Our family just brought a 12 week old Mini Schnauzer puppy home 4 days ago. We purchased the pup from a very reputable breeder. The dog is very sweet and playful, but shy.We have two children ages 11 and 7. Just today the pup growled at both our children on several different occasions. I was there for the most recent incident, and saw that my child did nothing that hurt the pup. My 11 year old son and I were sitting on the couch and the dog came over and tried to jump up. My son got up and picked up the pup to bring her on the couch and she growled rather fiercely. I will call the breeder tomorrow to discuss this with her, but I am looking for advice. It is very unfortunate that I am searching the internet for answers about her behavoir so soon after adding her to the family. I am concerned that this behavoir could develop into a significant problem. I must say that my first reaction is that the dog's temperment may not be well suited for young children. Our previous dog was a labrador and was very good with our children.

Hi Mark,
It is possible that when your child picked up the puppy, how it was done actually hurt her. (unintentional, of course)

Not saying that this was how your child picked her up, but I've been seeing adults/kids pick up their dogs under the legs from the front side as if the dogs were toddlers. It puts a lot of stress on their shoulders and can be quite painful. :(

When she is picked up--- under her chest and her hip area need to be supported/cradled. Even fear of pain could cause her to growl a warning. :(
I remember when I was around your children's ages, my mother only let me pick up the 'new' puppies while under her supervision for safety reasons. Usually, she just deposited one safely into my lap :)

I have to say that comparing a 12 week old miniature schnauzer puppy to an adult lab's behavior is rather harsh. The two are completely separate from one another. Even if you had brought home a 10 week old lab puppy, problems between it and your children could easily arise.

There are some really good threads on here concerning children and puppies. If you do a search you should be able to easily locate them.
If you can't find them, just repost on here. I'm sure that another 'member' will provide some links :)
Your breeder will certainly be able to help you out too :)
best wishes,
toodles

It would be better if the children did not pick the puppy up at all, you do it and if it growls you correct it, but keep the children out of it else the moment your back is turned the kids may try in a heavy handed way to correct the dog and you will have even more of a problem. The pup is so young you should have no trouble in sorting it out, but you or another adult, not the children, who by the way should not be left alone with the pup. J :)

That is very possible, as dogs do not have the shoulders in a socket. What holds the shoulders to the body is muscle, which can easily be strained in a baby when picking them up incorectly.

If the pup is shy it will feel threatened by being picked up, and will probably be more inclined to growl at the children rather than the adults, as they are lower in the pecking order.

As another poster pointed out, never let the children pick thepup up. This time they may have done nothing to hurt the pup, but when you were not observing they may have been clumsy and caused the fear.

Four days is very soon for the pup to have leaqrnt to trust.

Thje children should not approach the puppy (good advice for any dog in future), they should crouch on their haunches and encourage pup to come to them, if it does not, then it is either tired or not confident enough. A treat held in the hand and a cheerful slightly exciting voice, and pup should be unable to resist. When pup does come to them, they should pet him gently under the chin alon back etc, but not on top of the head, which will obscur3e the vision.

Depending on how shy the pup is it may retreat (which should be allowed) or may relax enough to say roll over on it's back for a tickle. Rolling on back is also a submissive act, you can tell which it is by the tension the pup exhibits. If it is relaxed and happy then a quick rub.

Over the weeks as the confidence grows then he may need to be gently and firmly disciplined if he gets too confident and boisterous. It is a fine balanciong act, rewquiring more subtlety and maturity than the average child has.

Hopefully Fiona will post, who has small children and a young Cocker who had slight problems of this nature early on.

Hi,
Its not uncommon for a 12 week old puppy to have a growl at you when you pick them up ( my mini did when he was that age) but if you tell her off for it then she will learn not to growl.
I find a good firm shout of 'no' at my mini schnauzers does the trick i've never had to smack them.They are a very intelligent breed and will listen to voice commands rather than tapping them on the bottom.
I'm sure once she settles down into her new life with you that she will love the children. But if she is a shy dog like you say then you might have to boost her confidence a bit as she may only be growling at the children through her fear of being hurt or dropped once she realises the children aren't going to hurt her she'll be fine. Personally i've never known a bad tempered mini schnauzer a bit grumpy at the groomers when getting there coats stripped off by a stranger maybe but never with their owners.
I hope your problem does not get any worse & i wish you all the best.
Shonagh.

Welcome to the forum Mark :-)

Mark,

I have a mini and I thought I would try to respond to your query to the best of my limited knowledge of minis. I have to agree with everyone who has responded. Don't make a habit of picking the pup up, just because it is small enough to do so. Respect it's size and ask your children not to handle her unnecessarily. They don't like being picked up and you should respect that really. A good sharp "no" does tend to do the trick if the pup is doing something wrong, as Shonagh says. They are quite sensitive dogs in some respects (not nervy...just good at picking up on your moods), and don't like to do wrong (although they can be stubborn at times). I must admit I don't remember my mini ever growling, but it did grunt a lot in annoyance if I ever had to pick him up (to take him upstairs when he was very young). Give your mini time....she's still very new to the family and doesn't know the boundaries yet. Good Luck...I'm sure this stage will pass very quickly.

I think with pups generally we often expect too much - agree they may often get upset by too much handling from children, especially when tired and agree too it is very possible the pup may have been accidentally scared at some stage.

It is important to let pups sleep, and to build up the trust :)

Having said that, if a pup does growl then the worst thing to do is to put it down because it then realises it cn growl and will be put down (if you see what i mean.....?) and so can start to control everything.

I do agree with much of the advice above, but would also add that it is good to make beign handled pleasant for the pup. Children can be supervised when handling and the pup rewarded with praise, toy or luscious titbit (works well as it is then so very pleasant to be handled ).

If the pup does growl, ignore it and wait until it stops, then reward it once it has stopped growling, the reward can even be to put the pup down.

I do agree to that a lot of small dogs esp. terrier types just really don't enjoy being picked up, I understand the pup wanted to get "up" but perhpas was happy being close to your son, just not being actually picked up. They can be independent little so and so's.....but also great pets and fun to have around.

Dont forget too that to manu pups the sheer sensation of being picked up may be scarey....help them to enjoy it if they are to be picked up.

And don't worry :)

JMO

Lindsay

Thank you for the replies and advice. Many of your comments have been helpful and reasurring. We spent lots of time seeking out information about the breed, and know their reputation as family pets is excellent. Hopefully this is just part of the socialization process. We'll limit the picking up of the pup, and keep an eye on how she does. Four days is not much time and she needs to adjust to her new home. Thanks again.

Mark,

Let us know how it goes with your mini. They are a lovely breed and usually very good natured, as well as playful. Your mini will enjoy playing with your children once rules have been set I'm sure, and she gets used to your children. I didn't mean by my last post that your children should refrain from handling the pup, as they must get used to being handled for grooming and socialisation purposes, just not to pick her up too much. I think some of the other advice of how to encourage children and pups to play together without overwhelming the pup is very good. Just ensure the kids aren't too boisterous at first.

Hi.
Just thought I'd add that often pups see children as there own siblings therefore they will growl at them much like they would another pup when they don't want to be touched.Our dobe pup hates being moved off of things esp when she is tried.But is getting much better now she has learned the rules of our house.I hope you will just give your pup more time and teach your children how to treat her.I'm sure they don't mean any harm,but if the pup sees children as annoying now chances are she will grow up with that impression.Maybe get the children to teach her to sit etc with lots of treats so she learns respect for them.
Good luck
Jane