Snarling in very young EM puppy

[lauranthalas]

Hello everyone! I am new to this forum and appreciate any feedback I can get. We just brought home an EM puppy. She is only about 5.5 weeks old, which I know is super young (long story). We have always had huskies and labs, so we are very new to mastiffs. That said, we are not entirely sure about our pups play behavior. She snarls and growls very viciously when she is playing, as in lip curled back and showing teeth. She doesn't attack or anything, but we weren't sure if this was normal or not for a mastiff. We have never had any of our other pups play with such intensity. Any feedback would be great!

 

[Smart_Family]

Welcome! She likely wasn't with her mother and siblings long enough to learn appropriate play. The 6-12 week period is the most crucial time for this, so teaching her is going to be on you and your family.

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

What do you do when she does it?? 5.5 weeks old. That is way too early and wouldnt be at all suprised if her snarling behavoir has something to do with this. She hasnt had enough time to learn manners from her mother and litter mates.

---------- Post added at 04:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:35 PM ----------

Welcome! She likely wasn't with her mother and siblings long enough to learn appropriate play. The 6-12 week period is the most crucial time for this, so teaching her is going to be on you and your family.

I think we are typing and replying at the same time. lol

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

Welcome! She likely wasn't with her mother and siblings long enough to learn appropriate play. The 6-12 week period is the most crucial time for this, so teaching her is going to be on you and your family.

I think we are typing and replying at the same time. lol

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

I agree 5.5 weeks....be prepared....

 

[Smart_Family]

Haha Mooshi's mom were on the same wave length today!

 

[FRANK]

Hello and congrats on your first mastiff, you have to teach him not to do so in his childhood.
This method worked for us so sharing, what we do is, give our puppy a raw lamb bone and try to take it back and when he growls he gets a nice tap on the butt, then also he doesn't get the bone for sometime. After he thinks it over and ready for it. We give it back and again take it back. Then after a couple of times he knows that its not ok to growl at us. If he doesn't growl anymore when your taking the bone away then give it back again soon. Which sends him a message that he is not doing any good with his growling.


Hope that is clear to understand and helps you train him.

Also if there are other dogs who are trying to take that bone then you can't expect him not to growl as its his nature to protect his food from other dogs/animals. You dont have to do anything, the dogs will figure it out soon who is the alpha dog.

From my personal experience.....



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[lauranthalas]

Thank you all. We know she is super young, we have never had a puppy so young before. When she does it, we correct her verbally and try to distract her with an appropriate toy. She plays with our husky and lab and they have been correcting her in dog fashion when she is too aggressive with them. I really want to ensure she learns what she needs to and give her the best start possible. I don't know that she got a ton of human interaction before we got her either. It sounds as though she and her siblings were kept outside with mama.

 

[Rugers-Kris]

Congrats on your new baby!! I got Ruger (EM) a day before he turned 6 weeks old and he was an inappropriate player as well but it isn't a big deal. I would just tell him quietly No.....Easy....and when he stopped the behavior I would lavish him with lots of "Good Boys" and "Sweet Fella's". I disagree with the tap on the butt ( but this is just my opinion) and I disagree with it more so with a pup so young. You can come up with your own words but the concept was what worked for my fuzzy little boy. Your other dogs will Teach the baby a thing or two as well but Ruger came through it without a whole lot of work, I was just very consistent in reminding him all of the time. Good luck with the new edition. Can't wait to see some photos and hear more about her growing up.

 

[musicdeb]

Your dogs will show the new family member how to act. Give them some time.

 

[DennasMom]

I'd take the clues from your dogs - be a "momma" dog and give a low-tone growl or "uh-uh" as a 'disagreement' with the behavior, then redirect to something fun and appropriate. Yelp/yipe like a sibling puppy when you get nipped on, and stop play as a signal she went too far there, too.

Try and find some puppy play groups as soon as you can (groups may require at least one round of shorts first). Other puppies the same age will definitely help - especially when supervised with a good trainer.

It could be the snarls and 'viciousness' was learned early as a way to get food... so if you can reassure your pup that food comes when she's calm and relaxed, and then is not taken away... that might help her relax and stop worrying so much.

Or... does the pup show any sensitivities to being touched? does she have some 'soft' spots? Maybe she was hurt during play, and this is her way to keep others away and not be hurt again. If there were other dogs around that ignored the puppy's request to be left alone may be what triggered her response. Keep her calm and provide other means of reinforcing good behaviour... and happy puppy play versus angry puppy play.

I'm sure she'll rebound quick when she finds out she's in a loving home and can relax and just enjoy it all.