Growling

Kia recently is becoming more agressive during play. She really nips you know which she is not allowed to do she gets a tap on the nose. Which my boyfriends border collie when I was training him responded to really well. She has also growled quite a few times at me my step Dad and my little sister. Should we be concerened she is 8 weeks and 5 days so we have only had her for a week and four days. SHe sits on command now and we are getting her to drop and lie down. I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing. She can not start puppy training classes for 4 weeks. Anyone know of any good ones in the gloucestershire area. We had a estimate on how big she is going to be and she is going to be massive so she really needs to be a really well behaved dog. When should I start trainingher on the leash I have put it on in the garden but I am finding her alot harder to train than the collie. Am I expecting to much. Sorry for keep asking question I just want to be the perect owner.

First piece of advice I would give, is don't tap your dog on the nose.
When she misbehaves, ignore her. The worst thing for a dog is to be ignored. Turn yur back and walk away.

As for lead training, you are doing the right thing in the garden - let her walk around with her collar on and get used to it, then introduce the lead slowly.

OK that good advice thanks because I knew the nose tapping wasn't working. Also what should I do when she grabs hold of clothes because she is leaning drop so sometimes that work. I am also distracting her with toys. She is still grumpy though because of her leg because she did not growl before she hurt it. Her pain killers are finsihed now so I don't know if the can make her grumpy.

I certainly wouldn`t tap her on the nose. I dont believe in hitting dogs at all, they dont really understand what it is all about. She is very young at 8 weeks old and if she is sitting on command she is doing really well. Some dogs just take longer to train than others, but please dont hit her anymore, she might end up aggressive and hand shy.

Sorry the only reason I was doing it was when I was training the collie the place I went to said hold the dogs muzzle but I knew that this could cause aggression. So I tap not hit him on the nose. I would never hit a dog. I will take up your advice and not tap her on the nose I just thorght it was the right thing to do. I just want to make it clear though I am not hitting my pup I would never want to cause her any pain.

Definitly do what the other previous posts mention...Ignore her and stop play, they do get the message after sometime...

she is very very young and still learning with each play session as to what the boundries are...Seriously mine would be really rough at that age and when they were a few months older too...You do worry as you think what if they are like this when full grown!! But both mine calmed down with the play biting and nipping etc after 6 or 7 months...lol...even though they are big by then!...

They don't cause any harm because they mean it (mine don't) it will only be an accident now...and to put your mind at rest...lots of dogs are quite growly in play, you just need to differenciate between play growls and serious ones, which I don't think at 8 weeks your little one will be having??...

You should hear Takoda when he plays he makes a right racket!...growling, yip yapping and woo wooing....lol...So long as you keep showing distaste for when she gets to rough by ignoring her and stopping play she will grow up well adjusted and know what is right and wrong...Remember naturally they would still be with litter mates and they usually learn what is acceptable behaviour from them and the parents, but they don't have that so they learn it with us the owners, you are kinda getting what another litter mate would get while she learns

With walking on the lead, just get her used to her collar...attatch the lead in your garden for short amounts of time and have a little wander around...Keena always acted silly in the garden though as she didn't see the point in having it on as we were going nowhere just in circles...lol...When pups vaccinations are all done and over with and you are safe to go out take her for a very short walk at a time no more than 5 or so minuets, take it slow and make it fun and she will soon get used to the lead. Even though you must be very gentle, after a few outings, you can begin to start 'teaching' her how to walk nicely but nothing too much just very gradual and always make sure she is having fun and the sessions are kept really short.

Hi,

I handle mouthing and nipping in puppies a little different to most, I suspect. At 8 weeks, ignoring should work wonders - she nips, play stops. You have to do it immediately so she understands the connection between her behaviour and your reaction. But I would never walk out of the room when she does this - ignoring can either be you getting up and finding something else to do in the same room, or isolating her for a minute or two at a time in a safe, boring room. Isolation works really well, but it must be for a tiny amount of time or the puppy forgets why it's there. Some people suggest walking out of the room if a puppy mouths/nips - IMO this can result in the puppy learning if they want you to go away, nipping is the answer.

