Aggression in Pups
by Friendsofthedog
by Friendsofthedog
What is aggressive behaviour?
In this article we are referring to aggressive behaviour, however, we prefer the terminology ‘reactive behaviour’ – in other words the pup is reacting to something it is not happy about. This helps to put a different spin on the behaviour, and you can examine why it is happening and then take the steps to change the behaviour.
We are not talking here about a puppy chewing on you and biting down too hard when being played with, although this is also not acceptable and the pup should be taught that human skin is not something to chew on (it hurts!),behaviour such as this, is not actual aggression.
If you look carefully at the pups body language, you may see early threats of aggression in that the pup’s body may go stiff, the body goes still, the ears go back, the eyes harden, or the muzzle may be drawn upwards a bit into a snarl, and the muzzle hairs stiffen. Not all owners are aware of these early signs, and may only notice the aggression when the pups growls, bears teeth, lunges with the intent to nip, or actually nips or bites.
The most common type of aggression from a pup is if you go near it while it is eating out of its bowl, or chewing on a delicious chew bone, it will growl at you.
Other times the pup may become aggressive when you go to lift it off a comfy chair, when you try to pick it up off the floor, when you try to give it a cuddle, and some pups don’t like it when you touch certain areas of its body, and they will react with aggressive behaviour – very often the feet, tail, ears and mouth areas.
Another common occurrence is the pup that shows aggressive behaviour towards other pups when it first goes to puppy school.
Should you be worried if your pup shows aggressive behaviour – yes! Some owners think the pup will just grow out of this behaviour or that it is cute, it won’t grow out of it, and the behaviour is not cute – the chances are that each time the pup gets away with this behaviour, it will both escalate in frequency and the odds are that the behaviour will become more severe – why? Simple, the pup has learnt that the behaviour works, so is more likely to occur.
Aggression is always something that should be taken seriously, and if you are in any doubt at all as to how to handle it, rather call in a qualified canine behaviourist, who can show you how to change the behaviour, and also determine as to why it is actually happening.
What causes Aggressive Behaviour?
How to avoid aggression
How To
a. Swapping toys – have two identical toys such as two ropes the same – or toys that are not of major value to the pup and they must be the same. Kneel on the floor with your pup, and place one rope behind your back. With the other hand start to play with your pup with the other rope, dragging on the floor (like prey) to build excitement levels. Word of warning don’t let your pup get too excited!
b.As the pup grabs onto the rope and starts to pull, bring the other toy from behind your back and show it to your pup. As the pup starts to let go of the rope in its mouth, says ‘swap’ and immediately give your pup the other rope. This is practiced over and over, and client can build up to using toys of more value.
c.Toy/object for food – start off with lower value toy and this time instead of two toys use one low value toy as above, and a high value apiece of food hidden behind your back. Build up the play as above and just as the pup starts to play tuggy, bring the treat our from behind your back, and hold it right in front of the pup’s nose. As the pup starts to release the toy in order to get the treat, say ‘swap’ and give the treat, as you take the toy away. Immediately give the toy back.
d.This is also built up with objects of higher value and you can eventually swap a bone for another bone. Just remember that what you are offering must be of higher value to the pup than what is in its mouth.
Points to bear in mind
A good puppy school will teach you the Swap Exercise, as well as the Leave exercise and will probably go over Food Bowl exercises and how to do them as well. The importance of taking your pup to a top Puppy School cannot be stressed enough.
In this article we are referring to aggressive behaviour, however, we prefer the terminology ‘reactive behaviour’ – in other words the pup is reacting to something it is not happy about. This helps to put a different spin on the behaviour, and you can examine why it is happening and then take the steps to change the behaviour.
We are not talking here about a puppy chewing on you and biting down too hard when being played with, although this is also not acceptable and the pup should be taught that human skin is not something to chew on (it hurts!),behaviour such as this, is not actual aggression.
If you look carefully at the pups body language, you may see early threats of aggression in that the pup’s body may go stiff, the body goes still, the ears go back, the eyes harden, or the muzzle may be drawn upwards a bit into a snarl, and the muzzle hairs stiffen. Not all owners are aware of these early signs, and may only notice the aggression when the pups growls, bears teeth, lunges with the intent to nip, or actually nips or bites.
The most common type of aggression from a pup is if you go near it while it is eating out of its bowl, or chewing on a delicious chew bone, it will growl at you.
Other times the pup may become aggressive when you go to lift it off a comfy chair, when you try to pick it up off the floor, when you try to give it a cuddle, and some pups don’t like it when you touch certain areas of its body, and they will react with aggressive behaviour – very often the feet, tail, ears and mouth areas.
Another common occurrence is the pup that shows aggressive behaviour towards other pups when it first goes to puppy school.
