My 3 1/2wk Old Puppy Is Nasty!

[Bulldust]

Bulldust was this a natural birth or a c-section

C-section

is there any chance it lacked a bit of oxygen during birth or has had an infection on the brain?

Possible as the breeder was not allowed in during the c-section so who knows.

i have known one pup to do this it lacked oxygen and had to be helped at the start and was a total nutter as it got older it would growl at anything as it never knew any other way to act that part of the brain just didn't kick in properly

she lives with her mother still and is fine with her but mum puts her in line and has done from day one but and other dog she will growl then if pushed wets herself and basically doesn't know how to act

now if she growled at the wrong dog she would be in trouble but on the other hand if she was a bully and acted like that i would be worried that later if pushed she may not just wet herself

basically if you are hand raising her all you can do is try and do what mum would do (put her in her place) i would get her interacted with other dogs as soon as she is old enough or if you can find pups around her age

Very interesting albeit scary great to know

when they are in a litter mum nudges and other pups climb all over them and they learn to accept that is the norm now if she doesn't get that and is not interacting well with you she could become very dog and human shy which may turn into growl in fear and other bad behaviors

maybe try one of those toys that move or vibrate when knocked or touched put it in with her and if she touchs it during the night it will do something it may get her use to having other things move and do things around her

Great to bring to my attention no she wouldnt be used to being crawled on and nudged, bumped etc so she wouldnt think this was normal. But still i have been touching her since day one she should be used to me? Will look into moving toys etc

one more question is it only you she growls at or anyone who touches her

ANYONE

Edited December 15, 2007 by Bulldust

[dogsforall]

the girl i was talking about was c-sectioned as well

then at 24hrs old crawled and snuggled under mums boob and stopped breathing for about 30secs and had to be helped back

i would try to get some more stimulation happening no just human but anything that will get her used to things moving around her

if you picture a whole litter there is normally someone wriggling on someone else or sucking or biting on ears legs ect.

my first handed reared pup was a right little miss she was always with me never growled but grew up very indifferent to other dogs loves people and is a nutter for attention but will not listen to anything you ask her and drove me batty on a daily basis

she ended up being my best friend and more like a child to me but never did she act like a dog so now i am more for trying to make everything as natural as possible which can be impossible at times

hope she settles down and stops growling for you

dfa

[Swizzlestick]

I got an Afghan pup at 7 weeks. He was hand reared from 5 days by a lady I work with. Also delivered by caesarian. He was the boss of the other pups (6 in total) and his nickname was growler. Fine for the first two days, then OMG. Apparently Affie pups can be very feisty anyway, but he was my first one so wasn't really sure what to expect. He would growl ferociously when I picked him up, and full on trying to bite, not just a playful puppy bite either. I did a fair bit of belly up submission stuff. I really had to be careful, as he wasn't mucking around. A little bit of my blood later he started to get better. Took about 1 week before I saw any improvement.

The thing that I think did the trick was, sounds a bit weird I know, bit before I fed him, I'd pretend to sit and eat some of his food. After about 30 secs of him staring at me, he'd quietly sit behind me and wait till I'd finished. I also, still to this day (now 15mths old) never let him walk through a doorway before me. He knows to wait until I (the leader) have gone through. He is an angel now. Wouldn't dream of growling, biting or trying to boss me around. We have a lot of respect for each other.

Hang in there/ I'm sure things will work out for you both!!

[Bulldust]

Thank you dfa and Sir WJ, really helpful info! I have moved her to a room where there is alot of foot traffic and noise, and she seems to be getting better already! I know the best/worst? is yet to come though when she finds her feet

[Bulldust]

Hi I know this was ages ago i just thought id update that as soon as this girl was fully vacc we made sure she had as much interaction with our other dogs as possible including the older ones who would tell her off if she got too carried away, and now she is the second most placid Bully we have here, shes an absolute sweetheart, very cuddly and does no wrong... a miracle i know :rolleyes:

But she is very indifferent to other dogs so she definately thinks she is still human :D

[Gretel]

Glad all turned out well, Bulldust :D I have my first ever singleton at the moment. I'm sure she thinks she has a two legged mum and a four legged one. I've just started taking her out to meet other dogs and she shows very little interest in them but is very eager to talk to the people.

[Monah]

I had a singleton pup, fantastic genetics and temps. in her background, but what a bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was 12 weeks when we got her and very very out of control, my hands bled for 2 weeks It took me over 12 months to get her 'normal', and she;s still a little fearful. Others i know with the same breed have had no problems at all. All I can think of is that the first few weeks of her life were not supervised as a mother and littermates would supervise, which is a real shame because she's wonderful. If you are keeping this pup I feel it's very important to 'get it right' at this stage, for both of you. There are many fantastic books around that deal with how a mother trains her pups and of course hopefully people on here who can help. At least you are intent on nipping this in the bud now, imagine how bad it would be after another 9 weeks which is what happend to us. Good on you for being so aware and doing the right thing. Just persevere as it's really worth it when they finally click.