I also wouldn't directly distract her with a toy - basically, in the puppy's mind, you're rewarding her for nipping. Instead, if she nips, make her sit before she gets the toy, thereby rewarding her obedience to a command.

At 8 weeks she's still a tiny baby and isolation should do the trick. When she's older, if nipping/mouthing rears its ugly head again, you can try spraying her with water (make sure you hide the source of the water though) and shaking a rattling tin (empty coke can with pennies etc). Scruffing, up until the age of around 16 weeks, also works well and is not cruel, but I wouldn't recommend you attempt it if you're a novice owner - done incorrectly it can create more problems than it solves.

As for the growling, it depends how she's doing it. No psychologically normal puppy is aggressive - if she's growling in play it's just a sign she's enjoying herself which is great. If she's growling at other times, for example, when you pick her up or go near her food, she does need to learn that growling is not acceptable.

There's some good advice earlier in this thread, hope my post helps too It's good to catch potentially bad behaviours early, and you're doing the right thing wanting to get it sorted, but remember she's tiny and needs your instruction for how to behave within your 'pack'

Becs

Hi she is till very young and just beginning to settle in, but from this age onwards you have to make it clear what you want from her, play biting is a common form of behaviour but should be discouraged from the start, if a behaviour is never rewarded it will be repeated less frequently and should eventully stop, at this age ignoring her would be the best method. As often owners dont realise that 'rewarding' the dog with there attention encourages the pups behaviour to continue.
Its best to get them out of bad habits from the start as you will only make it harder for yourself if you let this behaviour continue and then you have an adult dog with these problems, so you are doing the best thing by asking for advice now
But if it does continue, if i was you i would i would use another method to stop the behaviour like Becs suggests spraying her with water should help deter the nipping.
Just remember to treat her firmly and consistantly, but with kindness.That way she will be alot happier than if she is unsure who is in charge.
Hope all goes well

Hey I read you advice and putting her in the isolation room has really worked as soon as she starts to nip and get to agressive I pick her up gently of course do not talk to her and put her in the snug. I leave her for a minute come back to her get her to sit and then she can come back and play which seems to be effective. I have had a dog before but obviously only one being 16 I am a novice owner.I had a labrador collie cross but as I was so young when she was being trained I can't remember. Also I trained a collie last year for my boyfriend which was great fun and he has turned out to be a lovely gorgeous well behaved boy. I really apriciate all your help and advice as I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing. She will start puppy classes in 4 weeks she will be fully vaccinated then and micro chipped. I can't stay on long as she is bouncing around the garden pulling the ivy down so I am going to go stop her. Speak soon and Thanks again

Hi Ellenlouise,

I'm glad the isolation is working for you. Just be aware that it's very effective at this age as it goes against every natural instinct - if a puppy was ostracised from its pack in the wild, it would almost certainly perish. So you need to be prepared that nipping, mouthing and other unwanted behaviours can come back when the puppy settles in, grows up a little and increases in confidence. If they do come back, it's not a failure on your part all it means is that the puppy's confidence has increased and isolation isn't the terrible thing it once was. If you're still using isolation in a few weeks time, make sure the place you're using is completely puppy-proof - as confidence grows, it's more exciting for the puppy to explore, destroy and chew things than pine for you.

If you need to use water spray in the future (not now, she's too young) try using a very clean, thoroughly washed out lemon-shaped Jif lemon juice thingy - it fits into your hand easily so she won't know where the water's coming from. No point having a dog that stops bad behaviour only when it sees you reaching for the spray bottle Or, better still, when she's nipping you, get someone else to squirt her so she's never sure where the water's coming from - she needs to associate the water spray with the bad behaviour, not with a specific person or a spray bottle

While she's growing up, be prepared for bad behaviours to keep re-emerging. It's not a failure, it's her pushing her boundaries, trying things on, generally growing up. Starting at this age, you're just setting a foundation - nipping/mouthing is not acceptable now, and it won't be acceptable in the future, no matter how many times she tries it on. Be consistent with the rules and if one method stops working, try another. She will eventually grow out of it