AmStaff puppy is DA...?

Tazwell

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#1
Knock out, my 14 week old AmStaff foster puppy seems to be dog selective. He's so young, though...

When I brought him into my house with the other dogs, he was fine. He seems to be a dominant little bugger. Anyway, he loves them all, no fighting, no attacking, just play.

But when I started taking him to Petsmart, he first started to growl at other puppies and dogs. I thought maybe he was just nervous, or scared, because he was never real interested in them in the first place.

Now, He'll go right up to them, sniff them, and begin growling and lunging at them. He's never harmed the other puppies, and I don't know if he intends to or whether he's just telling them "I'm the boss here!"

It seems as if once he gets accustomed to a dog, he LOVES to play with them. He just seems so young to be showing such dominance or DA.


So how should I work on this? He's just a little guy, so he's not real interested in treats vs. other dogs. And he's deaf. No clicker. He's probably going to be adopted out on Tuesday, to a home with 2 other dogs. I'm requiring that he goes to a puppy class, as well.
 

Buddy'sParents

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#2
I really don't have any experience for this kind of issue, but I wish you the best of luck. :)
 

lizzybeth727

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#3
I think definately requiring puppy classes is a must here. Just because he's deaf, though, doesn't mean he can't be "clicker" trained - you can use a flashlight as a click, or even a vibrating collar (a remote shock collar with the shock part disabled). Check out deafdogs.org, it has a great article about clicker training a deaf dog.

It sounds like a problem that hopefully will get better with some really intense socialization (intense meaning, like, every day). In addition to puppy classes, I'd suggest doggy day care (with a well respected organization) at least twice a week.
 

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