"Aggression" in a 9 week old Cane Corso

[Tess]

We brought Tessa, a 9 week old Cane Corso, home just over a week ago, and she has been fantastic with us, our 4 daughters, and our other dog. She plays calmly, rarely nips, and overall has been very mellow. We had friends over for a Super Bowl party last night, and she was perfect! There were 6 adults, and 9 kids (11 and under) present, and she was on her best behavior. All interactions with her were very closely supervised, she was kept on a leash, and she really was the model of good behavior. This morning, I had 3 adults over for coffee, and Tessa was a different dog entirely. She was fine with all of them initially, but grew more "aggressive" as the morning continued. She started growling and snarling, and when my cousin tried to move her shoe, she lunged at her to bite. What is the best method of correction to use? I grabbed the scruff of her neck, and told her "NO" firmly, and she immediately calmed and laid down. She did continue to growl and snarl at them intermittently though. I know that her breed is meant to be protective of their owners, but I'd like her to accept company in our home without aggression. I know she's still a very young puppy, but it'll be a whole lot easier to nip any issues in the bud now

 

[Rugers-Kris]

First, a nine week old puppy is not being aggressive, IMO. They are young and will play inappropriately until they are taught what is and is not acceptable but a puppy that young isn't aggressive. I am of the opinion that grabbing the scruff of the neck is not the way to go with a puppy. Positive training will work better for you especially considering that she is too young to be "aggressive" so physically correcting a puppy for inappropriate play will not be advantageous an can cause further issues. As far as her always accepting guests in your home without "aggression" there is no way to know what her temperament will be when she matures. All you can do is keep socializing her. As you mentioned Corso's are a breed that are protective so I wouldn't expect her to be "lab" like.

 

[Tess]

That's why I put "aggression" in quotation marks, I just couldn't think of a better way to describe it I figured scruffing her was the wrong way to go, that's why I was asking for a better solution. It just kind of caught me off guard when she did it. We are enrolling her in the puppy classes this week. I'd much rather be proactive than correcting issues down the road. I know she won't be like a lab, that really isn't what we want. I appreciate all the input from everyone on this forum, I'm learning as I go.

 

[Rugers-Kris]

I understand....I just wanted to make sure you knew it wasn't actually aggression. I got Ruger at 6 weeks old an he was a CRAZY player. Very rough and super bitey and it took some doing to train it out. I always keep mine on leashes for quite some time after bringing them home so that I have that control and am always able to be on top of the situation. Teach the command "Easy" or whatever word works for you and praise when she responds. Definitely telling her no is the right way to go. Redirect to a toy is she is actually lunging and biting and the one that worked best for me was to turn away from the puppy. Mine love attention and it made all of the difference when they realized I was ignoring them. They got it pretty quick. Consistency will get you there.

 

[Tess]

It just surprised me because she has been anything BUT crazy since the second we brought her home. I think she was "guarding" things she thought belonged to her (even though they were on my cousins body, lol). For example, she started biting a zipper on my cousins shirt, and when she tried to move it, Tessa tried to bite her face...or, she started chewing on my cousins shoe, and when she moved her foot, she growled and snarled. She's made some growly noises playing with our dog, but these growls were different entirely. I'm taking the blame for it, I should have been paying more attention to her body language, and kept her closer to my side. Lesson learned! Thanks for the advice

 

[Miguel]

That is a personality you got there in the making
I see no fault at the correction you gave her, considering the nature of her behaviour which is not to be left unadressed

 

[HeatherA]

Tessa's first week was great because she was learning her family she will start to come into herself now and be a normal puppy. when one of our was being to rough or growling barking i would give a firm tug of the leash and say NO and then re direct with a something for them to do. knowing who you got her from I know her favorite toy-- get an old sock a long one and put an empty 20oz pop bottle in it and tie the end she will forget she was acting out and stay busy for a nice long time

 

[Tess]

That makes perfect sense, Heather A. She has definitely been coming more out of her shell the last few days! Today was just the first sign of anything other than complete sweetness from this girl. I'll definitely try the redirection, and will be paying closer attention to her when company is over. And, because I can't help myself, here's the latest pictures of the attack dog...

 

[HeatherA]

such a cute little attack pup <3

 

[karennj]

I would speak to the breeder and ask about her play style. Maybe that is just the way she plays and needs to be taught more appropriate play.

 

[Rugers-Kris]

She is very cute.

 

[Lisa P]

She was probably over-stimulated from the party last night too.

 

[Tess]

True, it was probably too much having the party last night, and people over today too. I think she was really tired as well.
We think she is just the cutest! The manners will come with time. Thanks for all the input. We don't mind putting in the hard work to have a well mannered dog.

 

[karennj]

My boy gets over stimulated and loses all his manners. It's not so cute when they are 120lbs though. I try to read his body language and look for signs of stress or tiredness. I notice he gets grumpy if he gets really tired or has too much mental stimulation. Its a constant balance. At the first sign of ill manners I would put the pup away, she may be telling you it's too much.

 

[Tess]

Oh, I didn't mean she was cute when she was being nasty...that definitely was NOT cute! I was responding to Rugers-Kris. You're right, I should have put her in her crate. Thanks, all!

 

[DennasMom]

Another thing you can do, is tell her 'enough' or 'relax' and then give her something else to do - like "go lay down"... and give her a toy to chew on when she gets to her bed... basically redirection.

In the crate with a treat or chew toy would have been good, too. But, if you're house is like ours, we don't have company that often, so we needed to use any chance we could to socialize the puppy around new people... basically showing her how you want her to behave and enforcing it. But, if she was over-tired, some crate time might have been just what she needed.

I'd guess she might have still been in over-load mode from the party, too... not quite ready for another round of being "good".

 

[season]

Read

Leerburg Dog Training | The Ground Work to Becoming Your Puppy's Pack Leader

 

[corsotx]

My puppy is now able to be relax and lay down when he growls. The type of growls that I consider aggressive of course. This is a good way.

 

[season]

teaching a dog to go to a "place" is one of the best things you can do for your dog. It's not punishment. It's not "time out"...its' simply "place" (that's the word I use). Solo will go to his place and relax. For as long as I make him. Sometimes it's 10 minutes now we've worked up to an 1 hr. If I'm watching TV, working out, doing work from school, whatever...I send him to "place".....it's a great way for a dog to work on impulse control. It's like and "on and off" switch. So many dogs no all the commands and tricks a "trainer" can teach them, but that doesn't mean they know how to be calm which is a great thing for your dog and yourself.
[video=youtube;omg5DVPWIWo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omg5DVPWIWo[/video]

 

[karennj]

I love place! it seems to be a very good fit for lots of different issues. That is one of the things I am still working on with Bear. He will go to place but is reluctant sometimes to get all the way on to place. How long did it take you to work up to an hour? Just wondering what is a normal expectation.