7 month puppy owner guarding??

Share your favorite training tips, ideas and methods with other Positively members!

Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost

Post Reply
G8valve
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:42 am

7 month puppy owner guarding??

Post by G8valve »

Hi i'm in need of some help. I'm not 100% sure if my 7 month old puppy is owner guarding me or if he is just being a teenager trying to push boundaries but it is making me nervous. My family have had a bad attack from a rescue dog previously after 4 weeks of being with us and I really don't want to think it could happen again (though it is a big leap to thinking our puppy could attack like that). He's a 7 month crossbreed poodle x cocker spaniel. He's been with us from 8 weeks, loves everyone, very friendly and very fun. He's always sat near me but around 2/3 weeks ago if him and I were in the same room, with no one else and someone came in he'd let out a low growl. Hardly noticeable at first but now it is getting louder. Otherwise when we are all in the same room he seems very happy and content. My partner and I both work from home so one issue could be he doesn't get much sleep as when he hears us walking about he is up and following on. We've both taken him to training and generally he is well behaved, never nipped as a pup. Is this normal for a 7 month or is there anything else we should do to try and nip this behaviour in the bud. No one else in the family see it as a problem but then I don't think they hear him growl as often as I do. He's barking more at the door bell and noises outside. Last night he came into a room that was in the dark and I then entered from another doorway so he growled and barked at me until I put the light on. I really really don't want things to escalate so have been trying to do more "take it drop it" stuff. But is that it? Should I leave the room if he growls or should my partner walk back out? Thanks in advance xxx
JudyN
Posts: 7018
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Dorset, UK
Contact:

Re: 7 month puppy owner guarding??

Post by JudyN »

I'm just bumping this for you, G8valve - I hope one of the experts is able to advise you soon.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
User avatar
Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: 7 month puppy owner guarding??

Post by Nettle »

It sounds as if he has had a fright, and is looking to you to protect him. Can you think of anything that may have caused this? What has happened to him or within the household just before the reactive time period?

Until we figure it out, he needs his confidence built up again. What is his average day like?
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
G8valve
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:42 am

Re: 7 month puppy owner guarding??

Post by G8valve »

Well I did wonder about his confidence, he seems a confident pup in his own garden but when we go out for a walk he does seem reticent. There are dogs in the gardens that back on to us and they bark all the time which is fine when he is in the garden but when we walk to the park passed their house he is nervous. I can't think of anything specific that could have happened.

A normal day for him is him getting up with me around 6:30 and I either play with him in the garden or we go for a walk, he is never keen for his first walk. We work from home so he is never totally left. We have to do some work so he is left for maybe around 2 hours, then we have a break, play with him for a bit then would leave him for another 2 hours. We're in the house so he knows we're around just not interacting with him. At lunch we spend time with him, then pretty much in the afternoon same again we are around but not interacting with him. He'll go for a walk in the afternoon. Then in the evening he is with us in the living room and at some stage we'll be playing ball in the garden. An evening walk then bed around 10pm. We tried to make life fun for him and us so this is a bit of a spook.

My partner had to go away for a few days so once this afternoon he's been growling at the hall, he can maybe hear things I can't but it seems like nothing? Yesterday he growled at my neighbour running up the stair (we only heard him through the wall).
User avatar
Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: 7 month puppy owner guarding??

Post by Nettle »

They never ever do anything for nothing, so it could well be that he is hearing things that scare him. He is at a tricky age, part pup, part adolescent, and confidence does ebb and flow with his hormones. Very important not to have him castrated in the middle of all this, as the resulting drop in confidence will make things much worse.

His day sounds good, but I think the time is close for someone who is actually there to have a look at what is spooking him. For instance, I have found dogs scared of children playing computer games, of an elderly relative who was erratic in their walking and speech, of the window cleaner (who suddenly appears high up in the window) of dark corners in the house where the dog has been cornered by a human who doesn't even realise the dog is scared, of people who pick it up and hug it, and so on. Or it could be a one-off incident that has shaken him up. Furrow your brow and think long and hard if this could be.

Be very careful how you choose a behaviour trainer if you go that route. Choose someone with a good record for reward-based training, and run from anyone using words like alpha, pack and dominance.

Also a full health check would be wise - eyes, hearing, teeth, skeleton, joints, bloods for organ function especially thyroid, the works. Often these issues have their roots in health.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
G8valve
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:42 am

Re: 7 month puppy owner guarding??

Post by G8valve »

Thank you Nettle, I think you have summed it up very well and I really really appreciate it.

He had a full check last week just incase.

Defo not getting him done at this period and at least until his baby bones have finished growing.

Thinking long and hard I now think he is growling at noises and things he hears and cannot see. When my partner enters the living room there are two doors which bang before he comes so I actually think he's growling at the unknown. He is maybe just doing it more in front of me cause I'm like a safe space. And actually he growled at me last night but it was before I entered the living room, just from the noise of the hall door. He is great in the back garden and there are lots of dogs always barking, no problem but can't walk passed their house.

So I'm looking at ways to build up his confidence. I contacted a behaviourist (totally positive one) who can't see me for a few week but gave some advice and told me not to overthink it. Which is maybe the best advice. My pup is so fun and loving it was just so way off when this started so I'm not so panicked now. x
Post Reply