My puppy bites and pushes when carried. Is this normal puppy behavior?

Yes it can be normal at this age, but you have to stop the behavior now or it will get worse as Capi gets older. Unfortunately, this is a serious problem - aggressive behavior like this (assuming it's true aggression and not rough play) is very abnormal in such a young puppy. To have the best chance of growing up to be relatively normal, puppies like this need early behavioral intervention from a professional. I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist as soon as possible for a in-person evaluation of your puppy. He/she can give you a much better idea of whether this issue is "fixable", in the sense of having a relatively normal dog when he grows up. They will also help you put together a step-by-step training plan to work on the problem, and give you very specific management instructions to make sure everyone stays safe. You can search for a behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

At ten weeks of age this is still very normal behavior. If Safiro is getting too excited, taking a time out and stopping all play/walking away until he's calm again can help to teach him that getting too excited results in the fun ending, and that calm behavior is rewarded with more play time. Working on some impulse control training (such as airplaning treats, taking and dropping toys, taking treats nicely, sitting politely -- YouTube has great tutorials for all of this) can also help with over excitement and biting behavior.

What you are describing may be normal puppy behavior for Bear because some puppies respond very poorly to dominance type of behavioral training. However, I would be concerned with the behaviors that you are describing. I would recommend contacting your veterinarian or the foster organization for a recommendation on a trainer to work with to have someone else observe Bear's behavior to help you decide where to go from here. The longer this behavior continues, the more serious it will be become, so this needs to be dealt with immediately. In the meantime, I would not reprimand or challenge Bear since that seems to escalate the situation. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Oh dear! Growling when you pick her up is a major red flag for future problems in a puppy this age - this is not normal, and needs more help than just socialization. From your description, it's hard to say if her behavior with the other puppy is normal play or aggression. I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate her in person and help you put together a plan to work on these issues - it's best to do this as soon as possible, since early intervention gives you a much better chance of being able to change this behavior before she grows up. I'm not sure what part of Canada you're in, but your regular veterinarian should be able to help you find out where your nearest board-certified veterinary behaviorist is so that you can make an appointment. In the meantime, I would try and avoid doing anything that tends to make her growl - instead of picking her up, for example, use treats to encourage her to come to you. I would also not recommend any kind of punishment for this behavior, as this has a high risk of making things worse over time. The behaviorist can help you identify what kinds of situations tend to trigger the growling, and will put together a training plan to work on this issue.

Lucy is still very young and while I can't completely judge definitively the behavior you are describing without seeing it first hand, it doesn't sound like abnormal puppy behavior. Lucy is currently in a very important part of her emotional / social development so you may see lots of behaviors over the next 2-3 months that seem new or out of the ordinary, as she continues to find her role in this new world. If the biting to you really seems like an aggressive sort of action, I would recommend speaking with a trainer or behaviorist in person so they can make their own determination as how to move forward. In the mean time, any biting (or teething) that you see should be redirected to a toy. Do not touch Lucy or says something to Lucy when she bites, as this could be misinterpreted to her as attention. Sometimes, they don't care whether it's negative or positive attention, and will continue to perform any behavior that results in attention, period. Hope this helps you out. Good luck with Lucy!

Most puppies go through a stage where they become very mouthy and try and bite everything. This is a very different situation to an aggressive dog that is not being playful but is trying to inflict damage. I assume your dog is just being mouthy but if it is aggressive then you should contact a professional behaviourist asap. Mouthy puppies are best handled with consistency. When the pup bites firmly say no and put it on the floor and ignore it for a minute or 2. Resume play and repeat when the pup bites. Give the puppy plenty of toys which it can bite but never encourage it to see your hand as a toy.

Yes, this is normal puppy play. Try not to get him riled up to the point where he is biting and growling. If he starts, stop play until he settles down. It is up to you to teach him what is appropriate behavior and what is not. If he bites hard, a stern "No!" Shouls stop/distract him. Offer an appropriate item to chew. Praise and reward rewatd him when he complies. If he doesn't, stop all interaction until he settles down. Be firm and be consistent.