Is it normal for puppies to really growl at each other???

[Blossomhill]

I have a 4 month old male westie puppy. He is very friendly with other dogs and we take him to our local park most days and let him off the lead.

Recently a female pup goes around the same time and they really do not get on at all and it nearly ends up in full on fighting.

Is this normal? Every other time he is really friendly and happy to see other dogs.

Westies are normally pretty good growlers but don't really go in for full on fighting. The trouble is that, whereas a grown dog would put him in his place or ignore him, another pup will just growl back, and possibly fight.

I would avoid this other pup and make sure your pup is welL socialised with well-behaved adult dogs, so he can learn good habits.

HTH

Is it real fighting or play fighting? The latter is normal for puppies.

Bella ~ he doesn't really growl or bark to be honest at all. We have had a few problems with him regarding his health but he's much better now. I was wondering if it was because they are different sexes.

oh dear ~ We do have to split them apart so would that be deemed normal?? Sorry first puppy (not that you'd know lol )

I'd definitely avoid this other puppy. It will teach your pup very bad habits and he is at the stage where bad experiences stay with him for life (I know that sounds over-dramatic but it is true). Plenty of nice, adult well-behaved dogs are what he needs to meet, so he can learn how to behave.

HTH

Good advice here from the Dogs Trust:

here

My pup is 5 months and she regularly meets her sister. They do loads of play fighting, but there is no noise ... apart from the snapping of jaws! You can tell it is just play. I would give a wide berth if, as you say, they don't seem to be keen on each other.