Puppy starting to be dog-aggressive

[twistedcaduceus]

Hi everyone!

So as some of you know, I have a 15 week old PB black chow named Shadow. Just an update, she is doing much better with her obedience training. She still struggles with the concept of "stay" and just follows me around which I don't really mind. We're doing agility next week so I am really excited because I don't want her to join dog show but being a competitive individual myself, I wanted her to compete on agility courses (hoping she isn't prone to hip dysplasia. My vet will take xrays when she turns 6 months).

Done with my usual rant, my reason for writing this is that while at Petco today, trying to socialize her since Chicago winter is now starting (yes you heard me right, we just had our first series of snow that actually stuck to the ground) and no one are present in my local dog parks, a woman with a pup sheltie walked by. Being an opportunist for dog socialization opportunities, and both Shadow and the Sheltie seems like to play, the other owner and I let both dogs interact albeit with some tension on the leashes (I'm usually apprehensive with stranger dogs). They seem to be doing fine until Shadow started barking towards the Sheltie.

A lil' background on Shadow, she is still shy around other people and her only socialization was on our walks, visits to pet stores, her puppy class, and a few instance when I brought her to my mom's office when I drop her off a few times so not so much. Anyways, she was pretty okay with other dogs in the puppy class and loves playing with other dogs which are mostly rescue Pitbulls that the owners do attest are in different levels of rehab and can be aggressive due to their history of being abused and neglected (poor doggies ). The only time there becomes a barking bout is when one of the less stable dogs tried to nip at Shadow after a few minutes of sniffing.

Also Shadow is now growling at people who tries to touch her too soon (which I don't blame her, and I do try to remind them that she's not too keen with strangers). Otherwise, she just run behind me trying to get away from strangers that think she's a black teddy bear. I know she needs more socialization but is this a sign of her being aggressive? Is this just being a puppy? I don't want her to be a Lab that tries to please everyone but I don't want her to growl at everyone either. I also want to be able to bring her outside and interact with other dogs without worrying that she might start a fight and injures others, dog or human.

Any thoughts on this behaviour? Any suggestions? Violent reactions? Thanks again ladies and gents! This forum rocks!

[Rory's Dad]

Research Leash Aggression a bit and see if that fits. All puppies will play rough, regardless of breed (OK, excuse the teacup breeds here). It is part of socialization, and 99% of the time they know the limits. If the nipping gets too rough, they will yelp. That is the signal to the other dog to knock it off.

Chows have varied barks depending on the situation...a high pitched, sort of whiny bark indicates curiosity or something they want to investigate. Deep bark with a mixed in growl indicates protection mode. Standard voice bark with no growl could indicate they just want attention or are pointing something out.

As to the puppy play, if there is no growling or bared teeth, they are fine.

The reason i mention leash aggression is that it can come from you. If you get nervous when your dog is around other dogs or persons, he senses that and can go into defense mode. Generally, if you are calm and reassuring, they will get that and behave appropriately. If you tense up, shorten the leash, and pull him away, he will think something is wrong and try to react.

Make sure you learn to read his signals before reacting yourself. Separate puppy play and curiosity from aggressive behavior or fear reactions. It will take practice, but will make things much easier.

[twistedcaduceus]

Thanks again for the input Rory's Dad. I was thinking the same thing since I am kinda weary about my chow meeting strange dogs in public places, she might be picking this up from me. I am always cautious and probably paranoid sometimes because when I met people with dogs, they either had experience with chows which is awesome, has no idea about chows at all and thinks I have a bear with me, or the judgmental ones that knew someone who knows someone that had a "bad" chow chow that is a menace to society, therefore they stereotype even when my chow is the first one they've ever seen. That is the ones I am most cautious about because if something do happen, its gonna be my dog's fault because her breed is considered as a "bully" breed no matter what really happened. Therefore I get very cautious if I don't know the dog's owner.

I can rant so much about "bully" breeds and how people are ignorant about dogs in general but that's a different post LOL. Anyways I will try to be calmer when Shadow meet's other dogs and hopefully I can learn to read her body language ASAP.

Again thanks Rory's Dad!

[walkerrobinsonjr]

twistedcaduceus - Hi and congrats on your new chow chow in Chicago. I am on my third chow chow, my first was an intact black female, the second was an intact cream female and I currently have an intact cinn male Midas ( 18 weeks old, 33lbs).

I have been a long time follower of these forums and now a first time responder.

My cream chow Lady had the exact same issues (from what I can tell from you post) and 3-4 years later it only got worse. In my experience I learned that I needed to step up the socialization (doing it when they are older is much harder). Best suggestion would be to take her downtown on a weekend, maybe near Michigan Ave. Find a semi quiet lower traffic area and just set with her and let her take it all in. Let people say hi to her and approach her, cautiously of course, pet her if she allows. As she gets more comfortable take her closer to the Ave until you can successfuly sit with her on the ave with people walking by. Do this multiple times as a training excercise. (perhaps find an adoring stranger and hand them a treat for them to give her, help her understand that not all people are bad). - i understand weather makes this difficult, but the pain now will be worth it (longjohns help greatly).

