How to Stop Puppy Aggression
There is very little doubt that puppies are cute. I mean, everyone, whether they consider themselves a dog person or not, have looked at a cute little puppy, at least once, and said, “Awww.”
The problem is, many puppies suffer because they are so cute and it can be one of the reasons why so many dogs are impolite and improperly trained. When they were puppies, they were just too cute that no one could tell them no and break their sweet little puppy heart.
Unfortunately, what ends up happening are a number of problems that owners simply can’t deal with and this can result in a dog being rehomed or even sent to a kill shelter. It is a sad fate of many dogs but one thing that is important to note, is that it can be prevented.
In fact, bad behaviors are very easy to prevent and with a lot of patience, they can be corrected. It is also important to note, that there are a number of problems that can occur in your puppy from the lack of proper training and one of these are puppy aggression.
When you think of puppy aggression, most people think of a puppy playfully nipping, growling and just being a sweet little puppy. What they don’t realize is that while these behaviors may seem cute, if it is not corrected, it can lead to serious problems, including aggression as adults when the dog can do more damage.
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Although you may be worried that any aggressive like behavior can occur whenever you have a nippy puppy, you shouldn’t be. Remember that while all puppies nip, not all of them become aggressive and it is really depends on how you train your puppy and also how you raise him.
Before we look at how to stop puppy aggression, I want to look at a few reasons why puppy aggression occurs. These are the following:
Taken from the mother too soon.
Many people don’t realize it but there is an actual milestone that the puppy reaches during the first few weeks of life. A puppy should never be taken from his litter before the age of 7 to 8 weeks, with it being better if it is closer to 8. This time with his siblings and dam will aid in teaching your puppy some of the behaviors that every dog needs to learn.
Punishing your puppy
It can get a little confusing when I talk about correcting your dog. Isn’t correcting the same as punishing? The answer is that it isn’t. Correcting is when you redirect the dog or give a firm no. There is no hitting, no physical assault on the dog at all and it is done in a firm voice, as opposed to yelling.
When you punish your puppy, he learns nothing except to fear you and this can lead to aggression in your puppy, specifically fear aggression or punishment aggression.
Allowing improper interactions with other animals or people
Remember that when your puppy is young, he can’t stand up for himself, especially to older dogs and people. It is up to you to take care of him and make sure that no one is improperly treating him and that no other animals are being aggressive to him.
If you don’t and he gets hurt or bullied by another animal or a person, he can become aggressive and can develop several types of aggression, such as: dog on dog aggression, territorial aggression and dominance aggression.
Isolating your puppy
Lastly, isolating your puppy and keeping him on his own for long periods of time can lead to aggression. This aggression may come simply out of frustration but it can also be caused because of breed dispositions. If your puppy is from an already territorial breed, placing him outside on his own for the majority of his life can lead to territorial aggression.
Other reasons why a puppy might be aggressive may be due to health problems or pain. Therefore I always recommend that you take your puppy to a vet so you can cross out these factors as the underlying reason for the aggression.
Now that we have looked at some of the reasons why puppy aggression occurs, let’s look at how to stop puppy aggression, which you will find in the next article: How to Stop Puppy Aggression – Part Two
Click Here to Discover the Best Way to Stop Puppy Aggression
