Ted beat up a puppy!

[Tedsmum]

Hi all, I am not expecting any solutions as I know that this behaviour is kind of normal but I am a bit peed off with a new habit Ted has developed in the last week or so.
He has ALWAYS loved all dogs he meets and if they have a go at him he will leg it rather than retaliate. He has been kind and gentle with little dogs and puppies and I have only ever had to be concerned that he is a bit clumsy around them in the past. However this has suddenly all changed.
He has started to growl at some dogs whilst playing with them, and it's definately not a play growl. He loves to chase but again with some dogs he chases and trys to bring them down by jumping on their back end, no humping though. But yesterday he was a complete git with a GSD pup of about 5 months.
Not only did he do all the above but he got so aggressive that I put him on the lead and was frightened for the pup's safety. As I did this, Ted's jaws snapped shut right next to the pup's face. It was a proper bite and would have been nasty if it had connected.
I know that dogs do this to puppies, god knows Ted was on the receiving end of enough of it when he was a pup. But I am a bit disappointed to see such aggression from my once placid dog that has up to now been everybody's friend.
I want to stress that on a walk where we meet 20 dogs, he will be like this about just one and they are always young submissive dogs.
Is this just teenage stroppyness do you think?
Is he likely to grow out of this?

[LOVEGSD]

I find Diesel will be fine with pups when they are really young but the moment they are over 8 months and they jump up at his face he'll not tolerate it, like Ted Diesel was always 100% great with puppies but I've noticed this change in him, although he never makes contact or injures a puppy.

I now ask the puppy owner to not allow their puppy to 'charge' Diesel, this I have noticed makes a huge difference and I calmy tell him to sit/wait, he then can greet the puppy in a calm and controlled manner and everyone's happy.

I know it's not an answer as such and I'm sure if you control the meetings every time he'll learn to tolerate puppies, Diesel certainly has and can now be called away if I think he's getting a tad fed up of the puppy.

[zetstaff]

I think as they get a bit older they're changing all the time. My sister's last GSD was like this with some dogs but if they had a go back at him he was fine.

Is he neutered? This doesn't 'solve' problems but helps in stopping hormones running riot

Boris has always been really friendly with other dogs but he's 2 now + I've noticed he isn't as friendly with some, he can be a grumpy little sod with some + not others.

Also we don't know what doggie conversation they're having between themselves, there are lots of things we don't notice + if it were me I'd be more worried if he was like that with every dog rather than just some. Not all people get on + I'm sure dogs must be the same.

My dogs have always mellowed as they've got older, but they have gone through the 'Kevin + Perry' stage

xxx

[LOVEGSD]

Diesel was castrated at 2 and I definitely noticed a calming of him with other male dogs and I agree with Tracey, we sometimes miss little things that cause friction.

Originally Posted by Tedsmum

Hi all, I am not expecting any solutions as I know that this behaviour is kind of normal but I am a bit peed off with a new habit Ted has developed in the last week or so.
He has ALWAYS loved all dogs he meets and if they have a go at him he will leg it rather than retaliate. He has been kind and gentle with little dogs and puppies and I have only ever had to be concerned that he is a bit clumsy around them in the past. However this has suddenly all changed.
He has started to growl at some dogs whilst playing with them, and it's definately not a play growl. He loves to chase but again with some dogs he chases and trys to bring them down by jumping on their back end, no humping though. But yesterday he was a complete git with a GSD pup of about 5 months.
Not only did he do all the above but he got so aggressive that I put him on the lead and was frightened for the pup's safety. As I did this, Ted's jaws snapped shut right next to the pup's face. It was a proper bite and would have been nasty if it had connected.
I know that dogs do this to puppies, god knows Ted was on the receiving end of enough of it when he was a pup. But I am a bit disappointed to see such aggression from my once placid dog that has up to now been everybody's friend.
I want to stress that on a walk where we meet 20 dogs, he will be like this about just one and they are always young submissive dogs.
Is this just teenage stroppyness do you think?
Is he likely to grow out of this?

Gill, sounds like it's teenage hormonal behaviour... Ted's trying it on to be more dominant. Remus is going through a similar stage and it's showing itself in different behaviours. He will boss Zee (11 months) around outside on walks, pin her down and growl at her, sometimes snap at her face.

I think he's such a placid dog the rest of the time that he feels he has to big it up on walks (only when they're first let off-lead, so some of it is excitement rather than aggression). I've just been putting him back on lead with a stern tone of 'Steady' until he's calmer, then we try again. You can see he wants to beat her up again but stops himself; he'll give her a woof instead and look at me as though "Can I get away with this?"

[Tedsmum]

No he is not neutered. It is not something I have ruled out but I have always said that I would only neuter him if there was a good reason to do it. I am not against it, but would prefer him to be a bit more physically mature first.
The strange thing about all this is that the first time it happened I was able to call him away but we then met the pup again during our circuit and he went ballistic this time. He was up for trouble as soon as he saw it. It wasn't the pup's fault, he wasnt all over Ted at all. There was no possibility of a calm introduction the second time, he was raring to go at the pup.
We met this pup when he was tiny and Ted spent half and hour playing with it so both me and the owner were shocked at his change of temperatment.
Only a few moments before, Ted had been told off rotten by a very small floor mop type thing and had taken to his toes rather than fight it, which is normal for him.
I think it is about submissive behaviour from the pup, he seems to react to them badly if they run or show signs of fear.
Now I know he can't be 100% trusted I will obviously be more cautious when out on our walks, the control is not really an issue as Ted is very good under most circumstances and his recall is excellent. It was just a shock to see him so aggressive espcially when I put him on the lead.
Of course if this escalates or continues with other dogs I will be taking him for the snip. Perhaps I should tell him that, it might make him think twice???

[Tedsmum]

Originally Posted by zetstaff

My dogs have always mellowed as they've got older, but they have gone through the 'Kevin + Perry' stage

xxx

Love it,

Lol @ Kevin and Perry! I think as Tracey said they do go through stages of challenging behaviour. Be interesting to see what happens next time you meet that pup; if Ted will have remembered. Get in early with corrections if I were you. And threaten to remove his furry pom-poms

This might cheer you up, Gill - yesterday I'd nearly finished our walk with Remus and Zee and decided to do a loop of the playing field. In the distance I spotted a chap with 2 labs so I put mine on lead as I thought his were. They weren't! In a split second both came tearing over to us and both of mine ran to the labs. I had no time for NO! and got pulled onto my face with dogs still attached! The chap was so apologetic - I was just glad there was no dog poo on that bit of the field!

10 mins before that I'd had them walking at my heel off-lead while rabbits and pheasants popped out everywhere - was so proud of them - just goes to show!

[Nash]

Tedsmum, Ted is of the age when testosterone kicks in and gives males more security and confidence. You need to use obedience and pack to control him during this stage as he will start to push boundaries. You need to let him know very clearly that social/pack aggression is not a good thing and you will not allow it. If you do not discourage it now, chances are that it will escalate (depending on the dog) in the next 6 months, he will/could also challenge your leadership if you show a weakness.

[ianock]

Originally Posted by Tedsmum

Now I know he can't be 100% trusted

I'd never trust any dog or animal 100% as much as I trust sasha its never 100%. May I just take this oppotunity to apologise to the jogger in the green vest this morning....bet your lap time was a personal record though