SueM Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Hi we just rescued a very cute Staffy x puppy, she is only 7 weeks old, she was bought from a wonderful pet shop at 6 weeks of age and then they decided they didnt want her after 24hrs,she is with an experienced carer, but come food time she is very aggressive and will brissle up growl and will bite if you touch her, we want to stop this behaviour now while she is so young, I have never had this issue with such a young pup before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mypets Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I'd like to add that she was purchased as a Border Collie X Staffy from what I have read on another site. Don't mean to butt in varicool but just wanted to say that. I hope that she goes to caring home that will treat her well and give her the training that she needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueM Posted August 17, 2007 Author Share Posted August 17, 2007 (edited) Mypets she wont be going anywhere untill we solve this problem...Mypets re the b collie bit we never take notice of what a pet shop sells them as, my carer can see the staffy in her but god knows what else is Edited August 17, 2007 by varicool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 PMing you, Varicool .......................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 TRIANGLE OF TEEMPPPTTAAAAAAATIIIIOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNN My pup wont go near her food until i tell her. i can even leave the room now and she will just follow me ... she waits for her "YES" command! Erny im sure will steer u in the right direction but what ever u do dont let this pup win..not ONCE!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I would suggest getting her to sit before you feed her and only allow her to eat when you give the food word (maybe on-leash will give more control). Start by adding only a very small quality of food to the bowl and pat her while she is eating. Any growling/snarling results in the bowl being instantly removed and you walk away. Leave her for a reasonable period of time and repeat the process. After she eats, remove the bowl, add some more food, get her to sit, give food word and then pat her while eating. Her behavour could stem from the fact she had to fight off others to get her share of food - so while it is understandable it is not acceptable. I did something similar with one of our security dogs. He would growl at me when he was told to sit before his meal. Any growling resulted in me just turning my back and walking away. After 7 days without food he quickly learned that he is not to growl at me when I tell him to sit at meal times. He learnt that his food comes from me and any growling resulted in no food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 The problem with removing the food/bowl if puppy growls is that it reinforces the reason for her being aggressive about it in the first place IE she is fearful that she is going to lose this valuable resource. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueM Posted August 17, 2007 Author Share Posted August 17, 2007 Thanks everyone we are going to give ernies methods a go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Thanks everyone we are going to give ernies methods a go Good desicion..u will be well guided! Go the staffy love... "peace,love and Staffies" :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peibe Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Go ernie, the advise always works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Thanks Peibe ...... but we may only get so far. I am loathe to train via the internet and will only take methods to a point given that I don't have the luxury of supervising - especially where aggression is involved. If the dog were older than it is, I would probably refrain from even suggesting anything other than a behaviour consultation. Of course, it's a little too far to travel for me, as much as I'd love to visit WA having never been there before. I have given Varicool some basic beginnings and have a couple more non-confrontational steps to follow through with a bit later - these will be described by telephone after the carers describe to me the progress being made. I am only hoping that, as the pup is so young, they may do the trick. Much will rely on the carer's consistency and dedication over the next couple of weeks or so though....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 (edited) Wow, @ 7 week of age the puppy is already displaying such a behaviour. Erny is on the case and I'm sure she'll help you out as much as she can. Edited August 17, 2007 by sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueM Posted August 17, 2007 Author Share Posted August 17, 2007 (edited) Erny we are in QLD its not that far away My carer who is an experienced lady thank goodness is going to start your training today and will be in touch once that initial period of training is completed, we really appreciate your knowledge and hopefully with the correct training she will snap out of it, in every other way she is a typical loving wee puppy...Yuppers sas its is very sad, but not unexpected when you think of how she has been brought up in those early few weeks She has had 3 homes in a couple of weeks literally the poor wee tyke, apparently she is tiny the size of a small chi...I havent seen the wee munchkin in the flesh yet but hope to in the next few days :-) Edited August 17, 2007 by varicool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busterboy Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Sorry to hear about your pups behaviour. Our puppy is about 9 weeks now who is a Staffy purebred. He does mouth and nip sometimes only when playing though has only growled once when I took away his food bowl and patted him.. SInce then he has not growled at all when I have patted, taken his food bowl away on meal times to get him used to this in case our kids ( 4 + 8 yrs ) do this and to eliminate a chance of them getting bitten. Only once was my 8 year old nipped when he took away a doggy treat from him which immediatly our pup realised this and stopped and showed signs of non-dominent behaviour ( wanted a tummy rub ) I guess you can take him to training to help this kind of behaviour, though I would steer away from Bark-busters as our last dog got too stressed from this kind of training for some reason and turned agressive ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillbear Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 I find rescue puppies that have had to compete/gone hungry can be like this at first. Its very much in survival mode. Personally I wouldnt stress unless it didnt resolve after a couple of days by itself. A couple of days without fighting for every meal and having a full tummy will soon see pup relax more with its food. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flaves Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 The problem with removing the food/bowl if puppy growls is that it reinforces the reason for her being aggressive about it in the first place IE she is fearful that she is going to lose this valuable resource. No food in a bowl, hand feed! Am i right Erny?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 No food in a bowl, hand feed! Am i right Erny?? How did you know!!! Yes - as the initial step to set up for the next stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now