Puppy being aggressive towards DS

[Opoly54]

I have contacted a behaviourist, I’m just waiting for a reply but thought I’d come here for advice in the mean time.

Our pup is 8 months old, spaniel/terrier cross breed. Over the last few weeks we’ve seen some behaviour towards DS that looks aggressive.

The first incident was when DS startled him awake, he was obviously scared and growled/snapped the air. I take full responsibility for that and had a long talk with DS about respecting pups space, leaving him alone when he was sleeping etc. That was about a month ago. Over the last week or so we’ve had a few incidents:

-he growled at DS when DH hugged him on arriving home from work
-growled and snapped the air at DS when he approached DH sitting on the sofa with pup next to him

This happened last night and so today I asked DS to come into the kitchen and give him a treat, he jumped at DS again growling and snapping.

My plan is to get DS to throw a treat on the floor for him everytime they’re in the room together. To not allow pup on sofa to sleep or sit next to DH and for DH not to hug DS in-front of pup (whilst we’re dealing with this at least).

DS is calm around pup, doesn’t rough and tumble with him but is obviously now feeling nervous around him.

Any suggestions or experiences gratefully received! I’m really worried about this and I’m desperate for things not to escalate and to do the best by our puppy.

[jinxpixie]

Your behaviourist can offer 1-2-1 on private land and also video consults are great (actually they have worked well as the behaviourist does not alter the behaviour in the household as they dog does not know they are there!).

You have done nothing wrong - say this several times a time when drinking You have a young dog, a mix of two very clever breeds. - this can be solved by a professional - it is always easier to see from the outside when you are less emotionally attached .

This too will pass

[grumpyorange]

@frostedviolets I do hope you don't have a dog! You'd put a puppy down for showing a normal puppy behaviour without giving it chance to mature and seek training

[Unforgettablefire]

The dog is resource guarding by the sounds of it.
Is the dog insecure? Any other negative behaviours? Obviously you need professional help but in the meantime I’d ask your son not to engage with the dog in case it antagonises him.
Be extra vigilant when dogs toys are out and when there’s food about and at mealtimes. Also take the dog bowl up when he’s finished eating and keep your son away from wherever the dog eats around mealtimes.
You’re right in saying a dog shouldn’t be punished for growling as it is a warning, as is air snapping so instead of punishing or going nuts it’s better to heed the warning and have the problem worked on. Definitely not by euthanasia though I think those days are long gone there’s a lot of help available now.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[ChandlerIsTheBestFriend]

I’d have gone fucking nuclear and she would have got the fright of her life.

Ah the foundation of all good dog discipline- terrify then. That never goes wrong.

[grumpyorange]

OP please don't terrify your dog. Be firm yes but don't go 'nuclear'

[Opoly54]

I’m really not a ‘nuclear’ kind of person, I can do firm but not much above that 😄 thank-you all so much for the advice. I really appreciate it.

He hasn’t shown any signs of resource guarding anything else but I will be aware of it around his meal times now.

I don’t think he’s a nervous dog. He’s cautious at times, if another dog approaches off lead he’ll sometimes stop and wait, give a woof and look to me for reassurance to go and play but most of the time he’s confident to just go straight up to say hello.

He’s great on walks, he gets nervous if a car zooms past quickly but takes everything else in his stride. He’s a lovely boy, we all love him dearly.

[vanillandhoney]

Honestly OP if you tackle this now you will most likely be fine.

Adolescent dogs are challenging - I don't know anyone who didn't struggle during the teenage period. There's reason lots of dogs end up in rehoming centres between 12-24 months of age!

A behaviourist is a good idea - if they can't come and visit you maybe arrange a Zoom call so they can speak to you and see your dog for themselves. I know it's not ideal but it might be better than speaking on the phone.

Good luck

[Opoly54]

Ok so we’ve got pup now sleeping in the corner of the living room in his own bed. It was surprisingly easy to get him off the sofa. DS is xboxing in his bedroom but tomorrow evening we’ll get him to sit down here with us. Hopefully this is a small step in the right direction. I’ve put so much time and energy and love into this pup, the stakes feel very high!

