Snapping And Growling By A 18 Week Old

[nivedita mehta]

HI!
MY BOXER PUPPY IS 4 1/2 MONTHS OLD.I AM A LITTLE WORRIED AS HE KEEPS GROWLING AT MY 10 YR. OLD DAUGHTER ALBEIT PLAY FULLY AT FIRST.
IF AT TIMES HE MIS BEHAVES AND WE BNISH HIM FROM OUR BED ROOM AND HE MEETS MY DAUGTER OUTSIDE WHEN NONE OF US ARE THERE,HE GROWLED AND STARTEDATTACKING HER, WE WANT TO KNOW IF THIS IS PLAYFUL BEHAVIOUR, JEALOUSY, OR SOMETHING WE START GETTING WORRIED ABOUT.
I MUST ADD THAT HE IS GROWLS WHEN HE IS PLAYFUL.
THANKS
NIVEDITAS FATHER
SAM

 

[Teasha]

I am having the same problem with my 4 & 5 year olds and a 9 week old puppy. I noticed nobody responded to your post and was wondering how it panned out.

 

[pep0987]

Well it depends. If it is growling while playing. How do you mean by attacking? I really need to know more . Most likiley a puppy at these ages are just playing and a firm no , bad dog, or something like that should be all that a pup needs to no that beharave is not accaptable.

 

[bunchtolove8]

I'm surprised by how vicious our 15mo. old male/brindle/Blake - sounds when playing with our 14 year old son but they play - no rules - and Blake has flattened him on more than one occassion but once Tyler says NO or OFF or CHILL - Blake is all kisses and wiggles. I would be very concerned with the behavior you are speaking of - it doesn't sound at all like this has to do with boisterous play! Is this your first experience with boxers? I know that when we decided to adopt we were told that boxers often end up in rescue because people misunderstand their vocalized/playfulness.

 

[Friends4ever]

I am having the same problems with my pup and 2 yr old and a firm no or discouragement is not doing the trick.

 

[tingoddess]

I would definitely suggest that all of you pick up the book The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. Barnes and Nobles carries it or you can order on line from them or Amazon. The library might have a copy too.
When it comes to kids and dogs it's hard because most children do the things that get pup's really going. The fast jerky movements, the squealing and high pitched voices. Number one and I'm sure many other people will agree, never leave young children and dogs alone together as kids, younger than say 10 or so cannot really read a dog well enough to know if it's playing or if it's turning into something more.
I agree with a basic obedience class for the older puppies and for those two young for obedience, a puppy playschool/kindergarten class.
Puppies bite, it's a fact and there's no way around it. When they play with littermates if they get too rough the litter mate yelps and may even wander away to play with someone else. Since this ruins the fun the pup adjusts his methods when it comes to how hard he bites his pals. Pups have a short memory so this process is done over and over and eventually the pup figures out what it can and cannot do when it comes to using it's mouth when it's playing. If we never teach our dogs to have a "soft" mouth when they are young, they will never understand the power of their bite when older. Get the book I recommended, the part on bite inhibition deals with this, but the whole book is absolutely excellent!
Good luck everyone!

 

[Mandithemush]

Snapping and growling -18wk pup

I have had some experience with a puppy growling. My 1st boxer pup I got was from a breeder and it was male. At 9wks. old he would growl at me for no reason. I would say to him lets go to bed now and just look at him and he would growl. I thought something was wrong. The dog I had before this pup was a mixed breed ( on local tv about a rescue group) and he bit my then 2yr. old daughter in the face, so you see I was scared when this pup was growling at such a young age. I contacted local obiedence instructors (one I had seen on tv) and spoke to her personally and she said they shouldn't even know how to show such aggression at such a young age. I also have friends that show dogs in the obiedence ring and they felt the dog was showing signs of being a dominant dog. This had to be corrected or they would be boss of the house. I then called the breeder and had them take back the pup and got a different one. The breeder was a little skeptical about the growling but then she saw it for herself in her house. I then got Mandi who happened to be my first choice anyway. I love her! She is 3 1/2yrs now. We recently just got another boxer pup, her name is Lexi and she is 14wks. old. She has a great personality. And yes they are getting along great. They two play rough and growl but as soon as I step in they are ready to kiss me, so I know they are just playing loudly.
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