasper is happiest when I am strong and assertive. Sometimes this slips and jasper's attitude changes, he becomes demanding and barky. As soon as I become stronger and more assertive he is content and calm again. By strong and assertive I by no means mean dominating. I also believe that every dog is different and what works for one might not work for another. It's about getting the balance right and finding what works for you and your dog. This is why the forum is great, everyone shares their ideas and approaches to certain behaviour and amongst all ideas and suggestions your likely to find one that works, helps or offers reassurance.


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## wellerfeller

RuthMill said:


> My theory is that if a dog is displaying unwanted behaviour this is because the human has not provided the necessary guidance. In really broad terms when you are a good manager, could be of a household, office, nursing team, classroom; you need to set ground rules of what is acceptable and what is not. A manager who is strong, supportive, but works as part of the team, provides training and guidance and comfort when it's needed is a good manager and will have a group of staff who work very well.
> 
> They key is guidance, if you've failed (I don't like the word fail but it gets the message across) to guide, the dog won't know what is acceptable TO YOU, they are not mind readers. Failing to guide is not your fault necessarily, the manager needs training too! "Train the trainer" is really important, this comes from reading, talking to others with experience and attending training classes with or without your dog.
> 
> Rather than worrying about dominance issues, which I don't believe really exist, think of it as needing to become a better guide, manager, trainer.
> 
> Children, dogs, employees, push boundaries or head off on the wrong path if they don't have a person to be their guide, mentor, trainer. There are times when strong will plays a part and manager and employee don't see eye to eye, but that's the managers job to look at the situation, understand why the employee wants to do it another way and work out a solution.
> 
> I think we complicate things with dogs sometimes. All the same rules we use everyday with our own species apply.




Great post Ruth!!!


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## RuthMill

wellerfeller said:


> Great post Ruth!!!


Thanks Karen! It's just the simple things


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