Puppy Aggression

[Bigeye74]

took the puppy into work today and it had a pop at a mates 50 kg (youngster) Dogue when he was sniffing at him. He's not scared of anything but barking at a dog 5 times his weight is a bit brave. Is this a sign of things to come?

[Schutzengel]

Is the pup a Chihuahua, because they will bark at anything up to elephant size.

[lankeela]

If you have any sense you will stop him doing this right away. No sign of aggression should be tolerated in pups of any age.

[andy-hughes]

It's lack of experience on your pup's side - he will try out his muscles on any dog, until he learns where and when he can do so. As a rule, mature dogs tolerate pups' shows of infantile strength, but you should not allow your pup to get into a habbit of doing this. As he grows, so the chances of tolerance from other dogs will diminish, and eventually it will be seen as a challenge by a bigger dog, and the response will not be pretty.

[Bigeye74]

Thanks for the replies. The behavior wasn't tolerated. Fortunately the Dogue had had the snip and is quite friendly. I will be keeping a close eye on this.

[justasec]

Have you heard of Cesar Millan? In the US they call him The Dog whisperer. He is on tv on Sundays at 8pm on sky channle 528. He has some really great tips, he also has a website. I have 2 large Labradoodles, watching him has helped me no end with them. Exercise, discipline and affection in that order are what he states help for a happy relationship with your dog. Make sure that you are calm when disciplining your puppy or taking him out for a walk, as puppy will pick up on excitable energy and mirror you exactly. Best of luck!

[madmaggot]

Puppies learn manners from other dogs; don't be tempted to keep him away from dogs as this will make the problem worse. If left to their own devices dogs will rarely fight, they don't need to as they read each others body language.
Let him mix with as many other dogs as you can, off the lead. If a dog is on the lead it upsets their natural behavior as the tendancies of the owner come into play.