# Aggression in 4 month old male



## my5wee-ones (Apr 1, 2015)

Hi all - I am new to this forum and just spent an hour reading old posts and getting a ton of information - so thanks ;-) I found a few posts with problems that were close, but somewhat different so please forgive me if any of this is repetitive of other posts... We have a 4 month old male vizsla who is awesome 99% of the time, but every now and then just growls and snaps with no warning. at first it was if we tried to move him when he was sleeping - (like if he fell asleep on the couch and wanted him in his crate for the night). we sort of fixed that by luring him off the couch instead of picking him up. Then last night he was chewing on something (it was tupperware bowl that we had fed him out of - we were cooking out and he did not have his regular bowls). I went to take it from him bc he was done eating and was just chewing on the bowl, out of no where he growled and bit my hand (not hard, but still...) we have small children and while we try to always supervise them when with him, it still worries us. Originally we were planning on waiting to neuter him bc of muscle development, but now we are planning on doing it at 6mos and hoping it curbs some of this behavior? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Hi and welcome! At that young an age, I doubt the lack of neutering is the issue so I would hold off on that and focus on the behavior. 

He has to learn who is the boss - and that is the humans. I would not change my behavior to keep him from misbehaving, he needs to learn to behave regardless of what you want him to do. Vizslas are very eager to please so you should be able to over come this. 

If he growls or snaps he needs an immediate correction. For example, if you try to take a toy from him and he growls, I would immediately snap "No". And then I would take the toy, put it up and ignore him for a short time. You cannot have any fear or hesitation. Do it immediately, be firm and calm.

I'm not a dog trainer or an expert but I've raised quite a few well behaved dogs over the years. I think he's just testing you but he can be controlled, just work on consistency and show no hesitation and no fear - you are the boss.


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## my5wee-ones (Apr 1, 2015)

Thank you - I appreciate the reply. I will heed your advice and clamp down. Thank you!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Because he has growled and snapped before, (when resting) I wouldn't say it was out of no where.
Personally I wouldn't have been luring him off the couch. I would have kept a short lead attached to him, told him off the couch, and gave the lead a tug. If he came off the couch nicely, only then would I have given him a treat and praise. 
Have you spoken with your breeder, and did they do temperament testing on the litter?


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## Canadian Expy (Feb 27, 2013)

I second what Vizsla Baby and Texas Red have said. Neutering is not a fix for poor behavior - consistent training is. The "every now and then" incidents will increase in frequency, and become more severe without your intervention. The leash is key, and if you are concerned about him nipping, put on a pair of gloves. He cannot sense your hesitation/fear and if you do not correct this now, his teeth are only going to get bigger. 

I would not allow him on the couch at this point, unless he is invited by you. Keep the leash on, and get him used to you giving the command for him to join you on it, and leave it at your request (down/off.. whatever). Use the leash, not your hands, to reinforce. 

I would really step up your training so that he learns his boundaries, and do some research on resource guarding. This is definitely something you want to get under control, especially with children in the picture.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Yes, his testicles aren't the cause here of his "Aggression". I'd call his behavior possessiveness, much easier to work with and not nearly as scary.

Two things: First, what types of socialization is he getting with other puppies now? They learn a lot about boundaries and possessiveness from other dogs, especially their own age. I'd highly recommend you get him into 'Puppy Kindergarten' ASAP, and from that, make friends with other puppies to have supervised play dates. The more the better.

There are also a lot of ways to establish your boundaries at home, most of them subtle. For instance, when you put the food down, say "OK!". When you walk out the door with him say "OK!"...that reinforces the rule of acceptability to proceed (I was searching for a way there to define "OK" ). If he lunges or goes before you give the OK, you say "Nah nah" or "Eh eh".

Lastly, always keep in ind that there's just so much training you can do and that part of the experience of having a dog is being able to understand and respect who they are as animals....they really do have personalities...and that if your dog doesn't like to be lifted off the couch when he's asleep, don't. Sometimes the easiest way to avoid trouble is to use your understanding of what makes your dog your dog and act proactively.

You're not quite there yet these are things that you can work on, you don't need to accept them just yet.

Get him some puppy socialization...


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## my5wee-ones (Apr 1, 2015)

I want to thank you all for taking the time to respond. We are new to this and I definitely appreciate the advice. 

Texas Red - I am not sure if they did any temperament testing. Unfortunately we don't have a good relationship with the breeder. We did get the dog from a reputable breeder(as oppose to a puppy mill) , but when we approached her once before on an issue (not related to the dogs behavior) she got pretty nasty with us. The bottom line is unfortunately we don't feel she is approachable or a good resource for us. 

When you say short leash, like maybe a foot? 

As far as socialization, he is puppy obedience class once a week and there is another dog he plays with often. I would say they play 'rough' at times, but he's definitely not aggressive with the other dogs.

I do appreciate the positive responses, I feel hopeful that we can crack down on this.


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## Canadian Expy (Feb 27, 2013)

I always use a 5-6 foot leash, and just leave it on the pup dragging behind them as they move around. Do this only when you are home supervising of course. A 1 ft leash will be too short, you want to keep your hands out of danger, and do the corrections with the leash. 