[englishrosie]

Those posters who have commented saying theyd euthanise a dog or "go fucking nuclear" lol I think you need some help and please don't ever own any animals okay thanks bye x

[Happenchance]

Due to your puppy’s age, he could be going through a fear period. If that’s the case, it’s especially important to handle this situation delicately. If he is going through a fear period, that could explain why the trigger for this behaviour change was something relatively innocuous; your son startling him when he was asleep.

Until you have a consultation with a behaviourist, it's impossible to know if this behaviour is due to resource guarding, fear of your son or something else.

Until you have had your consultation, I would advise against putting the puppy in any situation where he feels forced to growl or snap, such as having your son sat with you both on the sofa whilst the puppy is in the same room.

I would also advise against putting any pressure on the puppy to interact with your son, such as encouraging the puppy to come to your son so that he can give him a treat. If the puppy is acting this way out of fear of your son, he could easily be lured towards your son with the promise of a treat but then panic when he realises that he is so close to your son and lash out defensively.

Just in case he is resource guarding, it’s important to remember that dogs that resource guard are insecure. They fear that the resource is going to be taken away from them. So, doing this I’ve given a stern no and removed from the situation so far is likely to increase and/or escalate resource guarding because the thing he his fearful of (losing the resource) has happened, because he has been taken away from it. Also, as you have previously correctly stated, growls shouldn’t be punished because they are a warning. Growls are an amazing communication tool A growling dog doesn’t want to bite.

Hopefully, the behaviourist will see you as soon as possible because there is a child involved but a good behaviourist will insist that you have your puppy seen by a vet first to rule out any obvious health problems.

[Opoly54]

Happenchance many thanks.

I barely slept a wink last night. This thread has reassured me massively but the advice has been so conflicting I don’t know what to do until we can get professional advice.

We’ve not allowed pup on the sofa since it happened. We have unfortunately told DS we’ll keep our hugs for eachother away from the dog for now and I’ve decided not to let DS give him treats or put his food down. I don’t want to make anything worse and whilst doing that may not make things better I’d rather just keep the status quo for now.

[grumpyorange]

@Opoly54 there is no reason that your son can't put the food bowl down. This is a really good way of building a bond especially if pup loves food. Let your son put the bowl down then move well away. Pup then sees that DS is giving him nice things and the space to eat it.

[RottieLover95]

I think what @frostedviolets was saying was that left untreated, this behaviour can escalate really quickly into very aggressive, unpredictable behaviour, which could possibly result in the dog needing to be euthanised. It is more common than you think. I think you have made the right choice in stopping the dog from going on the sofa, dogs can become protective of things they deem as 'theirs', and so teaching him the sofa is a human only zone for now will be a good thing. Can I ask where the pup sleeps? I agree with the pp who said don't let your son become aa treat machine, but instead build respect between him and the dog by walking, playing fetch, son feeding the dog his meals, training him simple tricks, etc.

[Opoly54]

Ok we’ll let him put his food bowl down.

He sleeps in the spare bedroom on a dog bed.

[vanillandhoney]

There's absolutely no reason whatsoever why your son can't feed the dog. Just make sure there's someone else in the room to make sure everything is safe.

Get DS to put the dog into a sit and get him to wait (assuming your pup knows those commands) while DS puts the bowl down and steps back. Then, release the dog so he can have his dinner once DS has stepped safely away. I do this every mealtime with my dog and he now expects it. I'll tell him "dinner!" and I'll sort his food and he sits nicely and waits until I say "yes".

Honestly, DS feeding and training the puppy will massively increase the bond between them. Videos like Kikipup (free on YouTube) will also give you some tricks for DS to teach - obviously supervised by you, but it will massively increase the bond between them if DS is "the giver of food".

Keeping pup off the sofa is a good start - training him to stay in his bed while you do things like hug/play together without him would also be a good idea if you can do so safely. Ie. put the pup on a lead at first while you do things so that one adult can control pup safely while you train.

