I was on the beach today with my 8 month old chocolate lab, Toby. Normally he is very friendly with other dogs and their owners. Today, however, he ran over to a 4 month old lab that was on a lead. At first he just sniffed him then suddenly he had the pup pinned to the ground and was growling at him. This has really shaken me as he has always been incredibly friendly. Afterwards he behaved as he normally does towards every other dog we encountered. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as to why he behaved this way. Thanks
Re: Dog was aggressive to a puppy Hi Karen ,just wanted to say welcome,I'm sorry you've had a fright with Toby.I can't help with your question as Dexter is our first dog,a 14 month old yellow boy.all I can say is that I've read that behaviour can be different on and off lead and if one dog is on and one is off etc....I've also had to read up on dog body language and the silent signals they are communicating to each other as I was clueless! Someone else will be along soon that might have a clearer insight into why it happened. Bye for now Angela
Re: Dog was aggressive to a puppy It might be your dog growing up and changing. I'm afraid when Charlie was a young pup, we met quite a few adolescent dogs that were none too friendly. Plus, today, we had another none too friendly encounter (Charlie is 9 months now). We weren't thrilled. So well done you for trying to work out what went wrong. I also think because Charlie isn't castrated this is a factor. For some reason I do not understand, we find some castrated dogs tend to be less friendly towards us (not all, of course, lots are delightful). Was the young puppy male and intact and is your dog castrated? This might be nonsense, of course, but it's worth bearing in mind as you think about the solution. Has your dog met any puppies lately? Perhaps there has been a gap, and he is growing into a teenager? Here is what Dog Star Daily (Ian Dunbar) says about teenagers and other dog to dog interactions: Perhaps the surest bet in dog behavior is that adolescent dogs, especially males, will get into scraps. Prediction approximates a 100% certainty and prevention requires non-stop classical conditioning from puppyhood, throughout adolescence until the dog’s sunset years. Of course a three-month-old puppy is a party animal. The goal is for your dog to remain sociable throughout adolescence and well into adulthood. Never take a puppy’s or young adolescent’s friendly greetings for granted. Every time your three-month-old, four-month-old, five-month-old, six-month-old puppy, or adolescent or adult dog greets or acknowledges another dog, say, “Good Dog”, smile and after the other dog passes by, give your dog a friendly pat or a piece of kibble.
Re: Dog was aggressive to a puppy Hi, thanks for the replies. Toby isn't castrated and the puppy was female. Toby often gets nipped and growled at by older dogs as he can be annoying to them, trying to get them to play etc but he has never been aggressive unless in response to attack when he will growl or snap back. Nornally when we go to the beach he meets quite a few dog "friends" and plays well with them. I'm going to try the advice offered in praising him for every positive encounter with a puppy. It's worried me as I hate the thought if not being able to let him off lead and I worry about how far he would go after today.
Re: Dog was aggressive to a puppy I shouldn't worry too much, as he didn't bite - but you can show him you don't approve of that behaviour. In the main though, dogs will sort out their relative positions in the local hierarchy while they are young. A growl and tussle now may save a proper fight at a later date. Poppy, who is normally a paragon of a dog, was horrid to a 7-month old puppy the other day. He wanted to play, but she wanted to show him who was boss. She picked up a stick, but as soon as he tried to touch it she growled at him. Then she actually waved the stick under his nose, while not allowing him to touch it. Once he accepted she was in charge and stopped trying to take 'her' stick, she initiated play and they charged around happily. On the other hand, she is very subservient to older, bigger dogs, particularly older bitches. I think that well-socialized dogs will normally sort things out without resorting to fighting or biting.
Re: Dog was aggressive to a puppy my two year old girl is exactly the same towards puppies. In fact, I keep her away from them. She will growl at them, and pin them, if they get even slightly in her face. Having sought vet advice (it looked horrible the first time I saw it) I was told its not unusual and that some adult odgs just have no time for puppies and will put them straight right away. She doesn't hurt them, just a lot of noise...most owners see it for what it is and don't mind at all, and say the puppy needs to learn that not all dogs want to play with them, but I'd rather she didn't do it so we go for full avoidance of puppies. Once the pups are about nine moonths old, she decides they are acceptable and will play happily!