It doesn't sound like socialization is the problem. Your pup needs to understand his position in your family. Be very consistent, and do not lax. It will not benefit the situation, or the pup. I would also start doing some hand feeding, and keep the feeding very controlled as Gingerling mentioned. Have you pup sit/stay while you prepare the food, and give them a release word when they can take it. Keep all training calm and positive.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Just one that is not to long for him to drag around, 2-4 feet at his age. You just use it to have control over him, without having to put your hands directly on him. Don't leave it on him when not supervised, as you don't want it to become tangled on something.

The reason I asked on temperament testing, is sometimes the top pup in a litter is not the best choice for a first time dog owner, or one with young kids. Even if I didn't get along with the breeder, I would still send them a email. Not asking them for help, but just a update on the pups behavior.

A good many of these types of pups come around with a dedicated owner, that's willing to put in the work. There are the few that have real temperament issues, and they will never be a dog to have around kids. So you have your work cut out for you, and only time will tell which category your pup falls into. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer. I have one V that would never be trusted with young kids, and 2 other Vs that would be just fine with them.


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

I agree with the other responses so far, but I don't think anyone mentioned resource guarding... 

I'm the kind of person that likes to do lots of google research when I have a question, and sometimes find that I can't get very far if I don't know the right terms --- in this case you might want to try searching resource guarding for some more clues.


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## Vizsla_Luka (Sep 8, 2015)

Not a dog trainer or even a particularly experienced dog owner ( on my second dog) but I echo the advice given in that general pecking order within the household should be very clear to the dog. He should know he's the Omega and he can't do anything unless you're happy for him to. He should never be able to walk out of doors in front of you, he should eat after you, there should be rooms on the house that are out of bounds and maybe until he proves himself keep him off the couch. Also start doing some exercises in self -control. (make him sit and he has to stay calm before you feed him /give him a treat/ go for a walk etc) 

We have the most dominant pup from the litter and have not even so much as had a weird look from him (shark attacks aside, but he actually even stops himself from jumping /biting us now mid tantrum) because from day 1 he was made to live under our rules. 

When we took our dog, our breeder warned us to manage any signs of resistance/ dominance straight away and if he did something he shouldn't do like growl at us, to grab him by the scruff of his neck, shake him whilst saying "no!" firmly. I resorted to doing this twice when the shark attacks were bad and he has never bitten us even when he is mid-shark attack. 

Hope that helps


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## Gatsby2015 (Oct 26, 2015)

Hi, 
I am new to the forum today as well and was searching for the same issue. We have a 4 1/2 month male and he is also sweet 99% of the time but has spurts of 'devilish' shark attack behavior where.. nothing seems to dissuade him...not a toy, not a treat, not yelling No. If I push him away, it seems to only agitate him more. If I turn my back, and stand still, he'll just keep lunging and barking. It tends to be when he's overtired. Because as soon as he collapses he's sweet as can be and wanting to cuddle. He also will grumble/growl when we need to move him while he's asleep. He doesn't bite at that point, but he gives a loud grumble. It sounds like the shark attacks taper off but Gatsby has torn many pant legs and cut skin on our hands and legs. He's our first V, we've always had Dobermans, and I've never had so much as a scrape from them, so this is new territory. Thank you everyone, the information here really is helpful.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Gatsby2015 said:


> Hi,
> I am new to the forum today as well and was searching for the same issue. We have a 4 1/2 month male and he is also sweet 99% of the time but has spurts of 'devilish' shark attack behavior where.. nothing seems to dissuade him...not a toy, not a treat, not yelling No. If I push him away, it seems to only agitate him more. If I turn my back, and stand still, he'll just keep lunging and barking. It tends to be when he's overtired. Because as soon as he collapses he's sweet as can be and wanting to cuddle. He also will grumble/growl when we need to move him while he's asleep. He doesn't bite at that point, but he gives a loud grumble. It sounds like the shark attacks taper off but Gatsby has torn many pant legs and cut skin on our hands and legs. He's our first V, we've always had Dobermans, and I've never had so much as a scrape from them, so this is new territory. Thank you everyone, the information here really is helpful.


Even if it's the same issue, it's best to start a new tread so you get the proper attention and not hijack a conversation with someone else.

When Gatsby is over tired or otherwise out of control, put him in his crate for a while and let him cool his jets and nap it out. Tolerate the few minutes of barking until he settles down and be done with it.

Grumbling is a normal vocalization, especially when you move them while they're asleep. They have a whole repertoire of noises, like chortling, yodeling, moaning, woofing, grumbling, etc..and each communicates something a bit different. If you tune into it you'll see they have a fascinating array of ways to let us know exactly what's on their mind!


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## Gatsby2015 (Oct 26, 2015)

Thanks for the advice! Sorry, didn't mean to hijack thread, I'm still figuring out how to use the forum. I'll do that next time


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## Izzy15 (Dec 1, 2015)

Wow! This is just like reading about my 4 month boy! He has this jumping bitting attacks at the end of the day but only with me! 2 days ago he bit me so bad on the arm that my 5 year old thought she had to call an ambulance 
I am now being really firm with him and giving him time out! He is so strong when he jumps that some times I get scared and I find it really hard to remove him. Any more suggestions?


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