# 14 weeks old, growling at strangers



## NorthernVizsla (Jan 4, 2015)

Hello,

Just after a little advice about something we have not experienced with our previous Vizsla's. 
Our Senna is now 12 weeks and after the rough ride of the 1st month she has now settled into our routine well and as finally accepted the crate, much to the delight of the whole family!
She has been well socialised from the day we brought her home, doing the school run twice a day wrapped in a blanket, meeting all sorts of people and being petted /stroked by everyone we met , advantages of how cute they are as pups!
She has always been on the shy side, but recently on a couple of walks when an adult, mainly a man has approached us she has bowed her head and let out a small growl. I always say hello to the person before addressing Senna, then i ask her to come say 'hello' whilst i stand and chat. Eventually she does come but i can't understand why she seems to be fearful in the first place.
She has never had any bad situations with a man, my husband does not shout, if anything with 3 kids, i'm the shouter and one to do the 'telling off' in the house to both kids and dogs!
I'm the one who does the discipline, my 'leave it' voice for the dog usually makes the kids jump!
Now she has does this with 2 women but never children. 
She has also started to growl and bow her head when a stranger comes to the door, we had a workman last week came and he kindly offered her a dog biscuit i gave him and she was much happier but not completely 100% at ease when he was in the house. 
Today we had our old dog walker come to take Senna out for the first time, we have used him before for 2 afternoons a week so i can take the kids out during school holidays. As soon as i opened the door i greeted him first and she let out her growl, i asked her to say hello but she wasn't too fussed so he sat on the step and i gave him some hotdog to give to her and this seemed to perk her up. She went with him for the afternoon and he said she had been fab, she was wagging her tail when she got back and she's slept since 
I just wondered of this was fear on her part when we are out walking and her protecting at home, or neither?

Sorry that was long winded! I've not dealt with this in a V before. 

Also, last one but not least. At night when my husband does the last toilet trip with her its around 11pm so she's snoozing in her crate. The last 2 nights he has had to try and lift her out, she now growls at him. 
I tried the other night and she did not growl at me, and it was a mighty effort to get her out as she was laid at a funny angle, with all legs in different directions i don't think i could have made a worse job, but not a peep.
What should we do to nip her growling at him? We all take turns in feeding her, and we all give treats during training sessions. She has no problem with him other than that. 

Any advice would be very much appreciated. I thought i was pretty savvy on this V owning business but this has me stumped ???

Thanks in advance


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Sounds like you are doing very well with her. Even though she is unsure on first meeting new people, you have found the value of the treat and its working. They do go through fear stages, and if that's it , it should pass with what your doing.

She may not need to go out at 11 anymore, and wants to settle down for the night.
She clearly sees you as boss of the house. Maybe have your husband start taking her on some leashed walks, along with doing some of the other training. Leashed walks help build a bond, and a working relationship.


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## ks310 (Sep 28, 2015)

I need advice on the same thing. 

Little Monica has developed fear and anti-social tendencies in the 3 weeks she's been with us due to vaccination quarantine! 

We live in a city so it's too dangerous to take her outside until her next vaccination. 

Our (only very occasional 3rd roommate who is a flight attendant) came home and Monica is terrified of him and his friend. Even after 3 days she runs into the bedroom under the bed or in our arms.

It's a pretty sharp change because the first day I got her I walked her to my apartment on the street and she was itching to say hello to each and every person who walked by.

Im hoping once quarantine is over she gets out of the anti-social tendencies quickly!


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## Pecan_and_BB (Jun 15, 2015)

ks310 said:


> I need advice on the same thing.
> 
> Little Monica has developed fear and anti-social tendencies in the 3 weeks she's been with us due to vaccination quarantine!
> 
> ...


What do you mean by quarantine? Are you strictly keeping her in your apartment until all vaccines are finished?


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## ks310 (Sep 28, 2015)

Yep thats what the vet said. Other than a trip outside the city to an exclusive beach we have kept her inside the apartment.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

ks310 said:


> I need advice on the same thing.
> 
> Little Monica has developed fear and anti-social tendencies in the 3 weeks she's been with us due to vaccination quarantine!
> 
> ...


It's probably better to start a separate thread even if it's the same issue, you'll get more replies.