Should you be worried if your pup shows aggressive behaviour – yes! Some owners think the pup will just grow out of this behaviour or that it is cute, it won’t grow out of it, and the behaviour is not cute – the chances are that each time the pup gets away with this behaviour, it will both escalate in frequency and the odds are that the behaviour will become more severe – why? Simple, the pup has learnt that the behaviour works, so is more likely to occur.
Aggression is always something that should be taken seriously, and if you are in any doubt at all as to how to handle it, rather call in a qualified canine behaviourist, who can show you how to change the behaviour, and also determine as to why it is actually happening.
What causes Aggressive Behaviour?
- It could be that there is a genetic aspect brought down from a mother or father. This is why it is so important to meet and interact with the parents, as this is the stock what your pup comes from and if getting from a breeder, ensure that the breeder is the top of the pops as they will not breed from a dog that is showing aggressive tendencies. Have a look at this article to help you find a Responsible Breeder to get some tips.
- Another genetic aspect is one of fear – did you know that approximately 98% of aggressive behaviour in dogs stems from fear? It is just that the pup learned what worked by showing aggression, and gradually the aggression increased as it was never dealt with. Another reason why you should meet the parents, and also avoid getting either the bossiest puppy in the litter, or the one that sits alone, is nervous about approaching you. Here is an article as to what to look for when choosing a pup.
In the example given higher up of a pup showing aggression when meets other pups at puppy school for the first time, this is a perfect example of fear behaviour. It could also be that the pup is fine to start with, but during free play it experiences bullying from another pup. - If you have the situation that the pup came from a large litter, aggression could occur due to the pup having had to fight for its share of food when in the litter - with a top notch breeder this would not occur - the feeding routine would be supervised.
- Lack of early socialization. All pups should stay with their moms and litter mates until 8 week of age. During this period, they go through several stages, and the period 5 – 8 weeks is critical. It is here that the mom will dole out discipline, and the pup will learn by playing with its litter mates, which behaviours work and which don’t. This is why Singleton pups (only one pup in a litter), have such a hard time later on in life, as they just don’t get the crucial social interaction that they require. Pups that are taken away from their mom and litter mates before the 8 week period are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to developing their social skills, and very often behaviours that are exhibited are resource guarding, fear and aggressive behaviour – they simply have not learn the social skills they require.
- One Event Learning – it could be that the pup has already had a bad experience, such as a child picking it up and dropping it, or hurting it, and it may act in an aggressive manner when people touch it or try to pick it up, or the pup received a huge fright when it was bullied by another pup or dog and this has caused the aggression towards other pups or dogs.
- Pain – if the pup is aggressive when touching any areas of its body, or when being picked up, it could be that it has pain in a particular area of its body.
- What not to do
- Very often owners inadvertently reinforce the behaviour by shouting or even smacking the pup – all this will do is to reinforce the behaviour you don’t want!
- Never tease a puppy and don’t engage in rough play with a pup, either children or adults.
- Don't allow young children to play with the pup unless supervised.
- If the pup growls, do not discipline the pup – the pup is giving you a strong message that it is not happy, and preventing it from growling could mean that next time, the pup will just bite. Get professional help to change the behaviour and determine why it is happening.
How to avoid aggression
- If getting your pup from a breeder, ensure that the breeder is top of the pops and refer to the articles mentioned above.
- Early socialization - All pups should stay with their moms and litter mates until 8 week of age. During this period, they go through several stages, and the period 5 – 8 weeks is critical. It is here that the mom will dole out discipline, and the pup will learn by playing with its litter mates, which behaviours work and which don’t.
- In addition to meeting the parents and seeing if there are any potential problems, spend some time watching and interacting with the pups before you make your final choice and see what their reaction is to people, when food is involved, and what the pups reaction is to being picked up.
- When your pup comes home, get him used to people touching his food bowl, simply by offering a lovely treat as you do this. You can start with the pup eating, and drop in a high value treat. When the pup is used to this, touch the bowl, and at the same time drop in another high value treat – what is the pup learning? When people touch my food bowl, lovely treats appear! On a similar vein, after you have done the above exercise, offer the pup a treat while eating and at the same time touch him gently on his body.
- Let him be picked up in a secure manner by adults and children under supervision and make this a positive experience by always offering a treat while it is happening. Don’t just go in and grab the pup as he may get a fright. Rather call his name, bend down next to him (not bending over him) and slowly and gently pick him up, supporting him with one hand between his legs and your other hand holding the hindquarters gently - we have supplied you with an article on this at the bottom. If the pup shows any sign of aggression, mention to the puppy school and what is occurring so you can get the help you need, or alternatively call in a behaviourist.
- Pick up food bowls and put them away after eating - this will prevent resource guarding of food bowls.
