Agressive behavior

Simon P

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#1
My doberman pup is barking and growling at me, I think it might be a dominance issue. If she do it with me she will surely try with others.

How do I punish this kind of behavior ?
 

jess2416

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#2
First you should try to find out why she is doing what she is doing and then figure out a way to correct it..
 

Zoom

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#3
Can you be more specific? Is it when you try to take something away from her, tell her to move, or what?

punishment won't work here, but I can't tell you much of what to do until I know more information from you.
 
A

Allykat

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#5
Punishment will make it worse. With dominant dogs (or any dog for that matter) asserting your dominance through physical means is going to make the dog loose respect for you. Never scream or yell at the puppy because the pack leader is ALWAYS in control of his/her emotions.

I suggest the Nothing in life is free, which basically means that whatever the puppy wants he/she must perform what you want first. If she wants to eat make her sit first, if wants attention make her dog something that you want. The NILIF method is a great way to assert your leadership in a non threatening, physical way. This way the dog will see that you control every important aspect of her life and must go through you (the pack leader) to get what she wants.
 

bubbatd

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#6
Agree.... we need more info .... no pup should show aggressiveness .
 

Simon P

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#7
There is no problem when I take something from her, I tend to think she might just be willing to play. I dont know why she do that. I think its only when she want attention or get on the couch/bed,I'll just ignore her and get the toys until she calm down. Could be over excitement...

She is 8 week old at the moment, almost potty trained she sit reliably and im working on the down.
 
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#8
wow, eight weeks old and almost potty trained. That is really good. I just got a 4 month lab myself and he is a work in progress. He is at about 60/40 right now, but getting better ALMOST everyday.

You should try to experiment with the dog to actually find out what kind of situation is resulting in the growling and barking. When he wants to play, when he wants to sleep, has to potty, is hungry. Pay attention to what he is doing and when he is growling and go from there. Also, your best bet to ensure that he will be calm around other people when he is older is to make sure he experiences new things almost daily. Go on walks, have him meet the family, take him to other peoples houses, have him meet every type of person from every walk of life from kids to old folks. I find going to Pet Smart or some other store where pets are allowed is a **** good way of getting the puppy to experience new things. All kinds of new animals and all kinds of people. Just be careful to not over do it at first. If you think going to a big place like petsmart right off the bat is not a good idea try just having him meet some of your friends or the neighbors and gradually work from there. Baby step it until you are secure and he is secure. Maybe then he will stop growling. You never know.

Good luck!
 
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whatszmatter

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#9
he's probably just growling and barking to get your attention at this point, at 8 weeks he's not having dominance issues. I'd ignore it. You play when you want (preferably when he's being quiet), his barking and growling wouldn't even get a look from me. If he's barking a little and stuff while playing, who cares you initiated the play and are having fun, let him have fun too.
 

Zoom

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#10
I wouldn't take him to Petsmart just yet; too many dogs without shots, and yours doesn't have all of them either. I'd hate for her to pick something up!

Home Depot usually looks the other way, and since most people don't know dogs are sort of allowed, they are very few that pass through.
 

mojozen

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#11
My own dog, who is 4 years old, growls and barks during play sessions. If the toys are out, and i'm playing with him, then he knows it's an okay time to make noise. He quiets down again when play time is over, and only makes noise when he hears something suspicious outside.

Perhaps I am confused on what your issue is, but what I am reading is your dog is barking and growling when she's playing, which is perfectly normal behavior for a dog. Why would you want her to stop barking and growling when she's playing? If she's doing it playfully, i don't see what the issue is...

And at 8weeks, she's still a baby! She's going to play like a baby for quite a while, and that includes pouncing, growling and barking. She's learning how to be a dog.
 

Simon P

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#12
Thanks for the help guys, it is much appreciated. She just wanna play I think. Today I took a ride to my breeder to tape her ears, and she played a while with her sister and ****, these little thing do like to play rough and make noise.Im too worried I suppose.
 

bubbatd

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#13
There's a big difference between play growling and aggressive growling....I personally would quit any play that brings on growling ... like tug of war etc until the pup's older. Fine if it's with a toy , but with you ,no . Gentle play is fine. I know all breeds are different . If you have a potentially aggressive breed, go very gently. If you have a passive breed , don't bring out something that's not in their makeup. I never liked any rough play with pups. I had a man once who called for one of my pups and I had them all spoken for. He went to a byb and got one. Called me a year later and asked how could he stop his Golden from grabbing and biting his hand. After much questioning, I found out that when he got the pup he wrestled with him with gloves on !! Geez !
 

Roxy's CD

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#14
Bonding Exercise-Works well for young pups

LOL!! I had the same problem with my pup at the same age, she's a rott/dobe. My trainer has told me that this specific breed are well know as "talkers". What you might be interpereting as growling may actually be "whispering", barking, growling, sighing, crying, their all just ways that dogs influctuate their voice to be understood. I wouldn't worry about it just yet, but there are some bonding exercises that you can do to ensure that she always knows your in control

1. Tell the pup to lie down on her stomache, straddle her, and massage her shoulders and neck firmly. If she tries to move tell her sternly "Your fine". Move over her face, touching her nose saying nose, touching her ears saying ears, teeth, eyes. etc. (This helps with vet checks!!)

Part 2. Lie her on either side without allowing her to get up and feel her side and legs check her feet. Repeat for other side and do not allow her to get up until you let her. Not only does this strengthen the bond between you and your pup, it gets her used to people touching different areas of your body. You can also easily detect if there is a lump or something odd that shouldn't be there. Good luck! And let me know how it goes!
 
A

Allykat

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#15
Roxy's CD said:
LOL!! I had the same problem with my pup at the same age, she's a rott/dobe. My trainer has told me that this specific breed are well know as "talkers". What you might be interpereting as growling may actually be "whispering", barking, growling, sighing, crying, their all just ways that dogs influctuate their voice to be understood. I wouldn't worry about it just yet, but there are some bonding exercises that you can do to ensure that she always knows your in control

1. Tell the pup to lie down on her stomache, straddle her, and massage her shoulders and neck firmly. If she tries to move tell her sternly "Your fine". Move over her face, touching her nose saying nose, touching her ears saying ears, teeth, eyes. etc. (This helps with vet checks!!)

Part 2. Lie her on either side without allowing her to get up and feel her side and legs check her feet. Repeat for other side and do not allow her to get up until you let her. Not only does this strengthen the bond between you and your pup, it gets her used to people touching different areas of your body. You can also easily detect if there is a lump or something odd that shouldn't be there. Good luck! And let me know how it goes!
Yes, dobies ar talkers. My dobie and I have conversations all the time, lol. If he doesn't wan to do something we get into an argument (he doesn't bark but more vocal like howling). They sure do have personalities.
 

Roxy's CD

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#16
^ You know, it's the funniest thing, I've had dogs my whole life, and I never realized that you can actually have a conversation with your dog until I got Rox. If I've got the radio on and I'm singing she'll sing along with me. OR if as you said i tell her to do something and she doesn't want to, she'll give me lip.lol
 
L

LabBreeder

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#17
my female Lab, Tira, talks to us and to people she see's outside. If she starts barking at people outside we tell her to use her indoor voice. She makes the most interesting sounds without barking or growling...lol. She says "I love you" and "momma" like Scooby Doo. ri ruv rou...rara...very cute.
 

bubbatd

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#18
My daughter's labs were talkers too ...... I swear that one morning I heard Yogi say " goo mornin' " he was half talking and yawning !
 
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