# Help!!! Dog barked and growled at me



## laika (Jan 25, 2011)

Hi everyone!! 
Im new here and I had a question about my 3 month GSD, Laika. Laika is not normally aggresive but yesterday she started barking at me and then she continued with growling, to the point that I got quite scared of her. I have idea why she did that but it made me feel uncomfortable. 

Can anyone please help me??? has anyone experienced this ?

thanks in advance


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

she's 3 months old. It is VERY likely she was playing. HOWEVER, it would help greatly to know what was going on at the time.


----------



## DharmasMom (Jul 4, 2010)

Welcome to the forum!

At that age it is most likely playing like KZappa said but more info about what you guys were doing is needed.

Also pics are always appreciated!


----------



## chicagojosh (Jun 22, 2010)

not to be mean, but you really got scared of a 12 week old puppy?


----------



## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

chicagojosh said:


> not to be mean, but you really got scared of a 12 week old puppy?


I have a co-worker who was frightened of her bf's 12 wk old dobie puppy. She had no idea that the puppy was playing, and not actually attempting to rip her ankles off. She came to work crying because it 'attacked' her, and she didn't want to go home. She had left it wandering around their house. We hooked her up with a good OB instructor and now we all laugh about it.


----------



## momtoshadow (Jan 17, 2011)

My Shadow does this when she is playing. It makes my kids a little nervous, so we keep them seperated when she starts to play like that.


----------



## King&Skylar (Jun 3, 2010)

chicagojosh said:


> not to be mean, but you really got scared of a 12 week old puppy?


this is what i was thinking. My puppy nipped my ankles, barked/growled at me, kissed my face (with her teeth lol) we all had bruised and scratches for a couple of weeks before she understood she couldn't do that, she still gets carried away and gives "alligator kisses" and barks, not aggressively but i suppose if you're not used to it it could be seen as dangerous or something. our 7 yr old still talks to us to get food.


----------



## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Sounds like play to me! 

Listen to this growling between two dogs, and I'm egging them on! (the GSD is mine ) Truthfully, this is kind of mild and well mannered too.





 
You wanna learn to PLAY like this with your dog so you can see what is 'play' growling and that it's a GOOD thing. You need to be at the other end of the tug!


----------



## ZAYDA (Apr 22, 2010)

If you are scared of a 12 week old puppy that is not good. Your dog will take advantage of that and you will not have a fun 12 years. NEVER show you are afraid of your own dog EVER.

I think you might want to get into training classes ASAP so you can learn how to become a true leader.


----------



## liv (Sep 1, 2010)

German Shepherds are very "chatty!" Mine bark and grumble at me when they want attention, play, food or anything else they come up with! They are worse with each other - my neighbors probably think they are trying to kill each other on a regular basis, but they are just very noisy when they play  My male does have some fear issues and on occasion will bark at people and it is a very different kind of bark, which is different from a aggressive bark. It is important to learn your puppy's language as Maggie said, so that you can understand what is actually happening.

Spend lots of time playing with your puppy where she really gets going, like playing tug - so that she learns that the best fun comes from you! I would also get into a good positive puppy class and then obedience classes so you can build your confidence in your interactions with the puppy!

PS - we really like puppy pictures!!


----------



## laika (Jan 25, 2011)

I am pretty sure she was not playing with me because it was out of nowhere and it seemed more aggressive. And, yes I got scared, it was unexpected for her to behave like that, and I wasnt sure what to do, or what happened. We are taking her to classes and she is usually well behaved. It just seemed like she snapped!!!!


----------



## King&Skylar (Jun 3, 2010)

did you scare her?? even do something you normally don't do that might have made her nervous? I think that when they bark "aggressively" that young its more fear based, someone correct me if im wrong as im in no way an expert


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

first of all don't be afraid of a 12 week old pup. if the pup went insane
and tried to really harm you you should should be able to subdue it.
i think your pup was being vocal. i think you should start with a puppy
class followed by an OB class. start training and socializing your pup.


----------



## Caitydid255 (Aug 28, 2010)

Freyja did that a couple of times when she was a young pup. When she would do that I would walk towards her and say "excuse me", she then would normally turn into a ball of love. I suspect your girl might be doing what Freyja did and is learning about all the new fun sounds she can make and is testing them out on you. 

