My 1-year-old puppy growls and snaps at kids. What should I do?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! In my experience these situations will become worse if not handled correctly. I recommend taking Rosie to your vet to discuss behavior training. There is a lot you and your family can do to prevent it getting worse but you may need to talk with a specialist. Your vet can help you find someone in your area but I recommend setting this up soon. Good luck and kisses to Rosie!

Before assuming this is a behavior issue, I would want to rule out a possible medical issue first. When I hear about sudden changes resulting in aggressiveness, the possibility of pain or discomfort in one of the dogs could be the root of the problem. When a dog is not feeling well, it is only natural for it to react in a negative way if one of its buddies is trying to get it to act normally. A thorough physical exam should be performed by a veterinarian in order to rule out any sort of orthopedic or neurologic pain. Thyroid conditions can also be responsible for behavior changes as well. If it turns out that no medical issue can be be identified, you will have to start considering what may have started this sudden change of heart by Mill. You will have to think back to when it started, when the problem occurs most, where it occurs most, who is around when it is occurring, who ISN'T around when it is occurring, so on and so forth. These types of issues can be long and complicated to resolve, but usually as soon as the issue is identified the road forward becomes much easier.

Hello. I’m sorry to hear about the trouble you’re having with Little Miss Blue. Is there any chance she could be pregnant? I noticed that you listed her as not spayed. Pregnancy can cause aggression especially if they are close to having puppies. If she is not pregnant sometimes dogs that are painful will start showing aggressive behavior suddenly. I would have your vet examine her and make sure that she is OK and not suffering from any thing painful, also it may be good to have them run for blood work and make sure nothing else is wrong. I would start there and if she’s healthy and not pregnant I would try to find a behaviorist to work with to alter these aggressive tendencies.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Mylah and her apparent aggression. Aggression problems can be very complicated and complex. One thing you should do initially is take her to your veterinarian and let them make sure that she is healthy and that nothing appears wrong medically. Pain, etc can bring about aggression and irritability problems. Once the medical check is cleared, then you can discuss with your vet exactly what is going on behaviorally. Your veterinarian may want to refer you to a certified trainer or animal behaviorist to try to sort out what is triggering the aggression. I see she is spayed so we can rule out irritability/aggression associated with her heat cycles. I wish you the best of luck with little cutie Mylah.

This may be a dominance issue as he is growing up and passing through puberty. The best thing you can do is have him neutered immediately to help minimize the dominance behavior. From there you need to reinforce you are in charge and that behavior is unacceptable. make sure you correct him every time this happens and give him appropriate items to play with and chew on. Make sure he is getting plenty of exercise also. If all of these fail they do have medication that can with behavior training from your vet

I do not think it is anything you are specifically doing wrong. As dogs age they can have a change in personality but it is important to start training to turn this behavior around. IT sounds like she is scared and having some anxiety. I would recommend starting with basic commands like sit, stay and come. I also would recommend getting her in training classes so you can start to redirect her behavior. Once she starts feeling more confident it most likely will help with her behavior around other dogs. i hope that helps

She could be having a false pregnancy but that would be extremely unusual in a 6 month old puppy. This could be an indication that she has a severe hormonal issue. I suggest you get her to the vet for an exam. You need to get his under control as soon as possible before he actions turn into serious aggression.