hi im new on here and also its our first litter iv got 2 dogs the mum and dad since she was about 1 day before she went into labour she hasnt been the same girl she shows quite agressive behaviour towards other dogs and people im really upset about it cause shes my baby!! will she get to her old self again once the pups have gone to there new homes? there 3 weeks and 4 days old i would b grateful 4 any advise thanx

Aggression toward people?  I hope that's a typo?

Why would you think it was a typo? It is quite clearly written.

OP this is one of the many reasons why you should only breed from dogs that have the very best of temperaments. It is natural for bitches to be protective of their offspring but personally I've never known one to be aggressive towards people so can't say if it will get better :-(

possibly natural maternal protective instinct?

was she dog or people aggressive beforehand?

no she wasnt agressive towards people before i took her to the vets and she seems to think shes fine!!  also she was able to walk of lead and be fine with other dogs

I've no experience with this never having bred, but i'd have thought she might be protecting her pups, if there are strange humans/dogs coming in and out, perhaps she needs to have a quiet den she can go to with the pups where no one can get near her? or do you mean she is like it when she is out and has left the pups behind, maybe she just wants to get back to them?

It depends if she's showing these tendancies when the dogs and people are near her babies.
She may be overly protective towards them and might be a bit stressed if she perceives that
people and other dogs are too close for her comfort.
Where is she doing it (is it in the same room as her pups or elsewhere)? and what do you call agressive - is it just growling or does she go to bite?
Sometimes a dog not being confident can come across as possible 'agression'.

Also as a side note you aren't supposed to state the breed in these types of questions as it's construed as
'advertising' your litter. Which you may not have been aware of the board rules and regs.

its when iv took her in the yard to go to toilet there is always people hangin about she just jumped the fence(which is also a new thing) went towards this man really growling and goin 4 his trousers its totally out the blue it really upset me shes never bin like that before i just dont know what to do sorry i didnt know you shouldnt say ur breed wont happen again thanx

Sound like she is very unsettled, she is protecting her new family. I would just be very carefull with her for a while and not let her have the oportunity to do it. Keep her on a leash and be carefull when you take her out.
Is she agressive towards you?
Most bitches will be a little more protective to a greater or lesser degree and need to feel very safe and secure with thier babies.
Aileen

> Why would you think it was a typo? It is quite clearly written.

Because any human aggression, in any breed, is completely unnacceptable.  However, the level of aggression is not quite clear, hence my question.  Is that ok?

I agree with others that it is quite natural after whelping for a bitch to become protective towards her pups, she will not wish other dogs anywhere near her understandably, she needs peace and quiet to raise her litter, generally after the first 2-3 weeks a bitch will allow trusted family dogs a little nearer but that will depend on the bitch, some just won't want any dog near her pups and generally a growl will surfice as a warning to her wishes it is entirely down to the bitch how far she will trust other household dogs.

However, people is another matter, actually I'm a little thrown by the word 'people' who are we talking of, are you having lots of people trying to pick up the pups and interfere with her? To be honest out of respect no-one touches my girls pups or goes in the whelping area at all for the first 3 weeks once my pups are born but me, I handle the pups daily and am completely trusted by my girl, I wouldn't want anyone else going near her or the pups. I do this out of respect and to give her complete peace and quiet not because I am worried my bitch would be unhappy, your bitch obviously doesn't appreciate 'people' bothering her or her pups and is a very protective first time mum.

However, after 3 weeks the rest of the family slowly pop in for a little puppy socialising and are allowed to sit and hold the pups next to my girl and from 4 weeks visitors then come to meet their pups, my girl is perfectly fine and relaxed and yours needs to be by then too.

