fear aggression?

[lieud]

hey, i noticed that my four month pup will growl and bark if he hears something around the corner but can't see what it is. i know that this is not a good thing, since he is not secure with himself. what should i do to help fix this? we are in puppy class, he's been socialized to other ppl and dogs, and we correct the behavior when it happens and show him what or who is around the corner, any other suggestions??

[zorro13]

What do you mean he isn't secure with himself? I'm not understanding that fully. With puppies, your obedience training that you are doing and socializatioin help to build confidence. All pups will be different, some will show more confidence right off the bat and some will come into their own, just depends. When you say he hears something around the corner, are you talking about in the house or outside or while walking? I wouldn't be quick to label something as fear aggression in a 4 month old pup with just that happening. Pups can have different responses to the unknown, they can show some caution, take a wait and see attitude, then go forward to investigate--this is ok. Some can be bold enough to just go in and take a look with no hesitation--which is ok. If you got one turning tail and taking off--this could be a problem. What you want to see is forward movement with the confidence and curiosity though cautiously investigating something.

[thenewpup]

Originally Posted by lieud

hey, i noticed that my four month pup will growl and bark if he hears something around the corner but can't see what it is. i know that this is not a good thing, since he is not secure with himself. what should i do to help fix this? we are in puppy class, he's been socialized to other ppl and dogs, and we correct the behavior when it happens and show him what or who is around the corner, any other suggestions??

My Rottweiler is about 4 months old too. He came into his bark about a month ago. This is the age that puppies realize they can bark and some pups just go crazy with it. Also, Rottweilers have a natural desire to protect, so barking at strange noises or strange people is not necessarily unexpected.

A dog that is frightened will usually back up and have a nervous manner about themselves. A confident pup will usually stay in place or look to you as a reference. Whenever the pup barks, lead the way and investigate. If it was something the dog should be barking at (rattling outside, someone walking in the yard, or simply someone the dog has never seen before) praise the dog. If the dog is barking for the sake of barking, ignore the dog. There is nothing wrong with having a Rottweiler be a watch dog. The dog can still be friendly and let you know that someone is there.

When Tank is spooked, he'll have a short bark. If he doesn't know the person and senses that I don't know the person, he'll bark confidently (until I tell him enough). As far as him being spooked, I'll leave him alone for a bit. Give him a chance to investigate on his own (if I feel that the situation is safe). Once he discovers what it was that spooked him, he's more confident the next time around.

It's very difficult to make a dog fear-aggressive if you are being patient, consistent, and fair. Puppies will be curious and will try to appear "bigger" to things that scare them. Give the pup a chance to investigate what scared them. This breed is also protective, so teach the pup that it's ok to alert you to changes by barking at certain things.

Also, the pup has to figure out when to bark and when not to, and this won't happen over night. So for a little while, the dog will bark around corners until he has gained enough experience to learn that what normally is around a corner isn't worth barking at.