[jinxpixie]

@VanillandHoney you can not give the advice you are giving - you are giving basic training advice. It may be fine in this situation and this may be the right way to proceed but the OP has described a volatile situation that needs to be seen in real life. Please stop encouraging interaction between the son and the dog - we can not see the body language or the situation in rl.

I do not believe the dog is being aggressive from what has been described (but hey what do I know I can not she the situation!) but the dog is showing signs of stress and emotion which may not be as simple as giving the dog treats especially from the trigger which at the moment seems to be the son.

[ThornyR0se]

@jinxpixie absolutely agree.

The only advice should be to take the advice of a GOOD behaviourist.

It’s madness and totally irresponsible to advise interaction between dog/child until then.

[Opoly54]

We’ve just had lunch. Pup was settled on his mat when DS came in, he straight away rolled onto his back, tail wagging, DS asked if he could stroke him and I said yes so he had a little fuss. We ate lunch then went into the living room, pup jumped up on the sofa to sit next to DS but I said down and he curled up in his bed instead.

I’m going to keep managing every interaction between them carefully. We’re very lucky that we live in a calm, quiet house and I can control the environment (as much as possible).

I’ve enrolled into an online training programme too. I do train with him every day but I think something with more structure would help.

[frostedviolets]

Pup was settled on his mat when DS came in, he straight away rolled onto his back, tail wagging

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/canine-body-language-some-dogs-dont-want-belly-rubs/amp/

[Opoly54]

Oh wow I really am clueless! I always thought he loved belly rubs.

[Opoly54]

He does this to us too. If any of us have been gone for a while-wether in another room or away from the home, he’ll often roll over. I don’t think I’ve been so confused in my life!

[frostedviolets]

He might love belly rubs, it really depends on context and body language.

Mine will often sit for a cuddle then flip over for a belly rub - relaxed/no tension, tail held loosely relaxed on the floor and if you stop you’ll get a nudge or she’ll paw you.
In that scenario she wants a belly rub.

But she will also flip over during grooming.
She hates being groomed and when she rolls over here, she doesn’t want a belly rub.
She wants me to stop brushing her.
Her body is tense, sometimes there’s a whale eye (whites of eye showing), mouth closed and tense, her tail will be held up between her legs so it covers her private parts and some of her belly.

[princesstwinkle]

@frostedviolets oh for goodness sake. A dog lying on its back with its tail wagging is not because they feel threatened.

OP keep doing what you're doing. It could be months before you have a behaviourist able to come to your home and by this time you will have ruined any chances of a good interaction. If your pup approaches your son let them have the interaction. Let your son put down his food bowl and for goodness sake don't give up on tummy tickles!!!

[frostedviolets]

oh for goodness sake. A dog lying on its back with its tail wagging is not because they feel threatened

I didn’t say he felt threatened.
I said that the meaning depends on context and body language.
Which it does.

Sometimes a dog lying with the belly exposed wants a belly rub.

Sometimes a dog lying with the belly exposed is anxious and doesn’t want a belly rub.

It depends on context and body language.

Rather like a wagging tail does.

A wagging tail doesn’t mean ‘happy’.

My dog will wag her tail when nervous, a very fast, rapid ‘narrow’ wag.

She’ll also wag her tail when another dog approaches (she is anxious around dogs), the ‘wag’ is slow and if not recalled she’ll growl at the dog.

And you have the fast wag with wide strokes where her whole backside wags as well, that one means she is happy.

[Opoly54]

He only really does it when he’s happy to see us after we’ve been away. So a typical scenario would be-he’s been sleeping in the kitchen for a couple of hours, I come in to make a cup of tea-I always ignore him initially (so he doesn’t get too excited by us coming and going). When I do look his way he’ll start wagging like mad and as I get closer he’ll roll onto his back, still wagging, paws flopped. I’ll give his tummy a scratch then he stretches out, I’ll scratch the back of his legs and then he’ll get up and want to play. Does that sound like happy body language? It’s certainly always looked happy to me.