- Put down your basic rules of what you will and will not accept as soon as he comes home. Remember that you should never smack a pup as this could cause aggression, and as above, no rough play.
- Ensure that the puppy school you choose works only with Lure and Reward Training, and no aversive training methods are used.
- Teach him a simple Swap exercise – By their very nature dogs are resource guarders – they would have to be in order to survive. The main reason that pups and dogs are reluctant to surrender objects to their owners is that we take them away and don’t give them back. Teaching a swap is one of the surest ways to end up with a dog that does not resource guard towards people. Student - On average, it is easier to start to do the Swap with a dog with a treat, however, if the dog is toy driven, the option is below.
How To
a. Swapping toys – have two identical toys such as two ropes the same – or toys that are not of major value to the pup and they must be the same. Kneel on the floor with your pup, and place one rope behind your back. With the other hand start to play with your pup with the other rope, dragging on the floor (like prey) to build excitement levels. Word of warning don’t let your pup get too excited!
b.As the pup grabs onto the rope and starts to pull, bring the other toy from behind your back and show it to your pup. As the pup starts to let go of the rope in its mouth, says ‘swap’ and immediately give your pup the other rope. This is practiced over and over, and client can build up to using toys of more value.
c.Toy/object for food – start off with lower value toy and this time instead of two toys use one low value toy as above, and a high value apiece of food hidden behind your back. Build up the play as above and just as the pup starts to play tuggy, bring the treat our from behind your back, and hold it right in front of the pup’s nose. As the pup starts to release the toy in order to get the treat, say ‘swap’ and give the treat, as you take the toy away. Immediately give the toy back.
d.This is also built up with objects of higher value and you can eventually swap a bone for another bone. Just remember that what you are offering must be of higher value to the pup than what is in its mouth.
Points to bear in mind
- Practice this exercise when pup is hungry for the second part.
- Don’t try this initially with high value resources, build up gradually.
- Ensure that pup does not get over excited and when starting, do the Swap a few seconds after the pup starts to pull on the object.
A good puppy school will teach you the Swap Exercise, as well as the Leave exercise and will probably go over Food Bowl exercises and how to do them as well. The importance of taking your pup to a top Puppy School cannot be stressed enough.
- Your pup will be ready for puppy school as soon as it has received the 2nd set of vaccinations (this depends on the situation where parvo is concerned, check with your vet), so look for a good puppy school and enrol as soon as possible. A good puppy school will ensure that the experience is a positive one for your pup and will know what to do if any signs of aggression are exhibited. Some puppy schools even offer a behaviour session for the owner before the pup comes home which is a bonus, as you will then have all the tools and knowledge to get a good foundation in place for a balanced and happy pup.
- A good puppy school will also teach you Bite Inhibition – this is how to teach your pup to accept food from you without losing your fingers, and also when playing with the pup. This is a crucial part of teaching a pup to have a soft bite and that human skin is something to be very gentle with, so before booking, confirm that this exercise is taught.
- The more socialization you do the better, so don’t just stop at the end of Puppy One. Continue onto Puppy 2 and keep up the socialization with further training, having other pups over to play, going to dog walks etc. Just a word here, never expose your pup to situations such as above until two weeks after third set of vaccinations to ensure that your pup is free from disease.
- Get as many calm people of different sexes and different ages to interact with the pup in a positive manner – always supervise children.
- Your puppy school will give you more info on this topic, but do take your pup to the vet, groomer etc and ensure that these are positive experiences for you pup with lots of praising and treating occurring. He will get used to these being enjoyable, and you will be preventing fear associated with them.
- If aggression over food or a toy, then do the food bowl exercise mentioned at each and every meal as in the section on Prevention, and the Swap exercise. These need to be practiced over and over, once a week will not result in the behaviour you do want. If you are not winning, get professional assistance.
- Check there is no physical pain when touching the pup that could be causing the reaction or that the pup appears off colour – if you suspect this could be the cause, then an immediate visit to the vet is required.
- Ensure that children are not teasing or interacting with the pup in a manner that could cause aggression and teach the children how to interact properly with a dog.
- If the pup is being aggressive when it is on a comfy chair and does not want to be taken off, then restrict the pup access to these simply by putting up some simply boxes on the chair, and ask the Puppy School for assistance to change this behaviour, or get in touch with a professional.
- Never smack a puppy as mentioned above – the owner is now being aggressive, and all this will accomplish, is to increase the aggressive behaviour from the pup.
- If the pup is biting, and/or showing aggression often, contact the breeder and consider returning the puppy and do this as soon as possible – the longer the pup is with you, the more heartbreak is involved and unless treated properly the aggression could increase. The whole family needs to be comfortable with the pup, especially if children are involved, and should not have any fear of it at all.
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