Puppy Behaviour issue

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Clarie27
Posts: 1
Joined: 01 Mar 2020, 19:09
First Name: Clare

Puppy Behaviour issue

Post by Clarie27 »

Hi,

We have a 15 week old boy Miniature, healthy and not in pain. He is attending puppy classes and is joining a new one shortly for training. We have had dogs all our lives but this is our first Schnauzer.

Our concerns: if he is doing something and he wants to continue and we try to stop him. For example if he legs it upstairs ( he can’t get down) and we go up to get him. All well and good if he wants to come down. If he doesn’t he will growl then instantly turn to snap at you. We have been been warning him with ‘up’ before lifting and making a fuss if he doesn’t growl and try to bite.

If you try to stop him doing something he shouldn’t and he is focused he will again growl and snap if you try to stop him.

This evening the kids was having there dinner and he jumped up to get it and my other half went over to pick him up to take him out of the room and again he growled and turned to snap.

Like I’ve said before we have had dogs before and yes they have growled and protested at times but nothing like him. And it worries me for the future with 2 young children.

On the whole he is a nice dog when he has burnt off his energy and is sleepy. It’s the bits in between. And people on the Facebook page are saying it’s normal for the breed?! And he will out grow it. Any advice please.
Oscar 12345
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Dog #1: Oscar RIP Sweety
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Re: Puppy Behaviour issue

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Hi Clare, welcome to the forum. It sounds like he is being a typical pup. I love this mantra for pups, ignore what you don't like, praise/reward what you do like and manage/seek advice for those things you find acceptable. So on the things you find unacceptable, try prevention... example, the legging it upstairs, get a child/stairgate. You don't have to worry about him grumbling when you want him down. The jumping up at dinner, give him a nice treat in his crate or pen or whatever you have and enjoy peace and quiet at dinner. So prevention is an excellent way of managing some of this stuff. Other stuff you can't prevent for example if he goes outside and you can't get him back, have a routine of always treating when he comes when you call him. Works also if you want him in another area of the house or in another room (although they do get wise to that if you do it to shut him in on his own....) it is also a great way of starting recall for when you are outside. So my advice is for every problem, seek a solution that stops whatever you don't like happening and if you can't then nice treats and rewarding for the behaviour you want. With positive training he for sure will grow out of it. Ensure your kids are "in on the rules" and also have boundaries when interacting with the pup. Hope this helps and I am sure others will be on with other ideas to help you out.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
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zeta1454
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Joined: 19 May 2011, 16:58
First Name: Leigh
Dog #1: Magic
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 20 Apr 2010
Dog #2: Trilby
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 15 Mar 2012
Dog #3: Pip
Born: 21 Feb 2014
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
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Re: Puppy Behaviour issue

Post by zeta1454 »

Hi Claire, just to add to the above advice from Julie, a few points and questions;

This sounds to me a bit more than just typical puppy /Schnauzer behaviour but if you are sure your little one does not have any health issues which are affecting his behaviour:

Did you get any feedback from his breeder when you collected your puppy regarding his temperament and behaviour with his siblings?
Was he from a large litter of pups? Sometimes if puppies have had to hold their own with a number of others they may become more "aggressive assertive" which could become a habit.

From my experience with puppies over more than twenty years, they may be grouchy but more serious snapping and growling is usually associated with over tiredness or over stimulation. Is your puppy getting plenty of rest time throughout the day? In the early months of a puppy's life they need to have short productive activity sessions: exploring their environment; socialisation; training etc. and several good rest times of around a couple of hours which enables their brain to absorb and learn from their experiences. Overload of experiences, training sessions that are too long or demanding and not enough "down" time in a crate or playpen if need be, can lead to a puppy becoming fretful or grouchy and more likely to growl and snap.

There is a possibility that your puppy might have experienced physical restraint or punishment in the past and is over reacting now as a defensive reaction - this may be the least likely but worth mentioning. I would also add that some puppies / dogs are not comfortable with physical handling generally and can (over) react to anyone trying to pick them up or handle them. This is usually because they have not experienced much handling in their very early weeks of life but can also be just a particular temperament issue. If it is this, you will need to do plenty of gentle, loving handling of your pup throughout every day for food or play or just relaxing if possible so he learns that physical handling is not just in order to stop him from doing something he wants to.

As Julie says, prevention of problem situations is key when possible and maybe try, instead of trying to lift him (when you don't need to as in an emergency) offering him a treat or toy to come to you, so that he actually makes the decision to move rather than being forced to submit. Miniature schnauzers are intelligent little dogs and love being part of the family so you should be able to work on this to encourage him to want to be with you, come when you call and respond to you without growling or snapping.

Do let us know how you get on and how the training classes progress. Positive rewarding training can do wonders for challenging puppies :-)
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


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zeta1454
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Posts: 5136
Joined: 19 May 2011, 16:58
First Name: Leigh
Dog #1: Magic
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 20 Apr 2010
Dog #2: Trilby
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 15 Mar 2012
Dog #3: Pip
Born: 21 Feb 2014
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Location: North Yorkshire
Contact:

Re: Puppy Behaviour issue

Post by zeta1454 »

Since posting the above, I thought it worth mentioning that some dog food / treats can contain additives / colourants or too many carbohydrates / sugars which can affect behaviour and lead to challenging behaviours in puppies and dogs. Also of course your puppy will be affected by teething pain at this period of time which can be tolerated better by some pups than others. Pain of any kind can make a puppy grouchy.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


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