Does my Corgi puppy have a behavioral problem - too aggressive?
We added Sadie to our home on Friday, 04/10/09. She is 9 weeks old today and is so cute. I took her to her first vet check and the veternarian feels that she has a behavioral problem and is very concerned because I have a 4 year old son. Sadie did not act afraid of anyone or anything at the vet's office including the vet himself. She would jump up on him and ask for his attention, before and after his exam of her. However, while he was examining her, she growled furociously. That was the first trigger that concerned him. Then while visiting with me about injections, etc., he picked her up and was playing with her. After about 30 seconds, if that long, she began growling and snapped at him a couple of times. It was not at all playful behavior. There were times when he would hold her in a submissive position, i.e. on her back in his arms, and she would do fine. So we began to narrow it down to she mostly did it when he would rub her head, mostly around her ears. He checked real good around her ears and head to make sure there was no sore spots, lumps, or problems. I have never seen her act like this in the time we have had her. We have not played aggressive with her and I have tried to correct her from nipping, biting, or pulling at things with a firm NO and removal from the situation. The vet was concerned enough that he said he would not give her a shot today and let me think about our future with this puppy first. He was comparing her to all the puppies he sees everyday and says it has been a long time since he has seen one do what Sadie did and it is very rare. He is concerned for my son and/or any friends he might have over. Has anyone seen this kind of problem before or have any advice? Thanks.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ross on
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That's too bad to hear. But it sounds like your vet is being a little melodramatic. Plenty of dog's do NOT like the vet, even puppies. I've seen plenty of dogs in muzzles at the vet. Corgis are assertive dogs and your puppy was letting the vet know that she did not like what he was doing to her.
One of the good things about most corgis is they are very food motivated, next time you are at the vet I would throw treats at her and condition her to think it is a positive experience. Reinforce handling of her by yourself and others, while giving her treats. Put her on her back, tug her ears (gently), play with her paws, do everything but hurt her, all the while giving her treats and praising her for showing calm behavior. The same thing goes with her around your son, make sure your son is very respective of the dog's boundaries (don't let him run up to the dog screaming etc.), when your son and other children are interacting with your dog, give her lots of treats, and have the children give her treats.
Remeber POSITIVE reinforcement, corgis are working dogs, they were bred to accomplish tasks, and they want to feel like t
Atlas showed bone aggression at a very young age, about a week or 2 after we got him, he snapped at my girlfriend while chewing on a rawhide. We'd give him a treat when he'd drop the bone, and then praise him. We haven't had a problem since, and he readily gives up his bone when we ask him.
Also, playing aggressively does not make your dog aggressive. Any trainer worth their salt will tell you that. Our other pup, Scout, is incredibly calm and submissive around people and children. Everyone that meets her always comments on how great a tempermant she has. She plays VERY aggressively but has never bit me remotely hard or growled at me outside of when we are roughhousing.
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Permalink Reply by Stanley & Charlotte on
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Well, I'm not a dog expert by any means, but I think 9 weeks is too young to dismiss a dog as being too aggressive. I know when we first got Stanley, he was very alpha and tried to dominate us. But we continued to be firm with him and enforce the rules (teaching him "no bite", etc) and eventually he calmed down quite a bit. There's still times when he tries to test us, etc but nothing overly aggressive. I think your puppy would do well by entering an obedience class. Maybe Sadie was scared of the vet. Stanley freaks out when we try to clean his ears and I think it's b/c he's scared, not b/c he's aggressive by nature. Good luck!!
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Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on
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When I first brought Bertie to the vet, at about the same age, when she inserted the thermometer he turned his head and snapped at her. He'd never done that at home so I was startled, and she said to me, oh, he's mouthy, you have to control that! Well, lemme tell you, he NEVER did that again. I think he just didn't care for her and her thermometer -- he loves all the other vets I've been to, and has never, ever snapped at anyone. In fact, my current vet wrote GOOD DOG on the front of his chart because he's so easy going. So I would be "aware" but keep playing and working with your pup and see what happens as she grows up a little. If she doesn't like you touching her ears, gently play with them and give her treats so she thinks it's a good thing, all that kind of positive stuff. Keep an eye on your son with her, I'm sure he's great, but toddlers can be rough without meaning to, and see how she reacts. One incident does not a pattern make!
