Dog/puppy owners - a question which has worried me lately

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especially given some of the posts on here. Lots of us who have recently bought puppies have talked about/asked for advice about our puppies' behaviour from more experienced owners . It seems very normal for puppies to growl/nip/jump up/play fight and do things which are basically not particularly desirable such as hang off trouser legs

Yet I've read quite a few posts here which say things like 'if my dog so much as growled or bared its teeth at my dc it would be rehomed' It makes me rather sad

our dog, now 7yrs, have never bared her teeth/ nipped/ growled at any of our kids and DD2 was especially rough on her as a toddler

she was only 1yr old when we brought DD1 home and knows that as much as she is loved by us all she is the dog of the family

doesn't stop her sneaking up on my bed when she thinks I'm not paying attention though!

there are many people n this forum who don't understand doggy behaviour well. Some own dogs.

oh but I should point out that she is a cocker/border collie cross and the vet states one of the best cross breeds to own and whilst VERY easy to train (she's trained off the lead etc) we can't claim a huge amount of credit - for a wee pup that fell off the back of a lorry we've been VERY lucky with her behaviour

Makes me very sad to Oxo. I have to have time out from Mumsnet to stop it getting to me to be honest.

Our pup growls and bears his teeth quite a lot. But he's not in any way aggressive, just a pup learning how to behave. The bearing his teeth seems to be more about getting his lips out of the way in order to mouth at whatever is interesting him at the time, and the growling is excitement. There have been a few times when he has got a bit scatty and whizzed around with a lot of noise and his mouth open, and he has hurt us all on more than one occasion, but generally this is our fault for over stimulating him or not giving him enough attention and exercise. Much like children really.

It is very sad, I agree. There sometimes seems to be a tendancy for people to assume that it's Ok to rehome their dog rather than put in the leg work required to sort a behaviour. I'm a very novice owner and probably making loads of mistakes but if my JRT started unwanted behaviour I'd tend to assume it's my responsibility to get it sorted as the chances are the blame would lie with me anyway. I took getting a dog really seriously as I knew that it was going to be a decision I'd (hopefully ) be living with for a good 12 years or more.

If my dog was re-homed everytime he growled he'd have a new home every day. He is very grumpy and will warn you/the postman/the dog over the road/the birds on the wall/the cat/dd2/me/dh etc if we do anything he doesn't like.

Tbh I was concerned at first. Re-homing him never crossed my mind, but I was very concerned. However after consulting the vet and a trainer I have realised he is just warning us that he doesn't like what we are doing.

We then have the choice of calming him down and reassuring about what what we are doing if it something that needs doing i.e. vets checks and bedtime. Or to stop what we are doing.

He only ever properly snarls at DH, for some reason. The rest of us just get grumbled at. I getting the trainer back out to help Dh learn how to handle the dog and to double check he is getting enough mental and physical stimulation.

I was brought up to believe when you take on an animal you take on responsibility for that animal, for the rest of your life. no matter what. Unless that animal should become an immediate danger to the safety of your family.

IME the vast majority of dog owners do not understand their dogs. It is only because many dogs are generally inherently placid and tolerant that we humans so often get away with treating them so badly. It is sad that when someone is hurt by a dog, the finger of blame is frequently pointed at the animal, which cannot be "held responsible". In many cases these are animals who have been (albeit unbeknown to the owner) pushed beyond their limits.

Unfortunately the old theories of dominance hierarchy and pack behaviour have received such widespread acceptance over such a long time that that changing attitudes is really difficult. The one plus is that basic dog mentality is actually quite easy to grasp, and once pointed out to someone and they try out positive approaches themselves they very soon reap the rewards.

Ive had my dog for 10 years, he came to us via a retriever rescue centre at 2 years old having never been out on a lead, seen cars etc He had basically been kept in an inner city flat for 2 years and then abandoned.
After 9 months of having him we had ds1 and now have 3 ds, He (dog) has been so great with them its untrue, ive never heard him growl has no possessiveness and is almost as tho he is grateful everyday for being with a loving family!
I have never had cause to ant to rehome him (other than the hairs, my gawd!) and feel I have a duty to him considering his background not to rehome him ever!

Conversely I grew up with a goldie in the house who was lovely but he was possessive over food and would growl at us kids if we over handled him, he did bark at the front door and raid the laundry basket (my dog does none of these things bless him) you know what tho, I would be extra cautious with children around my old dog but would never have rehomed him.

