aggressive puppy

by Jo
(Oak Park IL USA)

My family and I are having problems with our 5 month old miniature poodle/ golden retriever mix. We bought him from a breeder when he was 9 weeks old and noticed resource guarding with bones and toys a few weeks later.

He would growl and show teeth if anyone came close to him but especially targeted my children (ages 5 and 8). When my husband and I would correct it with a firm "no!" and take the object away, he usually growled at us - now, he growls and snarls every time a guarded object is taken away. The aggression has worsened and we have had episodes where he'll guard sticks and anything he can chew on- I'm nervous to bring him to a park for fear that a child will want to pet him and if he is guarding, he will growl at them.

If he doesn't have anything in his possession, he can be perfectly friendly and great with kids. Initially, we tried trading him his guarded object for a treat but it rarely worked. Our obedience trainer suggested using a spray bottle to spray the dog in the face to correct his behavior and startle him enough to get the object back. We've done this for 3 weeks and haven't noticed any improvement in his behavior. This past weekend, we noticed his aggression extending to space- he growled and showed teeth when my daughter approached him while he was falling asleep on the floor. He snapped at and bit my son 2 times this weekend at unexpected times as the puppy wasn't sleeping or guarding an object- once just when my son came upon him suddenly. My son wasn't hurt but he broke the skin on his stomach and had he not had a shirt on, the injury would have been worse.

We have been told that it is unusual for a puppy of this age to show aggression like this and that he most likely cannot be changed. It is not an option for us to keep an aggressive dog as we have children in our house and I don't want to risk other children, let alone ours. We bought an e collar yesterday but I was told today that this can make the aggression worse. We cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars on dog trainers and would like to know if there is anything that you would suggest we can do or if you feel this is beyond correction.

Thank you,
JoAnne Heyer





Hi JoAnne
Your puppy definitely is showing significant guarding behavior, and as he's been doing this for quite some time it's not really surprising that the situation is getting worse. He's found it to be a very effective way of getting what he wants - basically to be left alone with whatever possession he has.

The fact that it's not extending to guarding 'space' and so on, is not a good development, and in my personal opinion, unless you get this under control there is a risk of someone, most likely a child, getting bitten quite badly.

The easiest time to correct this behavior is when a puppy is small and so are his teeth! The exchanging a guarded possession for a treat is the best way to go about it. Spraying him is unlikely to work for long even if it works initially.

Personally, if you have an ecollar I think it's worth a try. If possible I'd recommend starting out with one of the ones that corrects with a 'tone' rather than an electronic impulse. But even the electronic ones have a very low setting that shouldn't be more than mildly annoying to your pup.

At this point you need to control this behavior or this pup is at risk of being out of his home, so although physically punishing him or hurting him is absolutely a 'no-no', using a collar like this is worth a shot. Take a look at my Training Dog Collars page to learn all about how best to use these types of collars.

If you find it doesn't work, I'd recommend talking to your vet, a dog behavioral specialist may be able to help you in just a few sessions. It's easier to determine what to do and assess a pup's personality when you're interacting with them face to face, and a little bit of professional help may do the trick.

I never advocate 'getting rid of' (hate that expression!) a pet because it doesn't fit or has a behavior issue. But when it comes to a childs' safety, that has to come first. It may be that with an experienced owner, who doesn't have small children in the home, this pup could learn to overcome this behavior. But again, that really needs some 'hands on' assessment.

Your pup looks adorable, and he isn't being 'mean' intentionally. It's just that he's learned that he can get his own way with this behavior and naturally wants to 'push the boundaries' as he's an adolescent. Please try all avenues and options, as he is obviously well loved and well behaved in other areas.

I wish you the very best of luck.