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Permalink Reply by Wendt Worth Corgi's on
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This is not an uncommon issue w/a puppy that has not been worked w/or disciplined properly for this behavior. She was acting as if he was another litter mate and for him to kinda harrass her in a situation she is uneasy about is not out standing of him nor was it outstanding of him to not discipline for this behavior. Instead he has shown her a vet visit is unpleasant and she can get away with this type of behavior. She is definitely at an age this can be corrected and solved. Don't sleep on this or it gets worse and harder to correct. Also for the time being you need to teach your kids to keep their faces away from dogs faces and monitor their activity w/the pup. At night watching TV, hold her and feel her ears, rub her paws, touch her teeth..make it like massaging so she excepts this. If she starts to squirm and fights to get loose, don' t let her go til she settles. Its a give and take situation. Tell her to settle and calm her, if that doesn't work just hold her and let her fight it, once she settles then reward her by petting calmly and praise her w/letting her down for a bit. Make sure she is getting enough exercise that some of this issue is stemmed from built up energy. You might want to get intouch w/some obedience training to get further advice as well. Good Luck
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Permalink Reply by Amanda Day on
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Thanks for all of the responses. It has been helpful. One of my main fears is after training her to be non-aggressive with us, that she will be aggressive with visiting children. My son is already scared of her because the second day she was here she bit him on the thigh. I was there when it happened and he was not being rough with her but was running with her and she caught him and bit him. Now he won't get in the floor when she is in the floor. If trained not to bite us, is there a possibility of her biting visitors?
Is there anyone who lives in the Memphis, TN area who could recommend a trainer?
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This is going to be hard since your son is so young but I don't feel your dog will have aggressive issues w/strangers if handled properly but this is not a guarantee either. My youngest Corgi is not aggressive at all but does get carried away at play. My daughter was running the front yard and Sian was chasing her jumping up and nipping so I instructed my daughter on what to do since Sian knows not to do that to me. Once my daughter listened to my instructions and got after her ONE time, til this day Sian has been respectful and only runs along side of her and has not yet for a good month jumped up and nipped at her. I've also instructed my daughter that if Sian is just chasing her and behaving to stop every so often and congratulate her to let her know this is the behavior you are looking for and then go back to playing w/her. All training needs to be positive even when disciplining it needs to be done positively. I will admit, my daughter is very good w/the dogs and has a knack for understanding them. She is 7 yrs old. Maybe this particular pup is too much for you and thats okay. They all have different personalities like you and I and not all of them can go into any home. Try googling a trainer in TN and something should come up. Good luck.
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I was nipped by Atlas, although it definitely felt like a bite. He bit me through sweatpants and broke the skin and left a nasty bruise. If your son was running, your corgi was excercising her herding instinct, and is just too young to really have an understanding of her own strength.
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Permalink Reply by Christie & Mauricio on
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I can understand how you feel. I recently took 11 week old Harry to the Vet and he nipped at her hands a number of times, leading her to comment that he was "very bitey" and we should consider training classes for him. He wasn't growling, so I don't think it was really aggressive behavior, but it was embarrassing and his whole bitey thing has me a little concerned....Our dog walker has also commented on it. I was reading a different forum on here about the biting behavior in puppies and a number of people said it goes away when their adult teeth come in. I really hope so, and hope that it doesn't turn into an aggression problem.
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Permalink Reply by CaptainCorgi on
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Sorry for butting in, but I just wanted to say to Christie, I don't think your baby Harry will be aggressive. My little Eowyn was very mouthy and nippy when she was 12 weeks and so on until about 6 months, now she is 2 1/2 years old and is not aggressive in the slightest! Just keep giving him corrections when he does nip and take it day by day. It won't go away over night, but I seriously don't think his bitey/nipping behavior will lead to aggression. :-)
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Permalink Reply by Little Bear on
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that sounds like her herding instinct might have kicked into high gear and in her mind, he wasn't going where she thought he should have so she corrected him.
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When you say, "bit him on the thigh," was it a nip or a real bite? Corgis herd with nips, so nipping when playing, running after someone, etc., is really natural for them, and like Wendtworth Corgis says, they have to be trained not to. It's pretty easily done, by praising them for good behavior and just stopping/ignoring them when bad. Corgis are very smart and often don't need to be told twice (well, okay, maybe twice). My niece called Bertie "Nippy" when I first got him, because he would chase after her and nip at her heels, but we got him to stop pretty quickly, much as WW Corgis describes above. Correcting isn't really enough -- you need to help them focus on the right behavior, too, with praise, treats, whatever makes them happy.
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Permalink Reply by Carmen on
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Sounds like normal puppy behavior. Just work with her. I think it is an excellent idea to find a good trainer for her. Wendt Worth Corgis has excellent advice. I agree with her suggestions.
The problem with some vets is they are a little "anti-corgi." Not all, but some. I have met a few. They meet a highstrung, nippy corgi and stereotype the rest. One vet treated Pandora like scum and didn't even give her a treat after her shot for being a good dog. My current vet told me that he didn't like corgis until he met mine, so you can change their minds.
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