Aggressive puppy...any suggestions? Update #45 & #162

[meaty_ogre]

This is our 3rd shar-pei puppy from the same, very reputable breeder. Recently he has started growling and snapping at people. My husband took him to work every day from the time we got him. Initially he was friendly although aloof and standoffish (typical of the breed). However, recently, he began to growl at customers and even snapped at a couple. He was also unfriendly with our groomer. He attempted to bite the vet at his last appointment. We did run some bloodwork (standard panel and thyroid) to check for any obvious issues.

Knowing the breed, we have worked hard from the start to socialize him with both people and other dogs. Nothing has happened that we can think of which might have precipitated this. The breeder is just as stumped and upset as we are and has offered to exchange him for another puppy.

I do have 2 children (9 and 6). They are always supervised, polite and respectful with our dogs. So far, he has shown no aggression towards myself, my husband or my kids, or our other dog, but it’s nagging in the back of my mind. Right now he is a 15lb 4 month old. He’s obviously going to get bigger. I don’t want him to get more aggressive. I handle him daily. Shar-pei are not known for being easy to train, but he has been no more difficult than our previous dogs. He knows sit and come reliably and we are working on stay. I handle his teeth, feet/nails, bathe and blow dry him and clean his ears without any issues. Same goes for my husband. My kids don’t bathe him but they do give him treats and take him outside for using the bathroom with no issues. He’s not food aggressive and he does not get upset if they take a ball or other toy from him.

However, if we have visitors, he growls and sometimes snaps. This includes relatives who visit on a regular basis, whom he has seen multiple times. When he does growl or snap, I immediately remove him and put him in his crate. After he has settled I will let him out and if the person is willing and not fearful, I have them call him to come, sit and give him a treat. He is then fine with them for the remainder of the visit, but may growl or snap at them the next time they come over, even if it’s the next day.

I’m not sure what to do. I’m inclined to keep working hard to socialize him in hopes he can better sort out good vs. bad strangers. I also want to socialize him with more dogs. But of course I don’t want to put anyone in harm’s way. Our groomer has offered to let me drop him off weekly in between grooming sessions to see if it helps socialize him more and helps them form a relationship. On one hand I want to try it, but on another I don’t want the liability and the anxiety of worrying about whether he’s going to be OK.

The breeder has suggested that we humanely euthanize him and select another dog. I don’t have the heart to do that, but I am worried about how this is going to progress. Again, he has shown absolutely zero aggression towards his family, and I think if that doesn’t change, we can probably accept that he’s going to have to be a dog that stays home and gets crated when we have company (although that makes me sad) but I wonder if there is something I can do now to help change this?

[MidnightWriter]

I am sorry this is happening.

Listen to the breeder. Swap him for another puppy. It seems like a waste to have him put down so I’m not saying do that, but I wouldn’t have a dog like that in a house with children. You would never get over it if he bit one of yours, or anyone else.

[snowrider]

At 4 months? That’s very abnormal, I’d be heartbroken but inclined to follow the breeders recommendation.

[S1969]

I’d give him a “come to Jesus” moment if he did it again and see if you can change the behavior. To be honest, I’m not sure it will be enough because of the breed and the age at which this behavior is being seen, but it seems like it might be getting close to last resort time for this puppy.

I just staged a similar event with my puppy (almost 8 months) who started becoming protective of rawhides in his crate, and would growl at me if I took it away (although he would still allow it to be taken, and did not snap). I set him up with a leash on, and then when he growled I yanked him out and went a little postal on him. It made a huge impact and has completely stopped the bad behavior…but it was a limited sort of issue to begin with.

I don’t know that putting him in his crate is a deterrent to the behavior; it might really be a sort of reward if his goal was to be left alone.

However, I would definitely do something drastic, or rehome him, and soon - for your kids’ sake.

I’m sorry this is happening to you; I have a friend that breeds and owns Shar Peis and he admits they are not for everyone, but still, they should not snap at their owners.

[stb]

A 4 month old puppy with this kind of behavior has a screw loose. The dog is going to get bigger, stronger, and will mature sexually, none of which bodes well. You can get rid of him before he really hurts someone, or after. Since you have children in the house I sincerely hope you do this before.

[yaya]

I had an Aussie that started growling and snapping as a puppy, but I didn’t recognize it as a problem at the time, just thought it was unsocialized puppy (unknown background). It developed into a dominance aggression - anytime she felt dominated, she would fight back. After one incident trying to get a tick off of her, for a year after, if I took just a little too long inspecting her for ticks, she would start to growl. She snapped at the vet when examined. She also developed obsessive-compulsive behaviors. After weeks on medication, she attacked another one of my dogs. I put her down that day - she was 4.

I just couldn’t see giving her to someone else and risking them or a child getting bitten.

[meaty_ogre]

Thank you all for the options so far. I really do appreciate them.

