A good friend has a very well bred 10mo male Labrador. He is not fixed and there are no plans to fix him as dog is planned to be new stud dog eventually. He has his CGC and is going for his Therapy dog cert. He is very obedient. Problem is that although he will allow his household chihuahua puppy friends and adult dogs to crawl all over him, he is very, puppy aggressive. Any young puppy that comes close to him gets growled and snarled at and he will try and bite them. He especially dislikes other labrador puppies. He has been well socialized and goes to work with his owner every day. Anyone else ever had this problem? Thanks

I do have a female like this, however, her "aggression' is understandable as she was attacked by another Labrador as a pup with the original breeder.

This girl is almost 7 years, has shown extensively, has a CD title and shows juniors.

No one else would ever know seeing her out and about BUT we know! At show sites, my family walks on the outside of her so another dog won't bump her. The kids make sure there is plenty of space around her when showing juniors. We are really good at redirecting her - always away so no dog is closer than 1-2 ft which is her limit of personal space. Our girl will never go after a dog BUT if a dog or pup comes within that 1-2 foot space - it is a MAJOR reaction.

My greatest fear was when she showed obedience - I knew she wouldn't break her long sit or down but dreaded what would happen is another dog broke and went over to her. It never happened and she placed in her obedience trials.

I found it very stressful taking her to show sites - always had to be on the alert.

My girl is pup friendly until they are about 9 months and then she starts reacting - even to her own pups.

If I had to do it all over - I would not keep a dog with this issue again even though our girl has an explanation behind her behavior and has never thrown a pup with the same characteristic.

You may wish to go to www.leerburg.com - they have lots of free e-books/articles on dealing with aggression.

This behavior is really a hassle to live with and with this male it could be genetic - not ideal in a stud dog.

Just some honest thoughts .

Thank you so much for your reply. My friend is beside herself. This is her dream dog. I am going pass this on to her right away

Please be cautious about applying the word "aggressive" or even "dominance" to the behavior you described. Many adult dogs simply do not like the behavior of puppies. Adult dogs tell puppies not to bother them by growling, showing teeth, leaving the scene (if they are allowed to leave), and snapping the air. Occasionally the puppy behavior may be so annoying to the older dog that older dogs will put their mouths over the backs or heads of the puppy and even roar like a lion. Unless the older dog makes a mistake, the puppy is usually not injured by these communications. Most adult dogs are very careful not to damage a puppy and most puppies immediately show that they understand the adult dog's communication with placating type behaviors of a puppy.

Unprovoked attacking of puppies that injures the puppy is quite rare and indicates an adult dog with a severe problem. This kind of unprovoked attack with injury is the only thing I would call aggression toward a puppy.

Please ask your friend to protect the adult dog from unwanted puppy attention and allow the adult to escape or hide from the puppy.

I got a dog back from someone who kept dogs of different ages in one pen. He was reported to be dog aggressive and she was going to put him down. He was 10 months old. When I got him back he was afraid of the puppy statues in my house. He didn't want to do anything to do w/ puppies like my other dogs. I just respected the fact he didn't like puppies. As he got older he would growl and look at me if a puppy should get close to him. I always knew it was in everyone's best interest to kept them separate. Funny thing is he loved newborns and always wanted to see them, but once the teeth came he was outta there. I recently lost this boy at the age of 14 yrs, 10 months. He was NEVER dog aggressive. Just didn't like puppies.
Your friend can live a happy life w/ her "dream dog" as long as she remembers his one flaw.

You stated that he is going for his therapy dog certification. As the owner of 3 certified/registered therapy dogs (testing from 2 different organizations)you should know that being in a room with a lot of dogs is part of the test. You fail 1 part and you failed the entire test. Even if you go the easy way out (which is the CGC) there are still dogs involved. How is he going to pull that off?

Marjorie, The CGC requires meeting an adult dog face-to-face while sitting quietly. I see no evidence in the post that the dog in question has aggression, much less aggression toward appropriate adult dog behavior. Trying to bite is not the same as biting. Baring teeth and snapping air without injury is communication.

Bonnie, I don't even consider his behavior (as described) a fault; he simply does not like puppy type behavior, his preference. I don't much care for puppies or adults "crawling all over" me either. Most owners would feel a need to protect me from this behavior. Why not protect the dog as well?

I hear a lot of excuses when it comes to temperament and I think it's too bad. I can understand avoiding and/or a bit of a grumble if he's not thrilled with the situation, but snarling and trying to bite...no thank you. I hope your friend is open about this boy's temperament if he is bred, it's certainly something I'd prefer to avoid.

I think something needs to be kept in mind, very seldom is there such a thing as "trying to bite", if a dog as large as a Labrador wants to bite, generally they do, little one can do about it.
I agree with several others, the boy is communicating to the puppies.

When my stud dog was around 18-24 months of age, he would growl at puppies at shows when they ran straight into him... I corrected him and began to be concerned about his genetics though his breeding is absolutely wonderful... I spoke to my mentors who told me he was a perfectly normal adult male dog.. But when you are ringside and other breeders witness your dog growling at a puppy, OMG immediately you are blamed for breeding poor temperaments because our Labs are all supposed to be perfect...Not normal canines..... I kept hearing other breeders telling me he had a bad temperament..... Well let me tell you. I am glad I followed my mentor's advice... When I bred my first litter I was extremely cautious with this boy when the pups were very young. He would growl at them through the crate door when they ran up to it.. But as soon as I allowed him to be with them and he was able to teach them how to approach an adult and respect one, they all lived together quite well. There was never a scratch on any of the puppies. With lots of supervision he was allowed to growl, open his mouth and even put him mouth on a stubborn puppy, but no teeth,,, Never any teeth... I have so many photos of this same dog, belly up with all of his puppies on top of him, nibbling his ears, his belly, and just being playful... I have also had subsequent litters by different sires and damns and he loves each and every one of them. The dog I had fear of around puppies, is now my puppy nanny.... He is just perfect with them and teaches them what they need to know safely....... I still keep him away from naughty puppies at the shows, because I doubt most breeders want my boy teaching their rude puppies how to behave. But here at home,,, he is grampa to all pups born here. And I adore him.

Good points "my experience". Pups need to learn from older dogs just as you outlined and what a joy is is to watch dogs communicate and teach one another when all proceeds well. A dog of mine however was bitten on his ba**s by a puppy once - puppy of course thinking that he might nurse.....wrong idea puppy. After that my boy was not very patient with young puppies. So these kinds of vulnerable situations need to be avoided.

Some very good replies here and Gregg is right, when a Lab wants to bite, you're bitten. But what you are all forgetting is the change in the times. When a parent spanks or "whips", as my dad always called it, a child nowadays, they are a bad parent. And it seems the Labs did'nt get the memo that they are to no longer communicate and "scold" as they have forever. If you're Lab is up to date on his behavior with Puppies then he will now only "whine" at them and if that doesn't work, roll over and let them do as they please. It seems that is the proper behavior for adult people and dogs nowadays!! Now if you're an "old timer" you can still tell the difference between "child rearing" and "child abuse" and the same goes with dogs. Just My Thoughts.

Well, Bobby, they are shared!! A veterinary behaviourist once told me that our Lab bitches were not great mothers because they rarely taught their offspring social graces. Pups that go out into the world thinking they can nibble tails, jump in faces and hang from ears are at a serious disadvantage. Dogs that educate are a godsend.

Still, it's important to differentiate between firm education and unsolicited poor temperament. People who are unable to tell the difference should simply avoid those situations.