Puppy growling/mouthing my son

My 16 week old toy poodle pup has growled a couple of times when my son has gone to pick her up or move her.

At first i thought he may be hurting her or a plyful growl as he often plays with her.

Last night he was on the sofa, pup jumped up had got ready to lay down by his feet, son bent forward to pick her up to put on his lap, and she growled and turned to mouth/bite his hand. Now this time i was watching and son did nothing wrong and was very gentle with the way he went to pick her up. This is not our first dog, son has been born into a house with dogs.

It seems she has put herself above son in the family pack order. there is myself, older daughter, other two dogs , Pup and then my son!

Now i have a few ideas how to correct this behaviour, i would like to have more ideas from evryone cos this needs to stop now before pup gets settled in her pecking order!

Son is unfortunatley the type that gets snapped at by dogs that dont bite, and basically any animal even our horse always seems to get him, poor chap, he needs to be more butch!

How old is your son?

could the pup be sore anywhere?

We had similar with Fudge a while back. the thread is here. there was loads of good advice in it.

http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=63635

My son is 11

I am sure she is not in any pain, she first growled a couple of weeks agos when he was playing with her then he picked her up, and again another time she growled as he went to pick her up (just put his hands on her)

She has not once growled at me or my daughter, or shown any signs of aggression over anything.

I am a dog walker, so she comes out with every kind of dog, bullmastiff, gsd, rotties, terriers , all are well socialised and she gets on fine and has a whale of a time.

I think she has got a bit too big for her boots so i need some advice on how to show her my son comes above her in our family.

Thanks

Hi,
I don't think she is trying to get above your son, I think she is saying I am uncomfortable with what is happening.
For whatever reason, she feels unsure when your son goes to pick her up, so don't let him, she has warned him in her way, that she doen't like it, maybe one day she won't warn him and snap first.

If it was one of my kids, I'd let them play under supervision, so they develop a relationship first,and then maybe one day she will allow him to pick her up. She is only a puppy and is learning, so if you get cross that she has growled one day she may not and will just snap. A dog growling to show it is uncomfortable is better than one that doesn't.

Good luck , I am sure as she gets older they will become great friends.

Hi walkiespetcare and Welcome to Dogsey
I think some puppies just don't like being picked up, it makes them feel uncomfortable/uncertain (my own puppy included ) .

Maybe your son surprised the puppy ? Maybe he unintentionally scared or hurt her when playing on a previous occasion.

I personally think it is important that very young puppies are picked up gently as part of early socialisation up to the age of 8 weeks (the 'fear imprint stage' of 'The Critical Periods of development' research by Scott and Fuller) so that they get used to being handled. After that I like to give them the option of not being picked up if they don't feel comfortable about it otherwise there is a risk of fear aggression developing. .

In order to do this I ask that people bend down and call the puppy to them so that the puppy has a choice whether to go to them or not , I don't think puppies should be made to be picked up . I think It is also important that they are not told off or punished for growling otherwise they may cease to growl a warning and just snap instead.

Maybe your son could build trust with the puppy by doing some simple training with her under supervision like sit/stay 'look at me' for high value treats and praise....


Here is a link to a Dogsey puppy training article which may be of help ..
http://www.dogsey.com/dog-articles.php?t=14526

..and another on Dogs and Children
http://www.dogsey.com/dog-articles.php?t=10261