# Aggressive?? Please Help!!



## LJones5 (Apr 5, 2012)

Hi everyone. We have a 6 1/2 month old Vizsla female, Penny. She is just darling and truly the sweetest thing ever.

HOWEVER... I'm starting to get worried about some of her tendencies. Basically it seems like sometimes when we try to stop her from doing something she really likes... she will growl or bite. Some examples... when we try to move her when she's sleeping, or take her out of the car (she loves the car), or sometimes if we try to get something from her that's she's not supposed to have. 

I realize... of course she doesn't want to be stopped from doing something she loves... but obviously we need to be able to be "in control", and we're just not sure how to fix it. Like I said, it's not all the time. Sometimes I try to "test" her and move her while she's sleeping just to see... and she's fine with it. 

She is still doing her "puppy biting"... is this just a part of this, and a part of growing up, and it will get better with time?? Or is this something completely different? 

Please help!!! Any advice or tips would be great. Is anyone else experiencing (or has experienced??) this?!

Thank you!


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Sleep growling - are you sure it's not a groan? A growl is a very serious sound and you should really know that's what it is. Our older groans when you move him and is very uncomfortable with it. Our seven month old, also named penny, is starting to do it too. It's just, who likes to be unexpectantly awoken to someone relocating them? Be sure you say their name and wake them before doing this. And then while training this you might use a leash to move them in order to keep your hands away, just in case. 

And yes, our Penny is still puppy biting and mouthing too. 

You might training the drop command for when she has something you want to take. And be sure to give back something better like treats, bones, toys while training on giving something up that she really wants. But do not reward if she's already gotten defensive. 

P.s. she'll be about two years old when she finally "gets it" so keep on training and one day it will REALLY pay off.


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## NeverGiveUpRAC (Aug 27, 2012)

Cole would show us teeth when telling him to get off a chair or the couch. He would show teeth when he had something he did not want to give up. He grew out of it with persistence and calm, patient behavior from us. 

To get him off the couch or chair, I would distract him. Divert his attention to coming to me on his own. I would walk out of the room or say come while holding a treat. Now, he gets off the chair when I say so, without a fight. It has only been about 4-5 months. He is 10 months now. Two weeks ago, my sister was cuddling with him on the bed. And for some reason he showed his teeth to her. I said "No! Get off the bed!" Before, I even finished speaking he was off with his tail between his legs, basically apologizing to my sister. I think he has come along way, even when he messes up like that.

He would show teeth when he had something ge shouldn't. Some don't agree with me when I say this,, but I did a LOT of reading on all of the problems my boy seemed to have and what I ended up doing was"trade" him for the object. He was also doing this with bones or pigs ear, etc. I guess you could even look it like teaching the "drop" command. He grabs a makeup brush, I say drop it, he doesn't, I grab a cookie or treat and say drop it again, he drops I and I give him a treat. "Good boy!" 

Eventually, he learns that dropping what you want him to drop isn't a bad thing and to just trust your command. This is what I did and it seems to have worked. We hardly use treats to get the behavior we want anymore because we have taught him what the desired behavior is. Try it out and see what works for you. Update us! Good luck!!


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## Lai (Nov 9, 2012)

My 11-month old V-Raylan really likes to bite and growl too. It's annoying and painful. I try training him daily on a leash - that gives me control but there are days the only thing that stops him from attacking me is the sit-means-sit sporto collar. I noticed he behaves much nicer when he goes to doggie care for a couple of hours. V's will continuously challenge their place in the pack. Mind challenging puzzles work very well like Starmark Everlasting treats.I love him when he is good but he can be intense.


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## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

What are things like around the house? Is she Queen bee or does she have a lot of rules?

Some have disagreed when I've said this but we had this problem with our male and we had to double down on the discipline to remind him who's boss.

He used to growl or show his teeth if he didn't want to do what we told him.
So, he wasn't allowed to sleep in the bed anymore. Could only come on the bed or sofa when invited, could not free feed, had to earn his meals, had to sit before I'd put the food bowl down, couldn't enter doors before me. Basically, he just had to be reminded that I was the boss and he couldn't get away with not obeying commands. I had to take it up a notch and be more serious and disciplined about it. 

Now for example, when he gets a command that he doesn't listen to (Like "off" from the sofa), I remain calm but I get much more firm in my verbal command. Just the change in my tone of voice is enough to let him know I mean business. 

You could try some of this, but I'm not sure if your situation is different.


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