If she remains aggressive towards people viewing the pups, I really don't know what to say it is not a good trait and it is not really a normal reaction all I can think is that you have possibly been too full on from the start giving her trust issues. You will have to take things slowly and win her trust, when people come to view the pups you can not put them in danger from a bite and may well need to seperate her from them, (which obviously will not look very good and would make me worry about the pups temperaments) if she is that way inclined there is nothing more dangerous than an overly protective Dam, but you'll have to see how things go, for now keep 'people' away, keep the dogs away and leave her be with just yourself, keep her stress free and see if things improve. :-)

Just noticed other posts have gone up since I started my essay, people as in passing the yard/garden, ok, she is protecting her puppies and also including human's as a threat understandable although not acceptable, she is just a very protective maiden, she should revert back afterwards but in the meantime just take all precautions to ensure everyones safety.

iv just explained what she did and i agree it is totally unaceptable thats why i was askin 4 advise because i know from experiance that its not this breeds nature they are quite a people person dog and its not her nature i just dont know what to do she has never been aggressive towards me or any1 else in the family home she doesnt like me to leave her side so i have been sleeping and eating near her this happened when i popped to the shops and left other half in charge

i have made gate taller now so she cant jump over it i told every1 on the street please dont hang about outside house but they took it with pinch of salt i hope she does improve it has really upset us all she has also started lettin the dad be near and sniff pups

she has also started lettin the dad be near and sniff pups

Well, that is the first good sign - the dad's generally end up being the pups playmates whilst the Dam's have a nice rest watching on so very happy she is allowing him to become familiar.

Also glad you have made the gate taller, sounds as though she has become very territorial, please be careful if she gets out and bites you may not only end up with a prosecution but in having her PTS (although her hormones may give her a case against that) but you need to take every precaution and just see how she goes. I really would be very, very careful in respect of viewers for her to react like this don't trust her, stay vigilant and I hope she calms down.

thank you for your feedback its been helpfull i will keep you posted on how she progresses hopefully fingers cross she will be ok iv been down all the street yet again to ask please stop hangin around near my gate as its causin extra stress for her hopefully this time they will listen and also im not letting her out of my sight thanx again

> iv been down all the street yet again to ask please stop hangin around near my gate

I think that is a bit of a tall order in a public place.  Do you not have an area at the back for her to exercise?

Hi,

Can i ask is there any reason why they are hanging about your garden gate?? Is this the front or back garden and is the fencing blocking her view outside of the garden or can she not see out??
Are these adults or kids hanging about normally?

the teenages that hang around have been told by the police to move on all the time but they dont listen they have been causin lots of trouble theres a grass area for residents only but they think its somewhere they can come to get drunk i have a yard and only one door that leads outside cause i live in a maisonette unfortunatly the grass area is right outside my gate!!  i exercise her in some woods near where i live also we walk down the canal and theres a big field not far from my house.

> I think that is a bit of a tall order in a public place.&nbsp; Do you not have an area at the back for her to exercise? <IMG class=qButton title="Quote selected text" height=10 alt="Quote selected text" src="/images/mi_quote.gif" width=20>

i didnt explain properly theres a few people that sit outside and drink but they let random teenages come and drink with them i explained about the police coming to move people on i dont live in a very nice area unfortunatly

Because any human aggression, in any breed, is completely unnacceptable.  However, the level of aggression is not quite clear, hence my question.  Is that ok?

i wouldnt agree with that statement....too black and white....you have to take into account circumstances

> i wouldnt agree with that statement....too black and white....you have to take into account circumstances

it's not a statement, it's just my opinion is all.. :) That is why I said, the level of aggression was not clear.....of course circumstance would dictate, I'm not that naive, but it would have to be very very extenuating circumstances to allow 'real' human aggression...
anyway, we digress....

I hope, Lisa, you can sort this problem with your bitch out! 

i hope so too i will give it my all my motto is never give up hope thanx

> Why would you think it was a typo? It is quite clearly written.

Because any human aggression, in any breed, is completely unnacceptable.  However, the level of aggression is not quite clear, hence my question.  Is that ok?

Now, having started with a puppy farmed dog, I am a great believer that aggression is not acceptable. However, I helped a friend whelp his Golden Retriever bitch who absolutely loved and trusted me. After about 6 pups were born she all of a sudden lifted her lip to me and I knew that that when she was asking me to leave. After about 2 weeks she went ballistic to say hello to me again. Strange things happen when the bitch is looking after pups.