4 mo old puppy extremely aggressive!
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4 mo old puppy extremely aggressive!
Our female mix is now 14, and I wanted a new companion, protector, to travel to our cabin with (I go alone alot) and so I got a 3 mo. old neutered male, boxer/shepherd (so they say) mix that I just fell in love with. I am very worried about him because he already shows a great deal of aggression towards my older female. He is extremely food aggressive with our other dog...at 4 months old he will attack her!! I know that he really wants her to play, but he can really get rough and become a bully. I don't think that she has the strength to put him in his place. Also, during our walk this evening a jogger happened to be approaching and Tucker started growling and the hair was standing on his back. I wanted a protector but I never dreamed a puppy would demonstrate this type of behavior so young. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Re: 4 mo old puppy extremely aggressive!
For starters, see the link under the articles section for the stages of puppyhood. 4 Months old is often the beginning of a fear stage. Also, what is the daily routine and food for your dogs?
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
Re: 4 mo old puppy extremely aggressive!
I work early in the morning, so I get up at 2:00am or 3:00 depending on which shift I have, I let him out of his crate that he sleeps in and take him outside. After I am ready for work, I let the older female out with him and feed them while I monitor. If I don't then if whoever finishes first wants to check out the other and the puppy will attack the older dog regardless of whose it was to begin with. Now I feed the older one closer to the door and with less food so that as soon as she is finished I put her back in the house. After he finishes, I take him to the area where they use as the potty to go again then back in the crate he goes and outside she goes. About an hour later my husband leaves for work and he reverses them. Him outside and her inside. And this is because he torments her throughout the day and no one is here to referee.
We live in AZ so when I get off work at noon or 1:00pm and get home, no one wants to play! But in the late afternoon, early evening I go out and get him to play for awhile. He loves his pool outside and is constantly wet so he stays outside the most. I have started walking him in the evening now and he is doing well. He goes into his crate for the night around 8:00pm.
I am not thinking the aggression towards my older dog is fear based. I spoke to the person who had the dog, a rescue group, and she said that there were no issues at mealtime with the 7 dogs she had at that time. He was the last puppy from the 3 brothers she had taken in and all of the other dogs were older than him. Who knows for sure though.
As for the jogger...if his posture had been different I might agree...but as soon as he saw him coming he was fixated, tail up, moving toward him, not away, and then the hair up and the growling. I quickly corrected (or attempted to) but he is hard to get "out of the moment" or to redirect out of his fixation on something.
We live in AZ so when I get off work at noon or 1:00pm and get home, no one wants to play! But in the late afternoon, early evening I go out and get him to play for awhile. He loves his pool outside and is constantly wet so he stays outside the most. I have started walking him in the evening now and he is doing well. He goes into his crate for the night around 8:00pm.
I am not thinking the aggression towards my older dog is fear based. I spoke to the person who had the dog, a rescue group, and she said that there were no issues at mealtime with the 7 dogs she had at that time. He was the last puppy from the 3 brothers she had taken in and all of the other dogs were older than him. Who knows for sure though.
As for the jogger...if his posture had been different I might agree...but as soon as he saw him coming he was fixated, tail up, moving toward him, not away, and then the hair up and the growling. I quickly corrected (or attempted to) but he is hard to get "out of the moment" or to redirect out of his fixation on something.
Re: 4 mo old puppy extremely aggressive!
Fear doesn't always look like fear. Your dog probably knows he's on leash, so when confronting the scary thing, his flight response is removed. The only thing left is fight, which he's preparing to do. The best way to fix THAT part of the aggression/fear is to make dogs, people, bicycles, etc on walks mean something awesome. You'll have to be super-aware, and as soon as anything starts coming toward you, get as far off the road as you can and start feeding yummy super-special treats. If he's more toy-motivated than food motivated, take a toy you can play with instead. You don't want him to associate the joggers etc. with ANYTHING negative, so no leash-yank corrections or "bad dog" sort of things. If you haven't already, loose-leash training is helpful - that way the dog is closer to you than if he's pulling. If it's not fear-motivated, but is just plain amped-up sort of stuff, the same thing will work. Random things = good times will mean no fear and no aggression. 