Dogs are great aren't they?

Maybe we dog lovers should become a little bit more vocal - i tend to run from the dogs threads as a general rule before i start throwing things at my laptop...

Very good post, Ohfuck

Minimu - I hope you keep coming back. You are very much needed here.

tbh, the general level of knowledge (or rather ignorance) on here wrt dog behaviour is quite staggering. I was really taken aback by it at first, despite having worked with the public as a vet nurse. If people would just take the time to read one good behaviour book - rather than doing a trolley dash round PAH - when they get a dog or puppy, so much heartache could be avoided.

Dogs are the only animals that come back to us after we abuse them: the very least we owe them is to try to understand them a little

I leave Mn when the anti dog brigade start, too many people have no understanding of dogs and think that they should be little robots trained to respond to commands.

I love my dog so much and i understand that he is a dog. I ask no more of him than he asks of me and we rub along just fine, he has enhanced our family unit enormously and it saddens me that there is so much ill feeling out there towards them.

We need "Dogsnet"

Shiney - agree totally - but we take them on for the rest of their lives, not ours - I have made provision for my horse in my will

If we had Dogsnet I'd be there in a flash! I 'm so happy with my lovely 1 year old rescue bitch, the thought of rehoming her over something that's not her fault breaks my heart. We got her from the SPCA and she started with a bad skin condition a few weeks after we got her home (most of her fur fell out.) When I called the SPCA to ask about her history, they asked me if I wanted to come and exchange her for another dog!! The thought of taking her back and dumping her, and her total bewilderment was just horrible.

Agree with bella32 - just finished The Culture Clash and now on the Complete Idiots Guide to Positive Dog Training - they have shown me so many mistakes I was making, and how to correct them, I shudder to think what people who aren't reading books like this are learning. When I read the things about electric collars I nearly cried. I had no idea someone had thought up such a sick device

There are a lot of people out there without a clue.

It always makes me really when people talk of how their kids poke/prod/pull themselves up on the dog and that the dog never does anything to them. And yet if the dog turned and bit one of them one day it would apparently be the dog's fault.

Or these people, have seen plenty of them on mn, who buy a puppy and then a few weeks down the line when they find out it's hard work decide they didn't want a puppy after all, and their pleas for help are met with cries of "oh everyone can make a mistake, I would rehome it." I remember one poster who rehomed her puppy because it shed too much hair fgs.

Puppies growl, and nip, that's what puppies do. Dogs bark, sometimes they growl because it's the only way they know to communicate their feelings.

Oh and in 99% of cases dogs do not turn from family pets into child-killing monsters. Usually when a child is bitten there is a reason - be that that the dog was known to be agressive or that it wasn't used to children - in most cases when a child is bitten by a dog there is an adult responsible.

Oooh we have Chicken keepers and the Tack Room - cold we have Dogsnet pleeeeeease - tip the balance a bit

Just because someone owns a dog doesn't mean they understand them or is even a dog lover! I too find the posts where people mention how well behaved their dog is to put up with being pulled and dragged by their toddler/child annoying, what happens if one day the dog suddenly loses it's patience? It'll be curtains for the dog I suppose. Surely children should be taught manners as well as dogs.

It's also quite annoying to watch the collective gasp of horror when somebody mentions a ~dangerous~ breed. (when in fact any dog no matter it's size or breed history can be dangerous when in the hands of a numpty.)

My dog nipped my DD once as she tried to take something off the dog in the dog's bed. It was DD's (my) fault, not the dog. The dog was warning DD and never had any intention of hurting her. As it was she got a tiny nick on the end of her nose which barely bled.

It did shake us all up, dog as well I think. But I never thought of rehoming the dog. Had a big talk with DD about taking things off the dog and invading the dog's space and told her next time the dog had something she shouldn't then DD must get me.

I was going to mention the 'dangerous' breeds CountryGirl.
The looks I've had and the reactions when I said that we actually chose a Staffy as our dog.
Everything from a 'chav' dog to devil dogs and dangerous and should be banned.

It's beside the fact that he's sitting on me, slobbering all over trying to take my attention away from the laptop!!

A topic just for dogs would be fab

iMum, I have a new Goldie pup . She is wonderful

I got asked when my Bulldog would get his "aggressive gene".

The ignorance is astounding.

imum buy a furminator it really makes a big difference. My goldie gets a going over with it everyday and there's practically no hair anywhere. I may give the shampoo a go as well.