Sudden Puppy Agression

[djbrokencookies]

Hi there! We recently got a sheltie puppy 3 and a half weeks ago named Kinnick. He's such a sweetheart and is settling in really well. He is almost 14 weeks old. Since his first weekend we've been bringing him in to a puppy class the help him socialize during these important couple weeks. He was pretty timid the first few times (especially when there are bigger, louder puppies). He made a friend (aussie/border collie mix) that he was really great with--the typical tumbling and jumping around.

Last weekend we went for our usually puppy playtime and he went straight to his friend Skylar and after a few minutes of play he suddenly pinned her down, bared his fangs and started growling violently!! I've never seen our sweet puppy do that! It's not just to her. He just did that again with our neighbor's puppy as well.

Has anybody had similar experiences or any ideas what might be causing this and how to correct this kind of behavior? I apologize for such a long post! I've just been really worried and it's so unlike him!

 

[trini]

Welcome to SN.

I would suspect that your pup may be feeling both over stimulated and overwhelmed by being around so many other pups, especially bigger ones, in "open" rough and tumble play. Open play with multiple other puppies works for some pups but can be too much for others. Placing him in a situation where he feels he needs to control the other pups to stay safe could result in his becoming truly fear aggressive with dogs...the exact opposite of what you are trying to do for him.

I would consider finding some other way to work on socialization with other dogs...perhaps a puppy class where the pups are always on lead as they learn some very basic commands and learn to be comfortable around other dogs without feeling overwhelmed.

Trini

 

[ghggp]

Great advice Trini!
I second that advice...

Hope you can get it under control soon...
I know it must be very worrisome for you.

 

[cmae]

Trini has given you some great advice!

Our pup never liked rough play - he was usually much smaller than other dogs/puppies and got trampled all the time. We specifically chose a doggie school that only allowed dog interactions on leash, as it's much easier to step in should the need arise. Cruz is almost 8 months old now and has a few buddies (all smaller than him or the same size), but still just prefers to sit back and watch the big dogs rough house, and we are totally okay with that