If there's a way to take isolated walks when there aren't a lot of people etc. around, do that. That way you do get lots of cool-down time between the interruptions. Start slow! This technique worked on the slightly aggressive 90-pound Malamute and the super-excitable 200 pound Mastiff that I walk, so it should be do-able for your little pup!
If there's a way to take isolated walks when there aren't a lot of people etc. around, do that. That way you do get lots of cool-down time between the interruptions. Start slow! This technique worked on the slightly aggressive 90-pound Malamute and the super-excitable 200 pound Mastiff that I walk, so it should be do-able for your little pup! Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Re: 4 mo old puppy extremely aggressive!
my 5 mo. border collie X is also food aggressive and will occasionally bark at other people on our walks. She loves dogs, however, when the neighbor's dog tried to mess with her treats, she demonstrated aggression towards her. I am working hard on training this out of her now, especially the behavior on walks, such as barking, growling, etc. I've been doing what Erica has suggested, trying to remember to treat her every time I see someone approaching but sometimes the person comes too quickly and I didn't see him (comes up from behind and/or a side street) and she has become much better at not barking, but just investigating. I'm sure your dog will do great with the training, it just takes time. 
I'm sure your dog will do great with the training, it just takes time. Re: 4 mo old puppy extremely aggressive!
I am not remotely surprised that a 4 month old puppy is testing some boundaries and behaving aggressively over food if he is allowed near food iwth other dogs around/other dog is allowed to approach his food bowl.
He may well not have done this in a house with 7 other dogs - 7 against 1 is VERY bad odds, only a fool would start something there!
One on one, especially where one of them is 14 and therefore, geriatric and probably hiding some pain/illness (which all dogs will do, and most 14 year olds will have something going on, arthritis, organs not workign as well as they once did, we won't see it and even a vet would struggle to pick it up, but a young dog WILL and it scares them!!!), that is a battle worth picking as far as he is concerned.
He isn't a bad puppy, he is just a dog.
Feed them seperately, one in the house, one outside. Pick up food bowls before they are allowed to mix again.
I also think you are going to create some problems if this pup spends a lot of time outside on his own rather than in the house with you - I appreciate the need, and fully agree with separating them when you work, leaving them together unsupervised could be a really bad idea. However when you are home, puppy needs your almost constant company and attention or he will NOT learn to be a nice dog who has manners. If he is wet, dry him off!
You are already at a disadvantage due to him being alone all day whilst you work - do not compound that by leaving him outside when you are home as well.
He may well not have done this in a house with 7 other dogs - 7 against 1 is VERY bad odds, only a fool would start something there!
One on one, especially where one of them is 14 and therefore, geriatric and probably hiding some pain/illness (which all dogs will do, and most 14 year olds will have something going on, arthritis, organs not workign as well as they once did, we won't see it and even a vet would struggle to pick it up, but a young dog WILL and it scares them!!!), that is a battle worth picking as far as he is concerned.
He isn't a bad puppy, he is just a dog.
Feed them seperately, one in the house, one outside. Pick up food bowls before they are allowed to mix again.
I also think you are going to create some problems if this pup spends a lot of time outside on his own rather than in the house with you - I appreciate the need, and fully agree with separating them when you work, leaving them together unsupervised could be a really bad idea. However when you are home, puppy needs your almost constant company and attention or he will NOT learn to be a nice dog who has manners. If he is wet, dry him off!
You are already at a disadvantage due to him being alone all day whilst you work - do not compound that by leaving him outside when you are home as well.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: 4 mo old puppy extremely aggressive!
Thank you everyone for the good suggestions and insights into his behavior. I have started taking along small pieces of hot dogs to reward or re-direct on our walks. Everything that you guys talked about makes perfect sense to me. We will continue to work on some things and I will keep the carpet cleaner handy!! Thanks again.