Q&A: Puppy Aggression and how to stop it?
Question by Jenna: Puppy Aggression and how to stop it?
My puppy is now 14 weeks old and he is a German Short Haired Pointer. He has been very good! Up until recently. We have signed him up for puppy classes and he was doing good
The first week, at playtime he played with the other dogs good (He got a little rough but it never seemed to be to aggressive, he was also socialized with many dogs before starting puppy class. We noticed he plays rough but again it never got aggressive). The second week before puppy class started a little rat terrier dog started barking at my dog. I pulled him away and everything was okay but the little dog kept barking then all of a sudden my dog went after this little dog and started getting very aggressive (snarling, raised teeth, tried to bite). We separated them and he was okay again (the little dog kept barking) but my dog ignored him. Once puppy class started everything was okay and my dog was listenting to all his commands and doing everything fairly well. At the end of class they have playtime, at first everything was good then my dog went after the little dog again and we separated them… and then after that my dog went after the little dog again and got aggressive…. I was asked to leave puppy class and I was very upset by this….
My question is how do I stop this aggression (he has never been like that besides this class) but I am worried that he will turn into being an aggressive dog as he plays fairly rough.
Best answer:
Answer by anne b
Unfortunately, I think you need to find a better class. There is NO need for “playtime” in puppy class, and it sounds like your trainer is allowing escalation of excited behavior to create aggressive results. NOT good.
Dogs in a class should be ON leash at all times. That way you can control all the interactions and can step in when it seems to be getting out of control.
While socialization is important to the development of a puppy, open play time is not the way to develop this skill in puppies. The purpose of socialization is to teach your dog to be blase about other dogs, not to have “kiddie playtime”.
Really, find a better trainer.
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