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Originally Posted by Judi W Yes, it does sound like you have a fearful pup. Whether this is a stage or part of his character, I certainly don't know, but I'd like to offer a bit of advice. Because he is a fearful pup, when people want to greet him and he is in your arms, he feels trapped and that is why he is responding with aggression. Put him on the ground and let him work it out on his own. That way he can retreat if he chooses or move forward at his own pace. A fearful animal that is cornered and feels trapped is left with no other choice in their frightened minds but attack. When the people then jump back or move away, this programs his response into his mind that it works well for him when he is uncomfortable and he will continue that response. It is your job to protect him from being pushed into a situation where he is going to try to scare people away. That means you will need to tell people when you see he is worried, that they should just leave him be or attempt to coax him forward, but they should not push in on him. Make sure you always greet people in a friendly manner so he can take a clue from your attitude, but let him have four on the floor. |
Judi - I appreciate what you say and I definitely do that when I have people at my home or when we are at someone elses house but the problem has been when we are out on the street and as he is not fully vaccinated yet, I couldn't/can't put him on the floor :( .
You are totally right though as when he is on the floor and he can approach at his own pace he is fine (apart from the growls), it is when he is being held that he is more growly or goes to bite - I partly blame the people though as many a time I have told strangers not to swoop on him and I could not believe when one guy did not listen to me and walked behind me so I could not see him and then put his hands on Kane - Kane bit him - I had a right go at the guy as, if Kane was bigger and did that we all know who would get the blame and the repercussions - my boy
By the way - is the growling normal with this breed of pups as he seems to growl alot, when we play, when he mouths/bites me/my boyfriend/daughter, startling noises, etc. I'm not really worried as I am aware that growling is not necessarily aggressiveness but just his was of communicating - best to double-check though!