growling aggressive puppy

[Liz Harrison]

Hi, I've recently got a cockapoo puppy who is now 11 weeks old. She is very sweet, clever and loves our company, however I've noticed that she is becoming more and more prone to snarling and growling when we move her away from things we don't want her to have, or when we try to pick her up to put her up. She keeps chewing the rug, so we move her away and give her a toy to chew instead, which worked for a while, but now she seems to get annoyed with us that we are not letting her have what she wants! also when I can see she's going to fall asleep I want her to sleep in her crate, but won't come when called as she is too settled and bites and snarles when we try to pick her up. What is the best way to deal with this aggression? It is alarming when she snarles and I do back off which is making her worse and do it more, but I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to make her more aggressive. Any help would be great!

[Dibbythedog]

Congratrulations on your puppy .

I would avoid picking her up or physically moving her when she is guarding her toys or the rug or when she is tired .
Does she normally settle in her crate ok? I would try luring her into the crate which a very tasty treat , make it worth her while going in there , this avoids confrontation and you get the result you want.

You could remove the rug until she is older and past teething and give her different types teething toys , some hard and some softer fabric ones . The rug seems highly desirable to her so she is more likely to resource guard it .

You can teach her Leave it when she is in a calm state and work on picking her up when she is calm , make it very rewarding for her and avoid picking her up to do something she doesnt like .

Puupy School by gwen baily is a good book for advice .

[Liz Harrison]

Thanks for your reply. I am trying to avoid having to pick her up now and focus on the positive behaviour with rewards and lots of play. She likes to go in her crate at night and is settled when she is in there, but isn't as keen on going in when she thinks there's something going on! I'm not sure what the rules are about letting the puppy sleep anywhere in the living room? I was trying to ensure that everytime she sleeps she goes in her crate, but is this necessary if we are there when she is sleeping, so that we can take her straight out to toilet when she wakes up?
Think I will get that book - thanks again!

[Nettle]

It's okay for a puppy to sleep wherever it drops, but it's a good idea if the crate contains an amazingly comfortable bed and the rest of the room does not.

You can also make the crate extra appealing by hiding tiny treats in there, so that when puppy goes in, there is a little something that is nice to find.