Hi All, Yesterday I was taking my son and 5 month old rescue puppy walking in the back yard ( I have had her for about 2 weeks and stared dog school the 3rd day I got her) My son ran off and started to play on the other side of the yard. A minute latter I took the puppy and started walking over to where my son was. My son was rustling around in the leaves, the puppy had major hackels and barked like crazy. My son started walking over to us calmly and the dog was showing hackels and lounging at my 6 year old. He couldn't even walk pass the dog. I told my son to go in the house while I calm the dog down. My son opened up the door and the puppy ran in the house and they were playing like nothing happened. I am so nervous that this is not the right dog for me. Is this a red flag for things to come?
Hi there Jennamarie, no please don't worry, this is not aggression on the part of your puppy. It is fright that got her so upset; I know it seems odd to us, but they are not as logical, and she didn't connect the little boy she knows with the scary monster in the leaves... My puppy is similar; he is very calm and good-natured, but every now and then something scares him and he puts his hackles up.
Thanks Karen for the reply, I have been so upset since last night with a major headache! I just don't know why when my son was in clear sight she was still lunging. Shouldn't she have know it was him?
Hi Jennamarie. Think back to when you last got a really big fright. Do you remember how your heart was still thumping even once you knew there was no danger? It's the same thing for dogs. She was just continuing to react from her fear, that's all.
It's also possible puppy was just excited. Hackels come up for many kinds of arousal; excitement, fear, apprehension, anger. Lunging and barking are things puppies do in play and excitement.
This This is called “resource guarding”. The Moderator @Oberon has an eloquent reply to this very same question in a topic called “Struggling again” a few pages back. There’s a link connected as well with some great information. Just skip back a few pages and find it. Very helpful and informative. My boy Duggan does this once in blue moon with his mommy but not to me, my mom or our daughter. Well worth the read.
