# Changes in behaviour 9 months!



## Wren (Mar 21, 2016)

Hi, I'm new to the forum and would really appreciate any help/advice you can give. Wren is 9 months old, we brought her home at 8 weeks. So far she has been very sweet natured and affectionate but in the last week or so she has become more territorial. When I came home after work with a visiting child (she had met the child twice before). Wren was in her crate and the child ran ahead of me to see her, she gave a low growl. I gave her time to settle and adjust to the child being there before letting her out of crate and expected her to be her normal bouncy self but instead she looked scared and didn't want the child to touch her. I put her in the garden for the rest of the visit. On another occasion she growled/snapped at my 13yr old cairn terrier because she didn't want to leave terriers bed( she was being eyeballed by terrie). I know Wren is hitting adolescence and some changes are to be expected but I'm worried this might escalate. She is normally great with people, can be a little timid/shy when first meeting other dogs. Thanks in advance for any advice given :-\


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## Sig-the-elder (Mar 8, 2016)

Has she had a check up? If everything is ok healthwise, I would just invest heavily in socialization training with children and other dogs. Being timid or scared around dogs and children can lead to fear-based agression. I recommend obedience classes and/or a professional trainer. I imagine that a first step for her case would be staying in the presence of dogs and children, with no interaction, receiving positive reinforcement for relaxing. The more positive experiences she has, the more confident and social she'll become!


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## Wren (Mar 21, 2016)

Hi Sig, thanks for your reply. Wren does suffer with yeast infections linked to food allergy which we haven't got to the bottom of yet. She has had this on and off for the last couple of months (usually mild infections) and has shown no aggression before. Wren is socialised with other dogs/people every day. She gets scared when other dogs come running over or are boisterous but is usually fine if they approach calmly. She is fine with the family's dogs. It seems her first reaction to most things is caution or fear and she has always been like this and I am concerned it may progress to fear aggression😔. I try not to baby her too much and let her realise for herself it's ok. She has been to obedience classes and once she got to know everyone enjoyed it. She seems to want all of Millie's ( my elderly terrier) possessions/ bed etc. and even keep her away from us. She does this mostly in harmless ways but recently has started to growl. When she does this I tell her no and send her out of the room for a few mins. Is this the right thing to do?I'm wondering if perhaps her season is due as her nipples have started to swell up!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Even dogs that are not shy don't like a unknown person rushing their crate. I could see where she would growl, and need more time to warm up to anyone that did that to her. 

Most puppies take a submissive role towards older dogs. That is until they start to mature. She is just on her way to becoming an adult, and who had it first maybe the one that keeps it.


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## Wren (Mar 21, 2016)

TexasRed, thanks for reassurance that Wren is developing normally. My 15 yr old daughter was attacked and bitten on face last year by an 11 month old with guarding and fear issues so any sign of aggression at all just makes me worry so much. I've worked really hard to socialise Wren but she's still a bit timid. Maybe as she matures and moves past the fear periods she will become more confident?


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## Sig-the-elder (Mar 8, 2016)

Hi! I have known dogs to start acting up when hormones start to kick in, but really can't say what should be done. About the time out, that's fine as long as you promptly reinforce adequate behavior as well (teach her what she should do in place of the wrong behavior). But I still recommend getting advice of a local trainer who can properly evaluate her and figure out how to help!


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Dogs that don't feel well can be cranky and intolerant, just like people. Hopefully, the vet can get to the underlying allergy and treat it.

There's a difference btwn aggression and anxiety....the former is a behavior, the latter is an emotional state. Having a small child rush a crate would result in anxiety in many (if not most) dogs, it's not necessarily a signal of anything other than good judgment, frankly. if you want her to respond differently, what you'd need to do is have her experience youngsters (or the new stimuli) more frequently and with less drama and intensity (calmly approaching the crate and not screaming, etc).

Also, although dogs do pass thru developmental stages (again, just like people), the result of that passage is determined by their experiences in that stage. So, if she's nervous now, unless you help her with that, there's a better chance the behavior will remain than pass "on it's own". Just like people.

Lastly, puberty doesn't result in dramatic underlying temperamental changes...it;s more behavioral. Like people, there's a general loosening of impulse control...they don't respond as favorably and quickly to learned commands, there's a sense that they're more distracted and distractable.


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