[pinkpony321]

I’m really sorry you’re going through this. Heartbreaking.

I have to agree with others though, this sounds extreme. 4 months is VERY young to display flat out aggression. Especially for a dog who’s never been mistreated.

[meaty_ogre]

Just reading these posts helps so much. It is heart breaking. I want so badly to “fix” this but as others have pointed out, my human children must come first. Difficult decisions lie ahead.

[gloriginger]

[QUOTE=meaty ogre;8564860]
The breeder has suggested that we humanely euthanize him and select another dog. I don’t have the heart to do that, but I am worried about how this is going to progress. [/QUOTE]

You really need to listen to the breeder. Especially since you have had other dogs from them and respect them. I know it is difficult now to deal with this, but the potential outcome of this situation could be much more devastating. This is a lifetime commitment, and definitely not worth the stress and frustration of owning a dangerous animal. He is only 4 months, you will never be able to trust him.

[Aeternitee]

We are going through a similar thing, except our puppy is 6 months old now. We got him at 8 weeks and he came from a pretty savage litter of shelter pups. We did observe them at the shelter and none of them displayed any bite inhibition toward the others - just spent their time trying to tear each other’s skin off. We picked the least aggressive one, and thought that nurture would take care of the issue.

But at 6 months, and neutering recently, and he still will sometimes growl at us if we are handling him when he doesn’t want to be handled. He doesn’t bite, but will growl. He is very vocal in general. And he is mouthy - we have worked so hard to get him to stop play biting and mouthing as his default interaction, but are starting to be exhausted, because we expected more results by now.

We took him to puppy class and during free play periods, spent all our time pulling him off other puppies and keeping him from harassing them. He played rougher at an order of magnitude way beyond what was normal for the other puppies his age.

Now we’re thinking of rehoming him because he is getting pretty big - probably up to 35 - 40 lbs now at 6 months old - and we’re worried about the future. Argh! And yet he’s brilliant. He learns tricks instantly - but we can’t seem to modify his behavior.

I’ve never had this much trouble with a dog before. shakes head

[beowulf]

not to be blithe but i don’t think the dog has a screw lose. mistrust/wariness of strangers is SOP for shar-peis… he has done what he was bred to do - guard himself and his people against strangers. he has not shown aggression to his people, which IMHo is a very different thing than defensiveness around strangers.

completely different scenario than yaya’s dog, who demonstrated aggression to her people, and totally different than the poster above. this dog has demonstrated no aggression to his people. so this is not in any way at all like your scenarios, yaya, s1969, and aeternitee.

at this point i think your best option is to give him back to the breeder, or you could keep him at home where he belongs and stop bringing him to your place of work. some dogs are not ever going to be that type of dog and this sounds like a square hole round peg deal. are you working with a trainer at all? how much exercise is he getting? puppies tire easily and i wonder if it would benefit him to do some sort of exercise regime around the yard to dispel his energy.

it sounds like the breeder is considering the rational/responsible thing (euthanasia), albeit heartbreaking.

if it were me, i’d probably keep him home and watch him like a hawk – and the second he demonstrated any of that behavior to a family member he would be PTS.

[gloriginger]

[QUOTE=Aeternitee;8565104]
Now we’re thinking of rehoming him because he is getting pretty big - probably up to 35 - 40 lbs now at 6 months old - and we’re worried about the future. Argh! And yet he’s brilliant. He learns tricks instantly - but we can’t seem to modify his behavior.

I’ve never had this much trouble with a dog before. shakes head[/QUOTE]

Great, so pass him off to someone else and let him be their problem.

[Crockpot]

[QUOTE=gloriginger;8565107]
Great, so pass him off to someone else and let him be their problem.[/QUOTE]

Not sure that is fair. Provided there is full disclosure and it is the right home.

My elderly mother bought the absolute worst puppy

The unsocialized sharp unregistered aussie pup- last one left in the litter-who ran away when we went to see her. I advised agst it

Afraid, antisocial and snappy.

But They worked it out. My mother carried a water pistol in the early years and this intelligent though sharpish aussie became her amazing devoted companion for 14 years.

[Sannois]

Again, Please take the breeders suggestion, With Children, this is a dangerous behavior in one so young. Very sorry that is happening.

[Aeternitee]

[QUOTE=gloriginger;8565107]
Great, so pass him off to someone else and let him be their problem.[/QUOTE]
Yes – because we are beginning to feel we’re in over our heads, and are concerned about not being able to handle him in future. What we’re doing isn’t working - and what the trainers have suggested isn’t working either. Isn’t it better to admit your mistakes and try to rectify them, than let the situation keep going to hell in a hand-basket? How would that serve him?

I think it’d be more responsible to find a family with better training skills, more experience with tough dogs, or maybe end up putting him down, than letting the situation escalate.

