At what age is a growling puppy a problem?

jccf2003

Hi,
We have a 5mth old beautiful irish red and setter who we've just found out is very fearful. He is good (for the most part) around us (except when he's up to mischief, but that's to be expected) but recently he's been growling more and has nipped my husband and snapped at my 8 yo's face. We have a 20mth old but he's never been aggressive to him. He also growls and barks at strangers, especially in the house (we rarely have visitors). Because of all this, we got advice from a well-respected trainer, who said that this is pretty unusual for a puppy of this age, that he should be much more friendly. One of the reasons we got a setter was because of their good-natured, family dog reputation. We'd thought the biggest issue with a breed like a setter was to be giving him lots of exercise, so we did most of it offlead in local fields - that means that he hasn't been meeting a lot of people. NOW I realise this is a huge issue - I hadn't appreciated what a big deal it would become. The trainer says that while intensive rehabilitation now will improve things, he's likely to remain somewhat fearful. This scares me TBH What does everyone think of our prospects, if we do intensive rehabilitation (keeping in mind that we have young kids)? Also, how intensive would you think it needs to be?
Thank you...

Edited to say: has the socialisation window really closed at 5mths?

TooManyDogs

The socialisation window hasn't closed at 5 months but it does take a lot more work. Like the trainer said it'll take alot of intensive work but it can be done in most cases. I foster for my local shelter and one set of dogs we got in were 8 month old lab x collies that had been on a farm among 14 other dogs, fantastic with other dogs but terrified of people. We began to get them used to the volunteers and then when they were ok with volunteers I brought them home individually. One was far more out going and came around fairly quickly but the other took a bit of time. Here was my strategy -
Lead training - She'd shut down as soon as she felt any pressure on a lead so I would walk to the end of the lead (but not taut) and wait for her. Eventually she'd walk to me and I'd praise her and walk to the end of the lead again. It took me an hour to walk 200 yards and back again! By doing this she gradually got the idea to walk with me when on a lead.

Socialisation - I took her everywhere with me. But in particular I would take her to the local shop, because she was nervous of people I wanted somewhere where there were loads of people but all going about their own business that had no interest in a crazy lady and her dog standing outside the shop! At first we'd stand a building away just watching everyone, but gradually we'd get closer and closer until we could stand outside without her freaking out. She'd still be watching everyone coming in and out of the shop warily but because no-one was interested in her there was no pressure put on her and she'd gradually relax. That way she got used to men, women, kids, buggies, bikes, cars, shouting, groups of people etc etc When she was totally fine with that shop we'd move onto another shop and start again! Sounds ridiculous I know but it worked for her. Then I discovered the sound of manhole covers rattling freaked her out so we walked over as many of them as possible. At the start with me doing the walking and her at the end of the lead looking like the cover was going to eat her, and then gradually her being able to walk over them too.

She got adopted and I met her about a year later and was delighted to see the confident dog she'd become, her new owners say she's still very submissive but they can go anywhere with her, she might not push herself forward for attention but is happy with everyone.

My advise would be to keep everything gradual and not push him too quickly, his body language will tell you if you're pushing too hard. Keep an eye on situations that make him uncomfortable and work really hard on them. Don't let people pet him and make a fuss because it's massive pressure on a dog until he makes it clear he wants their attention. If he barks at people in the house then without making any fuss of the situation remove him from the room into another room. When he stops barking then simply open the door, don't invite him in and when he does come in to investigate completely ignore him, no eye contact, no calling to him and your visitors are to do the same. He'll gradually approach visitors if there's no pressure on him to do so. You know the feeling when you go into a very small local pub and the place goes quiet and everyone looks at you? He'd be feeling the same by everyone wanting to fuss him.

There's a few words of wisdom from me!

jccf2003

That sounds like great advice, and thank you for the positive outlook! We've put together a list of different things we should do with him each day, including 2 socialisation walks to meet (ie see) people and also some anti-aggression training exercises we were given like handling/touch, object exchanges and catch/release. We've invested in a new harness where the lead attaches at the front so he doesn't pull so much (it's difficult to walk him right now, I can't do it and have the buggy at the same time), and some dog puzzle toys to help with boredom (ie to focus him on his toys instead of doing all the crazy puppy things like constantly stealing socks and baby toys!) We're really hoping that if we put the effort in it'll pay off for puppy and for us. We're not experience but I hope we can still make it work.
Thanks again