# Aggressive behavior



## Vicky Wydysh (Jun 30, 2006)

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me what to watch for if you suspect your puppy could be aggressive? My puppy is 13 weeks old, she is friendly and playful, but sometimes she growls and barks. I am not quite sure if the growling is aggressiveness. I do not want to let any aggressive behavior go on, I want to address this early and make sure that she knows that I am alpha.

Vicky


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## precious paws (Jun 7, 2006)

It sounds like shes just being a puppy. Barking and growling is something they do, when their playing and having fun. I couldn't give you any suggestions on being the alpha, since I'm not one.


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## Vicky Wydysh (Jun 30, 2006)

Hi again,

I just have read that you are supposed to be the Alpha when you are a dog owner because you don't want the dog to be ruling the owner.?

Vicky


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

If there was one thing I could do over...NOT stress so much when Zoe was a puppy!

Zoe play growled and ran around like a crazy maniac as a puppy and I so worried so much about her being aggressive. She is an angel but still growls when playing. She does have dominant tendencies so I do still worry about her growling when greeting other dogs but she is doing it mostly w/tail wagging and excited play posture. It hasn't been until recently (she's 2 1/2) that she has been growling when meeting new dogs with what I think may be her way of establishing her boundaries w/other dogs. As long as there is no baring of teeth, snarling, and actual biting, (and I don't mean play nipping), I think it's OK. But I'm a novice!


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## precious paws (Jun 7, 2006)

> Hi again,
> 
> I just have read that you are supposed to be the Alpha when you are a dog owner because you don't want the dog to be ruling the owner.?
> 
> Vicky[/B]



Well, when it comes to safety or health I am the boss. However, my malt is a good, sweet boy. Its part of the fun, to let him have his way. We don't do that alpha stuff in my house. Its all about having fun.







My maltese is my first small dog. When I got him I learned real fast, he is more like a furry baby than a dog. I also learned he really just needs parents and to be loved. We don't really have an alpha here. My fur kid is treated just like human kids are treated. Some people may not agree, with that approach, but it works for us. I have a very well behaved little boy. 

Enjoy your new baby. I personally wouldn't worry about her being aggressive at her age.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

I think chances are 99.99999% that your puppy is just being a puppy. I remember when I got Catcher and after he got used to things around here after about a couple weeks, he started acting like what I thought was aggressive. If I would sit on the floor to play, he would bite, bite, bite and not seem to care. I got a book on biting and it said to top playing and turn away and stop play when biting starts. That seemed to help a little bit but he didn't seem to get it. I had a trainer here but I thought her method was too "rough" for a small dog. 

SOOO, I started avoiding doing things that would bring on biting such as sitting on the floor with him and there was no more biting. I did this for a few weeks and then he got older and understood when I said "ouch" or turned away and wouldn't play. It's hard to believe that I was ever worried that my sweet, sweet Catcher was aggressive.

Regarding being alpha: I made all the mistakes with my first Malt, Rosebud, and she ended up being alpha. I learned a lot of what not to do. Jackie ("JMM" an SM member who is very knowledgable in training) describes it well in that we don't have to think of it as who is alpha but rather than we want our Malts to look to us for guidance ... to see us as their leader. Now that K & C do see me that way I can see what I did wrong with Rosebud. 

IMHO what you do to establish yourself as the leader is subtle. It is an attitude.. body language as much as anything. You may want to go back and read JMM's posts... you can learn a lot about potty training, biting, etc. from her!


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## Max & Rocky (May 20, 2004)

As the other posters have said, at 13 weeks, I would not stress too much about it. I suspect your pup is just being a pup.

They can be pretty funny. One of mine (Max) did not seem to know he had a voice for probably 4 or 5 months. Not a peep. Now he has spent the last 2 years since then making up for that time wasted...







His larger sibling, Rocky, was a barker when he was very young... and now he is pretty quiet unless someone new comes in the house.

As far as being the alpha... for now, I think I would just relax and enjoy. Gowling can be just a way for them to communicate and play and by itself, it means very little. If the pup had other behavior issues and were growling at you... that might be different.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

If she growls and barks and play bites when playing it's ok. This is just plain puppy behavior. But still you need to teach her how hard she can bite. Just say "ouch" when she bites to hard and stop playing. After a while she will know how much pressure she can apply. If you don't want her to bark, do the same thing with barking "no bark". Now if she growls and shows teeth when you want to take her food away, that's aggressive behavior that has to be corrected.


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