If your puppy isn't fully vaccinated s/he should avoid contact with unknown dogs and areas where unknown dogs have been, like the ground. That's primarily b/c Parvo virus has been on the increase and puppies need full immunization to be protected, and there's a series of shots spread over time to accomplish that.

However, you CAN allow your puppy to socialize with other KNOWN dogs who are fully inoculated, and you surely can take your dog outside if you carry him/her..and frankly you should. Take her everywhere, just carry her. Let her smooch with new people, take her into stores, let her experience the new world and all its sights and sounds and smells...from the protective vantage point of your arms.

Socialization doesn't necessarily require a leash and other dogs and the attendant risks that go along with that..you do not and should not keep her on "lock down" until she's fully immunized, just understand the risks and avoid those things. It's a gradual process that includes all kinds of experiences, you can and should be exposing her to that until she can actually walk on lead on her own.


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## ks310 (Sep 28, 2015)

Well now it's just two days till her second vaccination so its all good. 

Sorry for hijacking your thread Northern


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## Pecan_and_BB (Jun 15, 2015)

ks310 said:


> Well now it's just two days till her second vaccination so its all good.
> 
> Sorry for hijacking your thread Northern


Just keep in mind, even after the shot, it is recommended you wait 5-7 days for it to take full effect.

Gingerling gave some very good advice.

I would add, if she is that scared of a roommate that she runs under the bed, a technique to get her to trust people is to ask friends over to your apartment when it's her feeding time. Start with you sitting cross-legged on the floor with her sitting on your legs (for her, that's a very safe place). Start to hand feed her yourself, then have your friend sit cross-legged facing you and your pup and have them attempt to hand feed her as well while she is still in your lap. Take turns feeding her like this and then once she is comfortable taking the food from both of you, have your friend lure your dog over to their lap. Take your time and be patient with the process, then once your dog goes over to your friends lap, just start luring her back and forth between your laps and make it a little game.

Do this with as many different people as possible so that your pup associates new people with good experiences.


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## ks310 (Sep 28, 2015)

I know .

The roommate problem isn't so simple as he's only here once or
Twice a month. We are fairly new in the city and don't know
Many people.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I would suggest you purchase a Ian Dunbar puppy DVD, to help learn how to properly socialize your puppy. With her still scared of a roommate after 3 days, city life is going to be overwhelming for her. She has missed so much socialization during early development that it maybe a long slow process.


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## NorthernVizsla (Jan 4, 2015)

Thanks TexasRed, 

Apologies for the late response, it's half term school holidays here in the UK and currently we have an additional child staying as well as our 3 kids so it's been a little hectic!

I hadn't thought that she may be settled by 11, we have in the last 2 weeks had her sleeping through but only realised she could do this as i snoozed my alarm by accident and fell back to sleep, woke up in a panic at 6.20am and it was silent, went down, she was laid down and the crate was dry, happy days 

We then worked on taking her out for last toilet before bed at 11pm then seeing how far near 6am she could go till, it was successful so we didn't want to tempt fate too much however she does seem to to be completely settled for 10pm so maybe we can start scaling back now.

My husband has been taking her out a few evenings, just a quick 10 minutes round the block to get her used to night time walks, especially now we have just switched back to winter hours and the nights are dark around 4.30pm onwards. He also does some woodland walks with her and the kids without me and she responds well to him and happy to go and recall, even with the kids and other dogs around. Working progress as always we think. 

I think it may just be her personality,, tall males seem to be a problem for her, not sure why, also very tall women, maybe it's a size thing, who knows?!
I know that we could not have socialised this pup any more, she has been introduced to more than than 20 people daily, and thats the playground alone twice a day. 
We have had friends visiting this weekend, women and very small children, i must say her behaviour around the kids was fantastic, our youngest is 6 and she's pretty good with him, but the youngest visitors were 2 and 4, they played hide it with treats and she sat and waited until released to go 'find' , even though there was a circus of kids running round her. Focus for 'stay' is really good so far. First V we've had thats been this focused this young. 
She's very used to and fantastic with kids, a blessing at least even if she hates tall people ???

Anyhow, i've rambled on as usual........
Thanks again for the advice , much appreciated


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