Puppy With Attitude

[CP*]

I agree with Percy. I had the same prob with my female as a pup. She still barks at other dogs but not as bad. I brought in a couple of behaviourists - they weren't great but I did get some pointers. Your female is probably quite shy and scared.

Firstly - not all socialisation is good. You don't want to overwhelm her. She is better off spending time with another small shy puppy or much older, very quiet dogs. Don't push her to interact, just being around another dog is okay. Sometimes they get overwhelmed and it is hard for them to focus - it is better to take the dog away from the situation before she gets into the 'red zone' where she cannot hear you because she is barking and growling so much.

Try to limit rough play between your 2 pups - you don't want her thinking that to play with another dog means roughness.

Walk her seperately - it is impossible to deal with this with 2 dogs on the lead (sorry - I walked my female seperately until she was 12mths old - a pain but it helps).

Can you get her interested in balls? This made a huge difference with my female. Going out for walks meant playing with the ball so she really enjoyed walks and I can (often) distract her with getting the ball out (or squeaking a ball) when another dog goes by. Plus she is now happy to interact with other dogs that are chasing balls - it is not as confronting for her.

Lots of cuddles and affection!!!

There is a book "Help for your shy dog" which has some useful tips.

Edited December 16, 2008 by *caro

[poodlefan]

I wouldn't be concluding anything about the reasons for Molly's behaviour. Yes, it could be fear aggression but it could also be something else.

Some behaviouralists will do phone consults.. this would be better than nothing at all.

In the meantime, you can train her to offer behaviours other than the growling, lunging etc. She can look at you, she can move away with you etc and you can reward the stuff you want.

I would be making sure BOTH puppies get time on their own, with you and socialising. BOTH pups need training and socialisaton, not just the problem child.

Don't allow her to bully Buster incessantly. IF he decides to take issue with it, you may end up with some nasty fights between siblings. Its one of the reasons people recommend against getting pups from the same litter.

[WreckitWhippet]

There are a few that will aslo do video consults