is this the first signs of aggression ????

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mariebx19

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i just bought a 9 week old female border collie pup and she growls when anyone goes near her when she is eating and barks at people,is this her showing signs of aggression ???? also when she is playing she has bit someones leg and hands,what should i do when she does things like this ?? i had a collie about 8 years ago and he would go out and bite everyone so had to be pts :( and i really dont want this to happen again
 
Hard to say without seeing the pup. Generally I'd say probably not, but I have known one dog that was aggressive right from puppyhood - a dog bought from a puppy farm, so one bred without much care for temperament, or mental and physical health. Really sad.

I don't mean to sound rude, but I can only go on your post, and from that you sound quite inexperienced, so I'd say you need some outside help from a good trainer. They will be able to assess you and tell whether it's just play getting out of hand (which is most likely) or something more serious (unlikely but possible) and show you what to do in each case. I think this is the best thing you can do :)
 
well im not TOO experianced but i do have a dog which i trained,she was toilet trained within a day and learns everything so quickly and is a great dog,but i think i will put the collie into puppy classes
 
If you got the pup from a decent breeder, then I would contact the breeder first for advice. I wouldn't be too concerned about the nipping hands and feet when playing, its quite common in pups and collies often do nip heels, you just have to be firm and stop it immediately. The barking at people and growling when protecting food is not really something a pup should do, is she a bold, friendly pup or a little timid, she could just be unsure in her new surroundings.
You won't be able to go to any puppy classes until the pup is fully vaccinated.
 
mariebx19 said:
i just bought a 9 week old female border collie pup and she growls when anyone goes near her when she is eating and barks at people,is this her showing signs of aggression ???? also when she is playing she has bit someones leg and hands,what should i do when she does things like this ?? i had a collie about 8 years ago and he would go out and bite everyone so had to be pts :( and i really dont want this to happen again
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No. It's the sign of a puppy used to fighting for it's food.

She also probably hasn't bitten anyone, just been a bit 'mouthy' which all puppies are.
 
Nippiness is common in pups of this age, also if she is working bred she might be more inclined to nip.

Please also remember you could be teaching her that this is a good way to get what she wants. I want to eat, I want to eat in peace, and I don't want anyone messing with or taking my food. When I growl, the other person goes away.
My young dog at seven or eight weeks used to scream when someone lifted him up. They immediately put him down again and let him get on with what he was doing = win win.

Go to a good training class and maybe get The Culture Clash, a good book by Jane Donaldson.

Don't compare her to your last dog, it's a mistake a lot of people make, every dog is different and learns differently the same as every child in a class is not the same.
 
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First of all she is only 9weeks old so get some perspective, she has probabley had to fight for her food and some Collies can be very sharp. East Kent has given good advice about how to feed, do this until pup is entirely accepting. As for the nipping this is common in all pups but more so with herding breeds but if you give a sharp yell like a pup would and walk away.

I suggest you buy the book Dog Training For Dummies by Jack & Wendy Volhard and it really is a good easy to read book that covers everything.
 
With nine weeks she is still too young to really tell, puppies are always full of energy when they are that young. Also, what might seem as aggressive behaviour could actually just be playing, so nothing to worry about yet.
 
thanks,how should i 'discipline' her when she nips.I am sure it is just a playful way but dont want it to stay as she gets older.The food aggression i can deal with and try to stop, i will just go to her when she eats-i think you should be able to go near and touch dogs when they are eating and they should not growl,bite,bark (i will just hand feed her for a while first) and use food as a treat.i bought her from the livery yard i keep my horse at,the mum and dad are both working dogs and the pups were all kept in the same kennel in a barn with one big food bowl,so im guessing they did have to kind of fight for their food.she isnt nervous around people at all she is really hyper and affectionate,and scared of squeaky toys lol i have an agility course in my back garden for my other dog so will teach her as well,but what other kind of things can i do with her,especially as she cant go out for 5 weeks,she had her 1st vaccination today.
 