How was her fur at that time, was she all puffed up or was her fur smooth against her back?


----------



## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Just remember, you are the human, she is just a pup and you outweigh her by 100 pounds. You can try to redirect her or turn away and ignore her. You can try turning it into play. My dog did that at 4 months or so, just started barking and growling at my wife who was just sitting and reading. Some may disagree with this but I pinned her for a few seconds and she was immediately contrite. This happened a couple more times during her bratty period but outgrew it and became almost as bonded to my wife as she is to me. I think she was just challenging and testing because it was very different than play barking and growling. She did a lot of challenging in her first 6 months but she is a sweetheart now.


----------



## vat (Jul 23, 2010)

I must agree with everyone, first never be afraid of your own dog they will use it against you someday. Puppies growl, bite, etc. I recently had a girl call me because her stupid husband brought home a GSD pup for x-mas. She called me saying he was mean (the pup) I asked what he was doing. He was biting and growling, he was 9 weeks old. I said welcome to owning a landshark he is not mean. She also called the breeder who told her the same thing I did.

Needless to say after she committed to training this pup the husband took it back to the breeder again without telling her, any way I digress. Next time this happens try grabbing a toy and playing with her. If she really means it to be mean (which I doubt) then make sure you let her know that is not acceptable behaviour. Pups will bark and growl at all sorts of stuff, maybe she heard something that scared her that you could not hear.


----------



## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

The worst thing about this incident isn't the growling. It's your reaction to it. If you are afraid of a 12 week old puppy, this is a confusing reaction to a puppy and will cause HUGE issues later on with them not being able to rely on you as their calm and faithful leader. We need to be the ones they trust and rely on and know to look to.

If we are afraid and avoiding and giving mixed signals, that's not going to work to raise a stable adult dog. 

How much fun and EXERCISE are you doing going out and having fun fun fun with your puppy? Wearing them out and stimulating them mentally and physically with NEW things so you are the calm leader in new situations?

How are the puppy classes going? What does your instructor recommend?

Are you using TONS of teeny treats and all happy/fun positive based trick training. Clicker are ideal so if that's what your instructor is recommending, just work with them to fine tune your sessions.

Good for you for coming here right away, because a 12 week old puppy really is still cute and adorable and though you may have been thrown off, you can absolutely turn this around and KNOW your puppy loves you and KNOWS it isn't a 'real' growl the next time.


----------



## Infamous_GSD (Oct 27, 2010)

I have learned from my Shepherd that they are a very "talkative" breed. They love to whine, growl, bark and etc... They also play rough this way.


----------



## lrodptl (Nov 12, 2009)

Don't get too caught up in this one time event or your reaction. I've seen my 9 week old GSD charging,barking like crazy and scaring people of all sizes. It is startling. People run from bees,spiders and other much smaller creatures. But you do have to move on and control your fear,don't show it and don't react with it. No growling at Mama allowed at all,ever.I don't even allow play growling during tugs of war sessions and he no longer does it.


----------



## laika (Jan 25, 2011)

thank you all for the kind responses, im sure she was testing me but since I'm new to this it just worried me.


----------



## Jax's Mom (Apr 2, 2010)

laika said:


> Laika is not normally aggresive but yesterday she started barking at me and then she continued with growling, to the point that I got quite scared of her. I have idea why she did that but it made me feel uncomfortable.


Ever see toddlers hit their parents (quite hard) with blunt objects and throw tantrums and kick and bite for no good reason? Those kids aren't evil, they're just misguided and looking to get their way with what little resources they have.
When a puppy bites you or intimidates you, the worst thing you can do is reward them in any way or comply. 
The next time she bites you barks at you, try to scream "OW!" in a really exaggerated painful way and see what she does


----------



## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

laika said:


> thank you all for the kind responses, im sure she was testing me but since I'm new to this it just worried me.


 
But it is a lot better that he did it at so young an age rather than at 6 or 7 months old. Now you can see he was playing. 

Our male (now 3+yrs) still likes to "growl" when he grabs my arm but starts licking furiously when i tell him "Ow". And he really grabs it when i hold my fists up and ask him "Do you want to fight?" and make a punching motion. All play!

GSD's are very vocal and love to play rough!


----------