Mine had trouble with 'crowding', if anyone was near her or next to her ie, on a walk, or walked past her etc. she would completely freak, and also very food protective, no bite inhibition and terrified of anyone or anything behind her or too close in front. If there are any ways of teaching a pup to be comfortable with these things, it would be a good place to start. I don't have the experience of bringing one up from an early age so I'm pretty useless with advice, only know the outcomes of not doing it right.

[aranyoz]

I had a singleton pup, fantastic genetics and temps. in her background, but what a bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was 12 weeks when we got her and very very out of control, my hands bled for 2 weeks It took me over 12 months to get her 'normal', and she;s still a little fearful. Others i know with the same breed have had no problems at all. All I can think of is that the first few weeks of her life were not supervised as a mother and littermates would supervise, which is a real shame because she's wonderful. If you are keeping this pup I feel it's very important to 'get it right' at this stage, for both of you. There are many fantastic books around that deal with how a mother trains her pups and of course hopefully people on here who can help. At least you are intent on nipping this in the bud now, imagine how bad it would be after another 9 weeks which is what happend to us. Good on you for being so aware and doing the right thing. Just persevere as it's really worth it when they finally click.

Mine had trouble with 'crowding', if anyone was near her or next to her ie, on a walk, or walked past her etc. she would completely freak, and also very food protective, no bite inhibition and terrified of anyone or anything behind her or too close in front. If there are any ways of teaching a pup to be comfortable with these things, it would be a good place to start. I don't have the experience of bringing one up from an early age so I'm pretty useless with advice, only know the outcomes of not doing it right.

How lucky for Monah that you came along at the right time.!!

I did not realise that the situation with her was quite that bad. Was she weaned and separated from her mother at 4 weeks without any further contact?

[Monah]

Aranyoz hi. I was trying not to mention which dog good guess. I don't know when she was weaned, she was in the house, well looked after, but no other doggies and only 3 older humans, and allowed to do ANYTHING and everything (she is spoilt here, BUT, there are rules and she abides by them very well). I'm afraid she was so bad she bit the vet on the first visit, hid behind equipment, freaked out completely at puppy pre school, and I was advised by a behaviourist to consider PTS ;) Yes, she was really bad, poor girl, and had had NO contact at all with the outside world, as apparantly the vet visited her at home and it is way out in the country so no noises etc. either.

Having said that, with lots of work, socialisation, behaviourist etc., agility, obed, and flyball (full time job for 12 months) she is FANTASTIC, and I love her desperately and would love another!!!!

Sorry OP for the highjack wont happen again. I hope you are doing well now with your lovely pup.

[Tatelina]

Hi I know this was ages ago i just thought id update that as soon as this girl was fully vacc we made sure she had as much interaction with our other dogs as possible including the older ones who would tell her off if she got too carried away, and now she is the second most placid Bully we have here, shes an absolute sweetheart, very cuddly and does no wrong... a miracle i know

But she is very indifferent to other dogs so she definately thinks she is still human

Pics or it didn't happen. ;)

[Max]

Hi BD,

I have only just come across your post.. Glad to see things have worked out for you

It's sad that you have had so much trouble with the Bullie Mum's..

I have been blessed with good mum lines with my girls.. My first Bitch whelped (naturally) 11 pups first litter and did everything for them.. She was a brilliant mother and hated to leave her kids.. We would have to carry her outside to make her go to the toilet ..

Her Daughters have been great Mum's as well.. Her white Daughter only had 2 litters and was De-sexed and rightly so!! 11 in her first and 12 in her second :D She also did everything for her kids and whelp both litters naturally..

Her coloured daughter had 8 babies for us and also was great..

Now her Daughter has had a litter, but that was not with me and people do things differently.. I do not take the Mum away from her Babies at all.. We also have a special whelping box... It has 2 parts and it's like a trampoline bed.. The bottom part has dowel sticking up and we stretch Hessian over the dowel and then put the top on which fits into the towel (hole drilled and matched to the bottom). This way if the Mum rolls on one it is not getting squished to a hard bottom of the whelping box and the babies fall naturally into a hole in the middle and Mum sits comfy with no pressure sores from laying on a hard surface.. As the babies grow and don't need Mum, we take the Hessian off and its back to a whelping box, but with none of the dangers as Mum is finished doing her thing.. Just a though for you for next time.. Oh and we have never lost a puppy from being squished using this whelping box..

Goodluck with your now, little

[sugclasco]

Hi I know this was ages ago i just thought id update that as soon as this girl was fully vacc we made sure she had as much interaction with our other dogs as possible including the older ones who would tell her off if she got too carried away, and now she is the second most placid Bully we have here, shes an absolute sweetheart, very cuddly and does no wrong... a miracle i know

But she is very indifferent to other dogs so she definately thinks she is still human

just being a normal bub a friend has some 3 week old bubs at the moment and touched since birth,holding and talking to one of the girls today she was growling and barking each time i spoke cheeky bugger.