3 month old puppy aggression

[CHRISTINE SULLIVAN]

Hi!  I am a new dog owner. I have a 3 month old female golden retriever puppy.  She has been growling lately. I have determined that it is mainly when people approach her when she is chewing a bone or when we disrupt her when she is sleeping (for example, if she is asleep on the floor and I need to put her in her crate).  Yesterday she actually bit my 5 year old who approached her when chewing her bone (I think she thought my daughter was going to take it).  I read what you wrote about respecting their growls and giving them treats when they are chewing a bone.  I guess I just want to know if this behavior sounds out of the ordinary and I should get outside help, or if this sounds like normal puppy behavior?  She is otherwise sweet and well behaved (for a puppy).

Thanks for your help.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there, 

Sorry for the delay. I have been away from my computer for a week and have been able to only sporadically connect here and there. I have put an announcement in the off topic section of the forums of being away from the 18-25th and hope that you were able to find some resources to help you out in the meanwhile. 

I am sorry to hear that your 5- year old child was bitten by your 3 month-old puppy. I hope she didn't cause much damage. 

To answer your question on whether this behavior is out of the ordinary and whether you may need some outside help, this is not easy to answer as it depends on a variety of factors. 

In general, it's not unusual for pups of this age to show this behavior, especially if they had to compete over resources when they were in the litter or if the environment in which they are living, gives them reason to feel stressed around resources (too many pets, children running around, noisy environments that don't allow them them to eat/sleep undisturbed). 

In face of the problem, the fact your puppy is growling is a good thing as it's her way of communicating her uneasiness. Problems though start when the growl (or other signs such as tensing up, keeping the head over the bone,  turning the head) are ignored which can cause the puppy to escalate to biting. It's unfortunate that young children often struggle in understanding what dog are trying to communicate and this is one of the many reasons why they are the most commonly bitten. It doesn't also help that their erratic movements, loud voices and running around makes dogs often feel uncomfortable, stressed and overwhelmed. 

At this age, puppies needs plenty of sleep. They have a lot of growing to do and that happens mostly when they sleep.

I would recommend giving her access to a place where she can sleep undisturbed so that she doesn't feel the need to growl to communicate her need to get some rest.  Puppies can get cranky when they don't get enough sleep and this increases their chances for nipping/misbehaving in general. Giving her a place of her own (crate, exercise pen) also prevents her from rehearsing the growling behavior and your child/other family members from waking her up, ultimately keeping your child safe. 

If you really need to move her from a resting spot to another, you can wait for her to wake up on her own (always ensuring nobody bothers her in the meanwhile) or calling her name and tossing a treat or ball so that she goes to the crate or placing some canned puppy  on a long spoon (or a Lickety stick) and seeing whether the scent of that arouses her from sleep and then guiding her with the spoon to her resting area and letting her lick the spoon once there. This offers a win-win because she shouldn't feel defensive when wakened up (think about how we would feel if we wake up to the smell of coffee and croissant!) and this helps her form positive associations with us and the place where she's meant to sleep. 

Ideally though, we would place our pups in their sleeping spots prior to falling asleep elsewhere so that we can stick to a routine and there is no need to move them around. You can give treats/ food puzzles there so as to create positive associations. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

She will also need a place to eat and enjoy her food on her own. If you want to give her a bone, she will need it away from your child so she doesn't feel the need to protect it. The more your pup rehearses food guarding/sleep guarding behaviors,  the more these behaviors will put roots and establish, so nipping these behaviors in the bud is paramount. 

The first step is therefore managing your pup's environment so that she doesn't feel stressed in these particular situations. This means letting her eat/sleep undisturbed in a crate or behind a play pen/baby gate (ensure your child can't stick fingers through). Your child can be in the same room, but at a distance so that your pup learns that your child poses no threat to her when she is eating or sleeping. Active supervision is paramount. 

Always pay attention to what seems to cause your pup stress by observing her body language. Growling, snapping and biting are the most obvious signs, but there are often many subtle signs preceding that.

Here is Kendal Shepherd's Ladder of Aggression: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dogs-dont-bite-blue/

While management prevents rehearsal of the problematic behavior, if you want to work on the behavior, you will need to help your pup establish trust. Guarding bones is a matter of not trusting us near them as they fear they will lose their possession. 

Since your puppy is so young, early intervention is likely to be successful if implemented correctly. If you haven't visited yet this page, it gives you an insight into preventing resource guarding and it can also be used as early intervention for mild cases in young puppies too.  One very important step is keeping the pup under threshold as much as possible. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/the-importance-of-preventing-resource-guarding-in-puppies/

In general, these procedures when carried out correctly are enough to help pups overcome a pup's initial trust issues, however, since you have a child, it would be safest carrying out behavior modification under the guidance of a professional and/or using stringent management protocols when the pup has a valuable or not giving any valuables at all (some prefer to stop giving bones if that's the only thing the puppy/dog guards). 

