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Puppies use their mouths to investigate the world, and the best thing you can do, in addition to showing them what is, and is not acceptable, is to supply them with plenty of legal chew toys that are designed to satisfy this natural behaviour and help them through the teething phase. You are welcome to browse our website to see our top quality chew toys that are available.
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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 reactive behaviour, 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 reactive behaviour 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 reactive 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 reactive behaviour towards other pups when it first goes to puppy school.
Should you be worried if your pup shows reactive 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.
Reactive behaviour 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?
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 reactive behaviour, 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 reactive behaviour 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 reactive 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 reactive behaviour towards other pups when it first goes to puppy school.
Should you be worried if your pup shows reactive 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.
Reactive behaviour 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.
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