Hi, I have a 12 week old puppy who has been with us for two and half weeks now. She is a lovely girl most of the time but recently we have had a couple of instances where she has been very growlly and snappy when we have needed to move her. Most of the time it has occurred when she has fallen asleep on some ones lap or on the sofa and we need to pick her up to put her in her crate.

So far I have always managed to move her with a combination of telling her a firm No when she growls and then when she doesn't growl talking soothingly to reassure her so that she doesn't feel threatened, then I stroke her gently where she is comfortable and gently and gradually pick her up and put her in her bed. Sometimes she is still growling a bit when I pick her up but she quickly calms down once I've got her in my arms for a cuddle.  Although I've raised a couple of dogs from pups I've never experienced this before and am a little unsure how to approach the situation, it especially worries me as I have two children aged 7.

My own personal instinct based on when this has occurred is that she was over tired and/or overstimulated by being out in new places or having visitors and that she was supper grouchy due to tiredness but does that actually happen with puppies or is it indicative of a larger behavioural or temperament issue? I don't want to make it worse by telling her off and making her stressed but at the same time I obviously need her to know we are in charge not her.

A second factor is that when we first got her she got sick with diarrhoea on the second day and I took her to the vet who really squeezed her belly hard to look for foreign objects and she was highly stressed by the experience so possibly has issues about being touched near her midriff although 90% of the time she is fine about being picked up so I'm not sure?

Any input/similar experiences/suggestions would be much appreciated.

> does that actually happen with puppies

Most definitely yes, and a major cause of the manic puppy biting, mad half hours etc, people overdoing things with a new puppy, everyone wants to visit etc.

There are some interesting points made in this thread from last year about disturbing sleeping puppies - could be worth a read :)

I've always found it true that pups get overtired and silly, and they need to be encouraged to take the time to fall asleep.  If place is a concern then move your puppy as soon as you can to his/her bed or simply start them in the place you wish them to sleep.

This is an interesting post for me because I posted about a stroppy puppy a few weeks ago.  I get a growl and a snap from my now 11 week old pup - not so much from picking him up now because I worked on that one and I make sure I don't do things suddenly - but he objects to being stopped from doing what he wants.  He has been better at keeping his teeth off me recently but I took him to his first puppy class the other day and he objected to being held by the trainer (who had already won him over with bigger pieces of chicken than I had!)   I was really glad that someone else saw his little temper.  She just held him by the collar and kept quiet until he stopped fighting her - he sat nicely and she gave him loads of praise.  He was in a stressful situation because he has never been to class before and it was a long session for me never mind him.  Other than that the only recent arguments he has had were when I accidently bopped him on the head with the shed door and reached down to fast to check him - and when my husband tried to hold him on his lap to fuss him (knew that was a mistake before he started because he had his eyes on me and wanted to follow) It is concerning because they are so young.  My pup usually takes himself off to his crate at bedtime so I don't have your problem - tonight he is sleeping by my feet - when I finish here he will wake up and come with me back to the kitchen.

> but at the same time I obviously need her to know we are in charge not her.
>
>

There is no need to "show a pup who's boss."  Be very careful not to train using CM's methods.  A 12 week old puppy is not trying to rule you.

It is mostly frustration.  Imagine you wanting to get somewhere/do something and not being able to.  The frustration builds up and you throw a temper tantrum at whatever is restraining you.

Just think how many toddlers/young children you have seen in supermarkets being picked up and throwing a 'hissy' as Mum won't let them have the sweets at the checkout.

I don't know if it will help, but FWIW I found my pup when small would get growly-bitey and "naughty" when he needed to empty his bowels; even now that he is a year old he will still get a bit more "frisky" when he needs to go. 

Well some pups seem to have temper tantrums more often than others.  Took my pup (now 12 weeks) to a small show today.  He got taken off me and had a lot of attention ( my one friend is my agility trainer and will also be looking after him for a couple of nights in a few weeks) He had an argument with her again - he did it when he met her on Thursday for the first time, and then when another friend - also another of my agility trainers - took him for a walk he also argued with her.  They both held him by the collar and when he sat nicely gave him plenty of praise.  He is a feisty little pup.  I am so glad that I have a network of people around me who know how to tackle this behaviour - and all tackle it the same way.  When I had Meg I had nobody - that is when I turned to this forum.  You can't beat watching someone experienced handling a puppy - you can learn so much just by watching.  He has had a lot of positive socialisation today and I have been given plenty of confidence in handling correctly.

Thank you all for your input. I have read the thread about sleeping puppies, very interesting discussion, and also the other recent threads about stroppy puppies which has all been very helpful.

I think the problem is either a kind of resource guarding behaviour, a get off mum Im comfy and I don't want you to move me, or possibly as some one suggested it could be uncomfortable belly because she actually needs the toilet which I hadn't thought of. Either way it is reassuring to know that it's not just our puppy. Its also been a good reminder to not ignore the growling and to use positive reinforcement to get her to do what I want. 

Resource guarding is very different to stroppy puppy/frustration. 

In resource guarding, the puppy already HAS something s/he wants.  (Comfy sofa, bone, whatever.)

In frustration tantrums, the puppy DOESN'T have the thing s/he wants and is throwing the strop because s/he wants to get it.

They are very different.  I would be far less concerned about frustration tantrums in a puppy than resource guarding.  Any sign of resource guarding needs to be dealt with immediately in the right way - by not setting yourself up against the puppy and by using treats to communicate that you're not a threat and so on.