Find puppy classes, the more the better. We just got our last booster and rabies and are now hunting for classes. We spend at least 1-2 hours outside (including potty breaks) and we say hello to as many strangers who will stop. We also spend about 10-20 min a day focusing on training (sit, stay, come, shake..) I encourage as many people to pet, or try to as possible (especially children - use common sense) - I always suggest that strangers don't pet chows heads. Ive never had nor met a chow who likes strangers petting its head. Encourage them to keep their palms down and approach from below the jaw or slightly to the side. Maybe find a few friends she hasnt met yet to try this slowly so she can smell them and get comfortable. It takes up so much time to stop and say hello to everyone, but in the long run it will be worth it.

Another helpful thing I wish I did was send my dog away for a week or so while they were a puppy. I have been reading that by mixing up the puppies living situation (preferably by finding a person willing to keep up with your training and diet rules) they learn not to become so attached to their owners and kinder to other people. I have not yet tried this excercise but it is on my list of things to do with my current chow Midas.

With all this said, Midas and all my other chows have played more agressive (or so it appears) than other dogs. Chows showing their teeth, even in a friendly manner, can be intimidating to even the seasoned chow owner. For the most part (id say 80% of the time) it's all fun and games, but they easily go into "the zone" and you need to step in and correct the bad action. My key words are "too rough" - and say it like you mean it, a timid voice will make them think its okay (sometimes more assertive meausres are needed, I find moreso with boys as opposed to girls) Midas has the making of a great alpha dog, too bad for him Im the alpha in my house but her certainly tries to test this structure. For the most part your chow seems very much normal (to me), however your comment about her being wiery of strangers (so young) gave me a bit of pause (like I said my cream was the same way, I just let it be). Midas loves to meet people, go new places, it was a bit of adjustment to me since my previous chows were much more cautious. Truthfuly there has been a lot of trial and error training my chows over the years, and Midas is benefiting from my past experience. I also have changed Midas to a raw diet, going on 1 month now, all previous dogs were kibble fed. I don't know if there is a connection between diet and socialization but I'm sure someone could make a case.

I hope this is helpful

[Pinoy51]

Hi there,
you already got great advise, so I don't need to add more.
I just like to re-assure you that you have a very normal Chow. Simba was and is exactly like you describe you're pup.
All I do is to educate people about Chows, that they're not easy going like Labs etc.
Now between my friends it has become a competition who can befriend Simba.
He isn't aggresive, just displays very clearly "i don't know you, don't pretend we're friends ".
For me that's fine. In the house I play down his "security guard" behavior. I don't encourage him to guard doors, patrol the fence etc.
So he mellowed down and just growls if he hears strange sounds etc.
For me that's perfect, I have choosen Chows because of their intelligence and indepency.
Nearly forgot, being calm, assertive is key too.
I only get into issues, if I'm being tense or unsure about an situation. So leash aggression is a real issue with Chows. They pick up your energy, even radio music can change their mood.

[twistedcaduceus]

Sorry for the late response. I've been very busy the last few days with Shadow's obedience test just got done, we've been training extra hard and with work and other stuff to do, it sidetracked me on reading here. Update on Shadow's obedience class. She passed (to my and the trainer's surprise). She did so well she became a physical manifestation of the words SHOWING OFF and SMUG. LOL.

@walkerrobinsonjr & Pinoy51. As always thanks for the input. I've been bringing Shadow more and more to different pet stores. It's been snowing a lot lately and keeping her fur well groomed is not very easy when she decides to roll around puddles. Plus its cold outside so our best bet for socialization is at indoor pet stores.

Regarding Shadow's socialization, I've noticed that although still shy around strangers, she responses positively more towards other dog owners than non-dog owners. Also better on owners of guard dogs (Pitts, GSD, Rotties) and dogs that are known to be "stubborn" or independent (Malamutes, Huskies, corgis, etc) than those that owns the likes of labs, yorkies, or other lap dogs. I don't know if its the way the owners act towards dogs since they are used to strong and stubborn dogs or what but that has been my observation. Also I am not trying to generalize, its just that these are what I observed from Shadow's behavior.

@walkerrobinsonjr I will try (putting up a brave face) to bring Shadow at Michigan Ave or maybe somewhere less crazier to start with. I my self gets a headache sometimes trying to navigate around the traffic of cars and people downtown I can't imagine how Shadow will react. Who knows? She might like it downtown? She never seems to surprise me these days. Also assuming you live in Chicago, do you need to get both Pet registration AND the rabies tag and all the health checks and stool tests to go to dog parks in the city? I was looking over the requirements and it sounds like that way. Shadow already has the rabies tag and up to date with her shots. She just haven't gotten a stool test because the vet doesn't think she needs it. I don't want to go back to the vet to get her stool checked just so we can go to the park. Also is there a difference between going to the park on and off leash? I am not planning on letting Shadow off leash at this moment but I would love to have her roam free in a fenced area if its at all possible.

Anyways sorry if I'm a little off topic here and thank you everyone as always.