Bones are often guarded more than food because they tend to be at the top of the hierarchy as the top best things dogs like, and because it takes time for them to chew them making them a long-lasting valuable which requires the dog to be totally relaxed in a lying down position which can make them feel vulnerable.   

Make sure to start training your pup the leave it and drop it cues as they will turn valuable that day she approaches or tries to pick up something she shouldn't have:

"Leave it" is needed when you are actually seeing your pup approach something that she shouldn't have. To start training this, you will need to practice with safe items that are low in value, and that you know don't evoke any possessive, resource guarding behaviors. Then, you gradually add more and more challenges. The fundamental rule is always rewarding with something that is higher in value than the item left so that your pup becomes more and more compliant because "great things always happen when I leave something and look up at mom."

Here is the guide on training "leave it": https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/

Here is a video demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwbbAeEZPaU

"Drop it" is needed instead when your pup is actually in possession of something and you likely missed telling him "leave it" on time. As with leave it, you will need to train this starting with items that are very low value from your dog's perspective and then gradually practice with things that are more and more valuable (yet safe to practice with). You will also need to use rewards that are higher in value than the item dropped. 

We can't practice this obviously with items that can pose a danger to our pups, but we should practice enough to obtain a fluent, almost reflexive response that will carry over to those items because of such a strong and positive rehearsal history. With lots of practice, dogs will become more and mor compliant because 'when I drop something from my mouth, I always get something that is far better!"

Here is the guide on training "drop it:" https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/

Here is a video demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUnItd7OEmw

If it's something that is possibly dangerous for a dog to ingest, we can try the above approaches as well, but if it's something really life threatening we need to think quickly and evaluate risks to the dog and our safety. This often takes a judgement call and quick thinking. 

How dangerous is the item to the dog really? Our vet and websites such as Pet Poison Control/ASPCA poison control center can educate us on some essentials. Knowledge about these can help us in our decision making. 

How good is the dog's bite inhibition? Here are ways to refine it in puppies (this guide is for adults not chilfdren) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/

 How is the dog's owner's relationship? Are there trust issues?

Does the dog have any health issues? In dogs prone to pancreatitis ingestion of something fatty may cause severe digestive upset. 

There are many factors to consider. 

I hope this helps! I will  be happy to discuss anything further.

Happy training!

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques (no shock, prongs, or physical corrections) for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

I hope all is going well with your pup, let me know if you have any questions. 

Best,

Adrienne 

[CHRISTINE SULLIVAN]

Thank you for all the information Adrienne!  I have been working a lot with my daughter regarding letting the puppy eat and sleep in peace. In general, our home is a peaceful environment so I don't think that she is overly stressed.  I have to admit though that the growling is disturbing me.  She doesn't only growl when she is disturbed while resting.   She also growls when I pick her up if she doesn't want to move.  For example, when I am getting ready to leave and it is time to go in her crate.  If she doesn't come with a treat so I pick her up.  (She is in good health so I am not worried about underlying health concerns).  When she growls I stop what I am doing, so I am afraid that I am teaching her to growl to get what she wants. If food rewards don't work,  and we are supposed to only use positive reinforcement, then what are we supposed to do?  Your story about the Rottweiler growling made me scared that if I do the wrong thing that she will lash out someday.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

That's great that you have been working on teaching your daughter to leave the pup alone when eating and sleeping. I hope you have also started working on some training with your pup and creating positive associations.

Although your pup may not seem stressed and your home is quiet, consider that growling is a sign of stress as they dog is manifesting not feeling comfortable in certain situations. We want to ameliorate the situation so that the puppy doesn't feel the need to growl because she feels more comfortable around us and trusts us. 

When you say "food rewards" don't work, can you explain in what exact circumstance? Is it when you are trying to close her in the crate? Have you worked on creating positive associations with the crate? Are you using high-value rewards? 

If you need to pick her up often, it would be important taking steps to making picking her up feel less aversive to her, here is a guide on this: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/growling-when-being-picked-up/

Video demonstration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZZPrHc0JQE

I would avoid having your child pick your pup up until she can do so correctly so not to undo all your hard work. 

If you stop doing what you are doing when she is growling, you are communicating to your pup that you are aware of her emotions and that you'll take steps to make her feel more comfortable in the same circumstances in the future. It's when we suppress growling that big problems start:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/growling-never-suppressed-dogs/

After you pick your pup up to put her in the crate, it may help to give another treat once in there so to further help provide positive associations with the crate.