Puppy Agression

[Kactriz]

I have a 12 week old westie puppy who I have had for about a week. He has been a joy so far, and is very friendly with me and my family. Last night, however, I gave him a small rawhide bone to chew on under my supervision. After awhile, I went to get him and the bone, and as I approached him (before even touching him), he growled, lunged, and bit my hand. I did not surprise him- I'm certain he saw me approaching him.

I was shocked because he had not previously shown any signs of aggression. He is not at all aggressive when playing with toys- he is actually doing quite well learning "drop", and he does not seem aggressive with his kibbles or other treats he's been given. Obviously, I am very nervous about this behavior and want to correct this aggression or dominance issue as soon as possible. I would appreciate any advice on how to prevent this behavior in the future and how to react if a similar situation occurs. Thank you for your help!

 

[Saje]

Ah there are lots of threads on the forum if you want to do a quick search on 'food aggression' One thing you can start doing is hand feeding him right away.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

Search the web on resource guarding. This is an easy fix if you will follow their instructions.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

ok, now I have more time to give you a bit more info.

1) starting NOW, play "trade" with this puppy. Give him some ho hum article. Then offer him a tasty (very small) goodie. As he is dropping what he has in his mouth, say out. Do this often, a good routine would be 15 times per day. 5 times in the morning, 5 times mid day, and 5 times in the evening, or etc.

2) Same thing while he is eating. Save up some REALLY good stuff. Leftover table meats (small pieces), strong smelling cheese, etc. The bits can be quite tiny. As he is eating, walk by his bowl and drop in a yummy. He will begin to look forward to your approaching his bowl. As he does, put your hand close to the bowl and place the goody in the bowl, or feed it to him.

Do you see where this is leading? You are going to teach the dog that he need not fear yours (or anyone's) approach to him while he has something good. You are going to teach him that people bring good things, they do not come to take away his prizes.

Meantime, avoid situations that could result in what happened to you earlier.

I would strongly recommend you do a bit of reading as well.

2 I highly recommend that you will likely find in your local library are:

For The Love Of A Dog by Patricia McConnell. Anything by this author is recommended highly....

And Bone Would Rain From The Sky by Suzanne Clothier.

I would also recommend you seek out and get in an organized training class as soon as possible. Keep in mind a Westie is a terrier, and thinks VERY highly of himself, as he should. Organized training will help him work with you as a partner, and will build a bond of love and respect between the 2 of you that will be highly rewarding for the both of you.

 

[Melissa_W]

I definitely recommend the trading game that Red described. I've been doing that with our foster Zoey and it seems to be working well. Make sure you take away all high value items at first and don't move on to valuable items too quickly.

 

[Kactriz]

Thank you all for your advice. Redyre, I will definitely start working with him on your tips, and will check out the training books. I am planning on taking him to puppy classes once he is all set with his shots. Thanks again!

 

[bubbatd]

Start working with him now ... this isn't a puppy class thing ! Good breeders should work with this from day one ! If I had an aggressive pup working on a good mommy teat , after I felt he'd have his fill , I'd take him off and put him/her on a lesser one and give someone else a chance . I always had large litters and all had to share ! Same later on when they were old enough for treats. Food aggression is something I will not tolerate ! At any age !