I have some connections with a fostering network in a nearby metro area. They might be able to identify a foster who has more experience than we do in training a tough dog. We are considering it. Haven’t decided.

[Crockpot]

Yes, I agree in the OPs case- return to breeder

I was responding to a different poster- general remark

We are going through a similar thing, except our puppy is 6 months old now. We got him at 8 weeks and he came from a pretty savage litter of shelter pups. We did observe them at the shelter and none of them displayed any bite inhibition toward the others - just spent their time trying to tear each other’s skin off. We picked the least aggressive one, and thought that nurture would take care of the issue.

But at 6 months, and neutering recently, and he still will sometimes growl at us if we are handling him when he doesn’t want to be handled. He doesn’t bite, but will growl. He is very vocal in general. And he is mouthy - we have worked so hard to get him to stop play biting and mouthing as his default interaction, but are starting to be exhausted, because we expected more results by now.

We took him to puppy class and during free play periods, spent all our time pulling him off other puppies and keeping him from harassing them. He played rougher at an order of magnitude way beyond what was normal for the other puppies his age.

Now we’re thinking of rehoming him because he is getting pretty big - probably up to 35 - 40 lbs now at 6 months old - and we’re worried about the future. Argh! And yet he’s brilliant. He learns tricks instantly - but we can’t seem to modify his behavior.

I’ve never had this much trouble with a dog before. shakes head

[Marshfield]

Before taking any drastic steps, I would strongly suggest a consult with a veterinary behaviorist. He or she will be able to determine if this is truly a dangerous dog in the making or one who can be worked with.

IMHO, there is a world of difference between the dog sitting quietly and opting to just ignore visitors and initiating growling. Fear aggression (which is what I suspect you’re dealing with) is a very tough issue to work through. I’d also give a lot of weight to the breeder’s recommendations.

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=meaty ogre;8564860]
This is our 3rd shar-pei puppy from the same, very reputable breeder. Recently he has started growling and snapping at people. My husband took him to work every day from the time we got him. Initially he was friendly although aloof and standoffish (typical of the breed). However, recently, he began to growl at customers and even snapped at a couple. He was also unfriendly with our groomer. He attempted to bite the vet at his last appointment. We did run some bloodwork (standard panel and thyroid) to check for any obvious issues.

Knowing the breed, we have worked hard from the start to socialize him with both people and other dogs. Nothing has happened that we can think of which might have precipitated this. The breeder is just as stumped and upset as we are and has offered to exchange him for another puppy.

I do have 2 children (9 and 6). They are always supervised, polite and respectful with our dogs. So far, he has shown no aggression towards myself, my husband or my kids, or our other dog, but it’s nagging in the back of my mind. Right now he is a 15lb 4 month old. He’s obviously going to get bigger. I don’t want him to get more aggressive. I handle him daily. Shar-pei are not known for being easy to train, but he has been no more difficult than our previous dogs. He knows sit and come reliably and we are working on stay. I handle his teeth, feet/nails, bathe and blow dry him and clean his ears without any issues. Same goes for my husband. My kids don’t bathe him but they do give him treats and take him outside for using the bathroom with no issues. He’s not food aggressive and he does not get upset if they take a ball or other toy from him.

However, if we have visitors, he growls and sometimes snaps. This includes relatives who visit on a regular basis, whom he has seen multiple times. When he does growl or snap, I immediately remove him and put him in his crate. After he has settled I will let him out and if the person is willing and not fearful, I have them call him to come, sit and give him a treat. He is then fine with them for the remainder of the visit, but may growl or snap at them the next time they come over, even if it’s the next day.

I’m not sure what to do. I’m inclined to keep working hard to socialize him in hopes he can better sort out good vs. bad strangers. I also want to socialize him with more dogs. But of course I don’t want to put anyone in harm’s way. Our groomer has offered to let me drop him off weekly in between grooming sessions to see if it helps socialize him more and helps them form a relationship. On one hand I want to try it, but on another I don’t want the liability and the anxiety of worrying about whether he’s going to be OK.

The breeder has suggested that we humanely euthanize him and select another dog. I don’t have the heart to do that, but I am worried about how this is going to progress. Again, he has shown absolutely zero aggression towards his family, and I think if that doesn’t change, we can probably accept that he’s going to have to be a dog that stays home and gets crated when we have company (although that makes me sad) but I wonder if there is something I can do now to help change this?[/QUOTE]

A 4mo being truly aggressive is incredibly rare. I’m curious what is the interaction when the bite occurs. Are people trying to pet him?

In any event, the breeder’s opinion should be weighed heavily since they know their dogs and you/your household. <Hugs>

[BEARCAT]

Have you looked into following this protocol?
http://careforreactivedogs.com/
You can also join the “reactive dogs” group on Facebook for some ideas and support.