Question:
I have a 7 week old puppy that was given to me by a coworker.
I know this is young to take a puppy , but when she gave it to me I was unaware of the age.
He is a mix between shitzu and jack russell terrior.
I moved out of my home about 2 months ago and all Ive wanted was a dog. Ive had one my whole life and I felt lonely about it. At first , the puppy was fine. He nibbled and bit and played like normal. But now when I pick him up he is truely aggresive. He growls , curls his lip up , and tears into my hand as hard as he can. Is that normal behavior?
My boyfriend wants me to take him to a shelter. He hates the way the dog acts towards us. What should I do?
Answer:
Hi there
Your puppy is really young to be displaying such aggression. I would first take pup to the vets to see if there is a medical condition causing the pup to be in such a state. It would be sad to dump a dog off at a shelter if it is just expressing pain or sickness the only way it can.
Now, thats saying it is a medical condition, it may not be. You should at least get that ruled out.
Answer:
Such aggression could be because the dog was taken away from his mother way too young. Any one with knowledge of a dog wouldn't have let a puppy leave the litter before 10 weeks.
Like Soulbird pointed out, this sounds medical to me, since you say he gets aggressive when picked up. Could it be some one hurt his ribs? His knees? Call your vet and make an appointment.
After that, i would try regaining his trust, can you give a little more detail as to when he gets aggressive? When picked up?, eating? toys? other animals?
Good Luck
Answer:
Certainly sounds medical......there is a possibility of an injury. A puppy this young can get hurt easily, even by falling off a couch or such... I would strongly agree with the others and suggest a vet visit first then we go from there....
Answer:
I should have put this into the first statement ... but I took him to the vet about a week before that post.
We thought it may have been pain from the shots ... but he is still showing the same aggresion now.
My boyfriend and I have decided to take it really slow from him since he had to go through so much at such a young age. We can tell he loves us, but maybe not so sure if he trusts us.
Im sure the people who have the parents were just trying to get rid of the litter because he was given away to the person that gave him to me a few days before I got him.
Answer:
Do you think I should take him back to the vet to see if he possibly missed something?
He actually didnt start crying until after the vet. We thought it may have been because we took him somewhere like that so soon and we lost the small amount of trust we built with him.
After the vet one of his ears stood up straight for about five days , before it feel back down. Odd, huh?
Answer:
did you tell the vet of this behavior? did the vet examine him thoroughly for any injuries? If not then yes he should be taken for a full exam. Make sure the vet understands the problem.
Answer:
I didnt tell the vet because he didnt start until afterwards.
Im going to take him back and see.
Answer:
He got a shot at the vet right? By any chance did he yelp?? Reason I ask is when we had a Cairn terrier and we took her in for her shots, the vet hit a nerve accidently and oh man.......she was a real horror for weeks. Very nasty and snappish......I ended up taking her back and that was when we found out what happened....she was in pain and because it takes time for nerves to heal, it was not fun! So it is possible something like this happened.
Answer:
That could be it!
Im going to wait to take him to the vet at his next scheduled visit and see if that may be it. It was his very first shot.
Thanks for the help you guys!
Answer:
You may want to try GENTLY running your hand along the site of the injection and see if you get any reaction. That will give you an idea as they will turn, cry, snap, growl, etc. It hurts! It will take time to heal but you do need to let the vet know what happened so call them and tell them....You may also feel a small knot or lump so try and see but be prepared to pull your hand back fast so you don't get nipped!