[racquel1986]

I am emailing with regards to my lab pup, Bailey. He is 11 weeks old and has developed a aggressive behaviour.

There are 5 in our family, two parents, two kids (26/19) and a elderly. He is absolutely loving dog!!

We have had a really great relationship with Bailey however ever so often when one would play with him he would get over excited and have a "psycho" fit as such where he was sprint around the whole house (no kidding!) and then come bolting back barking!!

He has been a extremely affectionate and loving puppy. Sleeping on our feet, following us everywhere, resting his head on our lap when watching tv etc, even sitting just to get a treat. His good with food, he won't eat until I say go and even though I see his paws lean forward he wont move until I say go!

On Friday, Bailey chose to roam behind the trees and somehow found a dead baby bird. To my shock horror I tried to get him to release it but he seemed to eat the bird! We all decided to watch him over the next day.

Saturday night we unfortunately had our first aggressive incident. Bailey threw up all his food and we guessed this was because of the bird. He was roaming around the garden, we have a few agapanthas scattered around our garden and as such are always weary of Bailey when he moves around them. At one stage Bailey proceeding to eat something very close to a agapantha root and we were quite panicky especially considering he was already throwing up and knowing the repercussions if he ate this plant being death.

Because his collar was inside, one of the family members physically tried to pull him out by grabbing him from the top. Obviously, he was not happy at all and this resulted in the first very aggressive growl. We let him down and then he eventually came indoors. We were a bit shocked at his growl as it was nothing we had heard before but then also understood we did grab him out forcefully from the bush.

5 minutes later, I noticed Bailey was about to throw up on top of the ducted heating vent, so I proceeded to move him outdoors. When I picked him up, he did not growl however bit my left hand. As a puppy the bite was not bad but bad enough to have cut my skin and bled.

After this incident we were all very shaken as this is completely not the behaviour we have ever experienced with Bailey. Because I got bitten, that moment where we should have told him off was overshadowed by my bleeding arm and so Bailey ended up aside of the commotion and fell asleep.

That next morning (Sunday), he was extremely quiet and also again affectionate towards us however in the afternoon when my mother took him outdoors (this time on a lead) when she saw him sniffing his vomit from the night before tried to get him to move which resulted in him aggressively growling all over again. I have just been told by my grandmother who has spent the day with him that he has beenn so well behaved today and slept on her feet.

does it sound like my puppy is aggressive??? Will he bite again??

 

[kassabella]

In my limited knowledge no he doesn't sound like an aggressive puppy. He sounds like a great dog.
When Kass was a pup she would come up behind up and bite the back of our legs, or nip when playing. Being new to pups we believed my SIL who breeds nasty Bichons when she said Kass was aggressive.
I took her to a trainer who told us she didn't have a mean bone in her body and like babies need sleep. We were probably over stimulating her.We put her in the crate when she became silly and no problems. She did mouth a bit when excited.

She became the best most loyal, loving companion a family could wish for.

I adopted Ernie who would growl if given a fright or if we tried to stop him doing something he was set on doing. Training sorted that.

ETA. The physco bit. Mine still do it when excited or not enough excersise. I love watching them butt tuck around the yard or house. If they haven't had a walk I take them for one. If they have I know they are just being happy.

 

[BigBrownDog]

What you describe sounds like normal puppy to me. I would suggest you find a trainer or puppy obedience class as soon as possible. You need someone with experienced eyes to see what you are describing. I am assuming you are new to owning a puppy or dog?

You can't let him roam around the yard without being under control at this point in his life. Keep him on leash until he is a little more responsive to your voice commands. All puppies and particularly all Lab puppies are mouthy. Read the "Our Best Advice" thread (in the puppy advice section) and you may gain some insight into how to better manage him.

 

[Tanya]

It sounds pretty normal.

But if you have serious concerns about your puppy please find a training and/or obedience class ASAP. get someone to meet the dog, evaluate them and give you tips on training. It can be as simple as a good obedience class. Do this ASAP.

 

[racquel1986]

Hey Guys,

Thank you so much for your replies. Def puts me at ease.

I have been doing a lot of reading since the bite and it is 100% pain aggression that I experienced. Bailey is back to his normal lovable self even when we tell him off for being naughty. He is such a cute little puppy, just very cheeky!!

I think that when he did bit me, I might have placed a lot of pain on his stomach trying to pick him up when he wanted to throw up. None the less, we have enrolled Bailey into obedience training classes.

That one incident was the first time I had ever seen Bailey exhibit that sort of behavior, and his defence (not to say it was ok to bite) he was sick and maybe in pain.

Really appreciate all your feedback!!

 

[Tanya]

I'd still recommend classes and training asap. starting with puppy classes then moving forward, and ensuring there are rules in the house. while it may be explanable and one should not make a big deal out of it, it should still be adressed in the bigger picture.

 

[BigBrownDog]

Aggression in an 11 week old Lab puppy would be an unbelievably rare event.Yes they are very mouthy dogs and they need to learn bite inhibition - your puppy does not know that he hurts you when he puts his mouth on you. It's how they interact with other puppies/dogs.

Please don't call it aggression of any sort. It's not. Please have a qualified trainer evaluate him and help you learn how to train him.

 

[racquel1986]

Hi All - thanks so much for the feedback. I have enrolled Bailey into obedience training classes which kick off on Sunday.
BigrownDog - absolutely agree, I am convinced this is not aggression, he is just a puppy who doesn't know he had done something wrong and just needs guidance and training.