We have a 9 week old 1/2 lab, 1/2 golden. He's been a great pup until This past Sunday We took him for a jeep ride and stopped at a friends were there were 3 other dogs besides himself and our 9 year old golden who he has been around since he's been with us a week ago today. The youngest pup there was also a lab and he cornered him under a vehicle and was was relentlessly bothering him. Our puppy is very skiddish. He is afraid of new noises and we were trying to socialize him with other dogs. I'm not sure if three was over kill? The older dogs including our own didn't bother him. But the younger lab would not leave him be and we had a hard time getting him to come out from under the vehicle. We were there maybe an hour and when we left he was fine acting in the jeep and we took him and his brother swimming. I held him the entire time we were on our ride. Since Sunday when you pick him up he is ok for a few seconds then he starts growling and flailing and tries to snap at you. It's scary. It's worse if you try to continue holding him or tightening your grip(so he doesn't fall). What do we do? Did we scare him with the jeep ride? We both agree the dogs were too much and he won't be returning there. But again I need to socialize him. I'm at a loss. Please help!
He may have been hurt when under the vehicle and when you pick him up now, it hurts. I know you held him all the way home and he seemed fine, but the pain may have started the next day. You can socialise him without taking him to meet other dogs, little rides in the Jeep that end with a scamper somewhere nice. If you cannot hold him you can take him in the Jeep to a supermarket car park, open up the windows and let him watch the world go by, do the same at a children's playpark, or outside a school.
Ok, I was wondering if he was hurt, we support his bottom when picking up and holding. He goes to our Vet on Friday morning for his introduction. I just didn't know because he was making the same growling noises while cornered at our friends house. We had a hard time getting him to come out. He is a scared little guy about this new world. I don't want to mess him up and end up having him be an aggressive dog.
Don't worry and don't beat yourself up about it, lesson well learned that it was too much too soon. (((Hugs))) Now start again, calm and consistent, and introduce new things on a little and often basis. It does sound as though the poor pup was totally intimidated by the other youngster and may have been hurt in all the shenanigans. Keep an eye on him for any injuries and let the vet know what happened on Friday so he can give him a thorough check over. It's extremely unlikely you're going to end up with an aggressive dog, he'll soon get over this little blip.
Should I refrain from picking him up? I need to be able to pick him up and handle him to get him in and out of our vehicles. I don't want to cause him pain if that is what is going on.
He shows no signs of being in pain while playing,running and general shenanigans. It seems like it's just being picked up and held he is not liking. You can lie on the floor and play with him with toys and belly rubs and such. No signs of aggression there, no food aggression at all. No aggression towards our cats or other dog. He play growls with toys. It's like another dog clicks into place when you pick him up. I'm baffled
There might not be any connection between being scared by the other puppy, and you picking him up. They might be unrelated. He might be scared about you picking him up for a completely different reason. Dogs with poor frustration tolerance can be very uncomfortable being picked up (frustration tolerance is inherited to a large degree, but you can do a lot to improve it by training). Humans are absolute giants compared to small puppies, and it could be a big deal on it's own being picked up. Added to that, once a puppy is held by a human, he is very constrained, unable to move away, even unable to move if he is not very comfortable etc. So I'd work on him being very confident around your hands, arms etc - if he is fine with you sitting on the floor, then do that, get him to climb on you - make it a game. Restrain him for just a second, feed a treat, and gradually get him used to being held still by a human. You might find that you need to do the same if you hold him by a collar etc. Be very considerate when you have to lift him, encourage him towards you with a treat, pick him up slowly with both hands, don't swing him, and so on. In terms of socialisation, it's really easy to move too quickly with a shy puppy. It's easy to move too quickly with a bold puppy too! Think quality, not quantity - every single interaction needs to be happy, positive. Watch your puppy carefully, don't assume he is ok, watch him and make sure he is enjoys his new experiences. If not, back off a bit, and slow down.
