My pup is growling at my two young children and being very shy towards other dogs. Should I be as concerned as I am about this situation?

Question

Hello, I have looked for an answer to this question on your website and I have found some good responses but not one that totally satisfied me. So I wanted to ask you this one directly because I am concerned about this new puppy I have and need to make a decision about returning it to the breeder or not.

    First off this puppy has a lot of qualities that we like she has bonded to the family almost instantly, she is very intelligent, very loving and is responding to basic obedience commands very well. My only concern is her growling at two young children and being very shy towards other dogs. She is a 16 week old Cane Corso which we have had for 5 days now. She has not growled at me or my 6 month old son at all but once at my wife when she was picking up a blanket that was in front of the puppy.

    Both of the growls at the young children were due to the children getting close to the puppy. I do not and will not leave my dogs around kids unsupervised and this puppy is no exception. That said I know that the children were acting appropriately around the puppy under my supervision.

    My question is if I should be as concerned as I am about this situation. I am trying to socialize the puppy by bringing her to new places and meeting new people every day. When we got her from the breeder I did notice that the pups mother was very unsociable however the father was fine. Also we picked her up from the breeder that lived on a farm and I am told the puppy received socialization off the farm.

    I am currently in a situation were the breeder will take her back with a full refund early next week. However like I said before I really like this dog however if I cannot socialize her properly around other dogs or people this is a deal breaker. One other thing is due to school I had to leave me Boxer with my parents. I will not be able to pick up my Boxer for another 3 months and I am worried that I will have problems then not with my boxer but with this new puppy. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

    Jared

Accepted Answer

What kind of foundation did you establish for the puppy? Did you start her off with any pack structure when you brought her home? Sometimes new pups feel insecure until they settle in. This is where this article called The Groundwork to Becoming Your Puppy’s Pack Leader comes in.

Pack Structure for the Family Pet

There are also puppies that are genetically weak nerved or sharp. These dogs ABSOLUTELY need structure and to have all their free time controlled. They also need the work I mention above, but in many cases if you slack off on the structure at all as they grow you may have problems.

Many times weak nerved pups seem to bond instantly, because they are so unsure they need to be with an authority figure. These dogs can be good companions as long as you are aware of the dangers of having a dog whose genetic predisposition is to be suspicious. Suspicious dogs typically don’t have the strongest self confidence and may have aggressive tendencies.

It all depends on what you can handle, what your household is like and whether the pup is just going through an adjustment period or if she’s showing a core temperament issue. You have a small child that will be mobile soon, so I would give careful thought to how your household will be changing as your son grows.

We have a section on dogs & babies.

If you do keep her I’d recommend you read this before you bring the boxer home.

I would direct you to the search function in the upper left corner of the website for any additional questions you may have. If you type in your key words it will guide you to articles, Q & A’s and posts on our forum.

Cindy