Hi, I have a four and a half month old labrador puppy that is aggressive with other puppies and small dogs. She has been going to classes for four weeks and was quiet until last week when another puppy got in her face and she just went for it and bit it. This happened again in the same class and on a dog walk with another puppy.She runs away from larger dogs or adopts a submissive position. I own both her parents and they were nothing like this. I do not know what I have done wrong with her. I thought that the classes would help to socialise her but they seem to have brought out aggression instead.I am sure this is fear based aggression but I do not understand where she has got the fear from. She has never had a bad experience with other dogs and is a different dog away from the classes. I want to know if I should keep going to the classes and if anyone can tell me how to help her. She is scared of new situations and people initially but usually comes round in a few minutes and is herself again.

Hi Amy,as you know a Labrador should not show agression at all,her behaviour with puppies and small dogs will be because they defer to her dominant behavour,if this is showing at such a young age I think you have problems,Im sure others on here will give you sound advice.
good Luck & Best wishes

HI Amy

If your dog is really unlike her normal self at these classes, then it is possible she is stressed and I personally would stop taking her just for the moment. HOwever she obviously needs to get along with other dogs - did it all start to happen after the other dog got in her face, or was she like it before?

She could just have been really scared, and so snapped, but depending on what happened exactly it is unusual for a Lab as Mattie has suggested.

YOu say you own her mum and dad - so do you know how the rest of the llitter are? Are they the same or different?

If the classes let all the pups off the lead together, this has to be judged carefully, as some boisterous and pushy pups can actually scare shyer pups, making them react aggressively through being defensive. When puppy classes became all the rage and everyone started doing them, many pups surfaced from the classes with problems because of too much free for all and rough and tumble. So you have to be careful who runs the classes.

It is oK to have off lead play, but it must be supervised very carefullly and the pups watched carefully. MOst pups do recover if they have been scared by another pup, but sometimes they will react by going a bit OTT :D (It isn't a good idea to have say, a pushy Staffie pup in with a Sheltie, as they both have such different styles of play that it could really scare the Sheltie if they are bothoff lead for a whole session.It's different when they are grown.)

If her mum and dad are fine, hopefully she will take her cue a bit from them and start to realise all dogs are not ogres. The fact that she runs away from other bigger dogs says to me that she is nervous rather than anything. Snapping at small dogs IMHO means she is unsure of them. if she was in your arms when she did this, that will have givne her confidnece to snap. If she was't in your arms she would have possibly used dog language to "get on " with the pup.

As it seems so unusual especially as her parents are OK, I would also consider a vet check up - I suspect the problem was the other pup in her face which set her off, but could also be because she is in pain - this is not unusual either! For instance she may have bad hips or be feeling unwell, and can cope at home but not elsewhere. At least a thorough vet check (and i mean thorough, not just a once over! ) will eliminate any physical problem so your mind will be at rest and you can then concentrate on the behaviour.

Best wishes
lindsay

Hi Ami

Lindsey has come up with some good suggestions with regard to the vet check. I would still take her to classes but try putting her in an (adult sized) crate at class so that she is "safe" and can learn that other dogs approaching her do not mean automatically mean trouble.

My young Dobe was very nervous of other dogs when I first took her to class, and would hide herself in corners and look as if she would snap if other dogs came too close - when she was like this I made sure that no other dogs could come close to her. She gradually improved the more I took her out and about - I would keep her on the lead in the middle of the area in class when the other dogs were running around, so that she could see what was happening but was protected by me from other dogs. Her litter sister was totally the opposite and would play with anyone, anytime - like you I have both parents, perhaps they feel too exposed without their parents around.

She is now 17 months and I can walk her with just about any dogs - she seems to let them know that she does not want to play by her body language (unless they are Dobes) and they leave her along and she leaves them alone.

I have walked her with a couple of members of this list and apart from Jake (the mockodile) she might as well have been the only dog (especially when the rest of them decided to go swimming - Dobes don't do water!).

Don't be over reassuring with your pup, but make sure that other dogs cannot approach closer than her "perceived personal space". Stand with her on the lead so that you can protect her but be very matter of fact about it. I don't know if this will help but it was my way of dealing with it with my youngster and it appears to have worked for us.

Christine