Snarling and nipping

[TimberDunn]

Help! I had asked for help before because our puppy (now 5 months old) was resource guarding. That has gotten much better for the most part. But today my puppy was under the bed (which he knows he is not allowed to be) and when my husband tried to coax him out he wouldn’t come and started snarling at my husband. We eventually reached under the bed to pull him out and he went nuts! Snarling and trying to bite,..he sounded rabid! I have never heard a dog snarl the way he did today. We got him out and crates him for the behavior but I’m really worried. I don’t want bad behaviors like this to carry on into adulthood. The way he acted today is the kind of behavior you see from dogs that have to be put down from severe aggression issues. I’m not sure how to prevent him from acting like this or how to “train” him against it. It not as easy as teaching them not to jump on the sofa or the counters. How do you stop this behavior? Should I be worried?

[BlaiddBach]

Being 5 months now he's possibly becoming a teenager and is pushing his boundaries... you're right you want to stop this kind of behaviour before it gets out of hand... if it's really concerning you it might be worth getting a behaviourist involved because you really don't want a dog that bites!

Just something to be aware of though... had he got a toy/bone etc under the bed because if so it could be related to the resource guarding issue and him feeling trapped when you tried to get him out...

Regardless I can suggest a couple of things worth trying...

Firstly "set him up for success" - basically meaning if you know there is a problem area (under the bed for instance) make sure he doesn't have access to that area, this way he can't get into trouble for not coming out of there because he can't get there in the first place... I did this with our kitchen cos I didn't want the dog underfoot while handling hot pans etc so I got a dog gate to go across the doorway (our kitchen is 'open plan' to the hall) meaning that he couldn't get into trouble for being there since he couldn't get in any more.

Secondly try putting a "house-line" on him - this is a very light weight long lead that you attach to his collar and it will trail round the house behind him... this way if he does go somewhere you don't want/can't reach him you have a way of getting control of him without having to reach under things/grab at him directly. It may take a little bit of training to get him to accept the house-line but if he's used to a long-line at all being used outside then it should be relatively straight forwards.

Hopefully it's just a teenage phase but definatly work on it so it doesn't become habitual!

[TimberDunn]

Being 5 months now he's possibly becoming a teenager and is pushing his boundaries... you're right you want to stop this kind of behaviour before it gets out of hand... if it's really concerning you it might be worth getting a behaviourist involved because you really don't want a dog that bites!

Just something to be aware of though... had he got a toy/bone etc under the bed because if so it could be related to the resource guarding issue and him feeling trapped when you tried to get him out...

Regardless I can suggest a couple of things worth trying...

Firstly "set him up for success" - basically meaning if you know there is a problem area (under the bed for instance) make sure he doesn't have access to that area, this way he can't get into trouble for not coming out of there because he can't get there in the first place... I did this with our kitchen cos I didn't want the dog underfoot while handling hot pans etc so I got a dog gate to go across the doorway (our kitchen is 'open plan' to the hall) meaning that he couldn't get into trouble for being there since he couldn't get in any more.

Secondly try putting a "house-line" on him - this is a very light weight long lead that you attach to his collar and it will trail round the house behind him... this way if he does go somewhere you don't want/can't reach him you have a way of getting control of him without having to reach under things/grab at him directly. It may take a little bit of training to get him to accept the house-line but if he's used to a long-line at all being used outside then it should be relatively straight forwards.

Hopefully it's just a teenage phase but definatly work on it so it doesn't become habitual!

Thanks for the suggestion! I will try the “house line” with him to see if it helps. And if he has another episode like this mornings we will definitely consider bringing a behaviorist in. It really scared me this morning...not a fear of him, but a fear of if he pulled that when he’s older. I think he is just off today because he has been naughty all day. He’s been rowdy and bitey and just plain bad today so maybe it just has to do with that. I’m really hoping it’s all a phase or all from him teething right now.
Thanks though!

[Blustag]

Hi. Sorry you are having problems. Please email me direct to arcticbreeds@yahoo.co.uk for help as I dont recognise your username.

THanks