Don’t let those big innocent brown puppy eyes fool you. Even cuddly puppies can become quite aggressive.
Puppy aggression needs to be dealt with as soon as your dog shows any tendencies toward this undesirable behavior. There are some things you can try on your own to break the puppy of being aggressive, but do realize that in many cases professional training may be needed. Don’t wait to go for help if your methods aren’t working.
Prevention is worth pounds and pounds of cure when it comes to puppy aggression. Training and socialization are vital to having a well-behaved puppy. It’s a lot easier to prevent aggression than to cure it.
What exactly is puppy aggression? It is not just biting. Aggressive traits can include barking and lunging at people and/or other animals.
Puppy aggression can be genetic. However, there are other causes, including spending long periods of time alone, physical discomfort and pain and being bullied by other dogs and/or people. Chaining a dog to a tree or doghouse can also cause aggression because he or she can become very territorial.
One of the first things you need to do to prevent aggression is to establish yourself as the leader of the pack. Make the puppy learn that you will play with and examine the pup whenever you want. Puppies sometimes will be feisty about your playing with their feet or looking into their mouths.
Make sure your puppy learns that you will give food and you will take it away if necessary. Establish that you are boss while the puppy is young!
Beware of a puppy teething. It is natural that a teething puppy will tend to want to bite and chew on you. Do not tolerate this. Rather than using yourself as the puppy’s chew toy, try giving the puppy something very cold to chew on. You can refrigerate the puppy’s favorite toy and that will help relieve the oral pain.
Games such as tug of war and wrestling can lead to aggressive puppy behavior. It is much more beneficial to play a game of fetch.
Early socialization is paramount to curbing a puppy’s aggressiveness. Get them used to other dogs and people.
Don’t let your puppy spend unsupervised time with children, whether they are your own or those belonging to others. Youngsters may not understand that teasing a puppy is bad. Some children tend to get rough with puppies. Such treatment can cause a puppy to become very aggressive.
Make sure other adults treat your puppy in the same manner you do. It won’t do a lot of good if you don’t allow the puppy to chew on you but your guests allow him or her to.
Work hard to curb puppy aggression immediately. Some states have laws that a dog that bites someone must be euthanized. No one wants to see his or her pet destroyed.
Related posts:
- Why Do Dogs Become Aggressive?
- Aggressive Chewing Puppies
- Top Seven Ways to Soothe Your Puppy
- Seven Ways to Keep Your Puppy Active
- Top Six Ways To Keep Your Puppy Healthy