If she was raised in a stable in a big litter then it's understandable that she's a bit scrappy around food. Dogs that are intended to live in a house, are usually reared in a house, she won't have been so it might be a bit of a shock for her also (if you'd never heard a kettle boiling, a washing machine going etc!!)

There are lots of different ways to teach bite inhibition, and success depends on how you do it and what suits the dog, the Culture Clash has a whole section dealing with it.

As EK says, I would just go to the bowl and add food rather than snatching it away or even touching or messing with the dog too much - I'd find it irritating if someone was stroking or pawing at me when I was eating! So your approach means more food, not food disappearing.
 
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She did sleep in the house a bit because she is one that the owner was thinking of keeping.i will have a look at the culture clash and i do just add the food to her bowl without taking the bowl away.thanks for the advise :)
 
The only 'discipline' you need if she nips is to stop what your doing with her , walk away, stop the game etc She will soon learn that nipping = no attention/the game stops.

For the resource guarding I would start with an empty bowl and add a few bits of food at a time, so she see's you as the giver of food, not the one who takes it away. Once she is happy with you being near her bowl, leave her eat in peace.

As a seperate exercise teach her to swap things with you, then if she ever has something that you dont want her to have, she will be happy to swap it for something else.

I agree with CC, read The Culture Clash, excellent book.
 
Teaselmeg you'll no doubt keel over in shock to find that I think parts of the Culture Clash are overly fluffy but the basics are quite good :p :p :p I could have given away my copy 20 times!!
 
THIS IS HER-THE ONE ON THE LEFT.THE OTHER ONE IS MY SISTERS,FROM THE SAME BREEDER BUT 1 WEEK OLDER.SHE DOESNT HAVE A NAME YET-IF ANYONE HAS ANY IDEAS,PLEASE LET ME KNOW.I WAS THINKING OF JESS,WILLOW OR MAIZIE

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CaveCanem said:
Teaselmeg you'll no doubt keel over in shock to find that I think parts of the Culture Clash are overly fluffy but the basics are quite good :p :p :p I could have given away my copy 20 times!!
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Lol, I was pleasantly surprised when I read your advice CC

Your pup is very cute mariebx19.
 
So did the breeder have 2 litters of pups just a week apart in age? If this was the case and they were all together after weaning I am not surprised your pup is a bit food aggressive as she would have had to compete not just with her litter mates but older pups too.:(
Its hard to tell from that picture but her tummy does look swollen to one side. Was it like that when she had her first vaccination because I would have thought the vet would have noticed it. Does her tummy feel regular all over?
 
yeah she did have 2 litters 1 week apart,she is alot better around food now,you can clap her and she doesnt growl,bark but when the other pup goes near her she does but that is only living with us temporarily and they can easily be put in seperate rooms to eat for now.The other older pup actually eats his and my pups poo,he is really timid so probably had to do that because he got pushed away from food :( there isnt always a big lump there (you can see it with certain positions) her belly does feel quite lumpy allover (maybe just veins ??) the vet felt her belly but just didnt look at it.i will put a few more pics up with er lying flat on her back.
 
here is a few other pics were the lump doesnt look like much so i dont know if it was just the way she was being held and her bbig belly.













 
hopefully just worms.the vet did feel her belly and gave me a worming product because i mentioned her belly is really big,so will worm her tomorrow.
 
well this is what she pood this morning so will worm them now-disgusting,poor thing as well been left like that and clearly not wormed,would drontal oral wormer get rid of this??
 
Poor puppy! That looks like tape worm, though I'm no expert. Drontral say they cover this kind of worm http://www.drontal.com/products/

Personally I'd be whisking her straight off to the vets again and showing them that pic, I'd be worried (possibly unnecessarily) that an infestation like that will need more than the normal dose to clear it.

I have to say I was really surprised just how often puppies should be wormed!
 
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