Is my 13 week old pup too friendly with strangers?

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m_saade
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Is my 13 week old pup too friendly with strangers?

Post by m_saade »

Hello,

My pure bred puppy is well socialized and he loves people. And especially strangers.

I got my chow because I read alot about this breed being aloof with strangers and his great natural guarding abilities.

He has been with me for about a month now and I have not seen any sign from him that shows his guarding instinct. On the contrary he LOVES strangers.

my question is, will his attitude towards strangers change when he gets older?
I need a guard dog and not a fluffy lovable dog.

am I over socializing him?

(I am a first time dog owner)

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DrewBear
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Re: Is my 13 week old pup too friendly with strangers?

Post by DrewBear »

Although Chows are generally aloof with strangers and are excellent guard dogs, each individual Chow is unique. Even pups from the same litter can have very different character traits. In asking breeders questions about the parents of pups I was considering, the phrase "doesn't know a stranger" came up a couple of times.

IIRC, my pup didn't start barking at people coming to the door until he was quite a bit older than 13 weeks. Now he knows his territory and will bark at anyone approaching unless it's someone he knows well. Away from home he's a aloof with strangers, but doesn't bark at them. On a few occasions he has growled at people he could not see well (at night) or folks who surprised him by rushing quickly from behind or from his blind spot (a large one for most Chows).

I don't think you can over-socialize a pup. I would ask the breeder about his parents. Unless both parents are the "doesn't know a stranger" type, give him some more time to develop a sense of his territory. If you need a guard dog who aggressively defends his territory, I think you would need to provide specialized training.
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m_saade
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Re: Is my 13 week old pup too friendly with strangers?

Post by m_saade »

Thank you for your quick response,

First of all i would like to wish you all a Happy new year!

Regarding my pup, currently he loves anyone and he is extremely happy to meet strangers, but i am seeing some weird behavior from him during his sleep...

He wakes up in the middle of his nap barking and running to the door. As he takes a very dominant aggressive stance.
Like he is practicing his guarding instinct in his dreams... he looks funny though.

Based on what the breeder told me, he is a great watch dog.. hopefully he will start changing as you said...

And I prefer to keep him on his natural guarding instinct since I do not want him biting innocent people looking suspicious because they are afraid of him... ( based on the book of Kohler)
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Re: Is my 13 week old pup too friendly with strangers?

Post by Rory's Dad »

First, be sure you understand a basic philosophy before judging your puppies behavior any further. There is a huge difference between a 'guard' dog, and an 'attack' dog. Chows are a fantastic breed for being a 'guard' dog. They will alert you to strange noises or unusual behavior. They do this by barking, or in some cases whining or pacing. They might even knock you on the back of the knee to get you to look at whatever they hear or see. They generally will not bite as a first instinct.

Now, as Drew mentioned, Chows do have limited peripheral vision, so a nip can occur when they are surprised by someone's presence. Very important to teach people how to properly approach the dog. They should be told to approach from the front and below the head. Petting the dog from behind, crouching over him, or reaching toward his head from the sides can result in the dog being surprised and reacting with his teeth. Tons of socialization (as you are doing) and getting him over what is known as Head Shy is the best way to minimize this. And of course training the humans on how to approach your dog.

All puppies, regardless of breed are going to be sweet, affectionate, and friendly. At 13 weeks he is still exploring the world and trying to take it all in. So, no, there is no such thing as too friendly in his world. At about 6 months though, he is going to start figuring out he is a Chow. That's when natural instincts to be aloof, guarding, and stand-offish are going to start kicking in. He will realize that he has certain bonds to his family and will be more protective. And that's when the socialization during his puppy days will begin to balance out his behavior.

He should have learned how to properly interact with other dogs. He will read your emotions on people. If you have spent the time to speak to him "he's OK, he's a friend", "good boy, say hello" then he will understand. When the unwanted cable tv salesman knocks on the door and you don't assure him, then he will continue to intimidate said salesman. Another 'good boy' will continue that behavior.

Back to the guard/attack definition. Chows don't generally bite first and ask questions later. Their posture with the deep chest and stilted leg is intended to intimidate. The large mane and gait with attitude adds to that. Watch a chow walk into a room of other dogs and they tend to part the seas. Natures intent. If a threat walked into your living room, they would likely force the threat into a corner and wait for you to make a decision. An actual attack would be a last resort.
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Re: Is my 13 week old pup too friendly with strangers?

Post by m_saade »

Hello,

Thank you for the detailed response. That was pretty much what I needed since I am a first time dog owner.

Regarding the guard/attack dog, that was the main reason I chose this breed.. and Iam not planning on sending him for attack dog training.

As I said in my last post, I want him to act on his natural instincts which seemed non existent to me until this moment. But you post was very helpful explaining that point.

I will keep track of my pup's behavior week after week. And I will post a chart for that.

Thanks again
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Is my 13 week old pup too friendly with strangers?

Post by TyChowgirl »

Love the description Rory's Dad. I have to say that while my male was cautious with everyone from day one, my female was a lot more laid back and friendly with everyone and everything. Now that she's coming up on a year she's a lot more cautious and going through a suspicious of everything stage. She's more guard oriented. For me, this means I want to get her out into the world and continue to socialize her so she doesn't spook and guard over everything. I want her to be friendlier. I don't want to overly cautious chows and like the balance they have. Anyways, once the sparkly puppy curiosity phase is over expect the guard instinct to kick in


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