5 month old female boerboel growling

[Josh]

Hello people, just wondering if anyone can answer a question for me?

My little girl is 5 months now and she has started to growl at people at night when we are out walking, we live in the city and during the day she is fine and spends at least 2-3 hours a day with 10-20 large breed dogs at our local dog park across the street with zero problems.

She has a great temperment and has only snapped once at someone who scared her when they tried to grab her face cause she is a cute boerboel puppy, other than that no real problem other than the growling and barking she does to people when we walk at night.

Is this a normal behaviour for the breed to be suspicious of certain types of people? it seems to be mostly with people in hats or have hoodies on or are acting strange, which is normal in Vancouver at night.

 

Just wondering if it's a problem or am I just being paranoid, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

Josh

[Roland L]

I cannot tell you what is normal as I am a newbie myself but I would take her out as much as possible and expose her to as many people as possible.  Get her accustomed to all kinds of people in as many situations as possible.

 

See this related post:

http://topboerboel.ning.com/profiles/blogs/growling-1

[Josh]

Thank you for the reply, I have her out for a minimum 3 hours a day in the downtown core around all sorts of people and cars,sirens, bikes and skateboarders, and she is completely fine during the day. never an issue in daylight, it seems to be when it gets dark and she can't really see peoples faces. I am sure she is fine, just thought I would ask.

 

Thanks

[Roland L]

Mine does the low growl woof thing from 14 weeks.  More like an alert response.  Now the snapping thing, that's a different behavior altogether.

[Carrie Kruczek]

Hi Josh:

 

I am not a BB expert, but I do have a 2 year old male with a difficult temperament.  IMO, part of what you're seeing is "the breed."  It sounds like you are doing a lot of socialization, but that will not change what your girl is bred to be.  Be prepared for the behavior to increase with age.  I know it sounds strange, but some aggressive behavior arises from fear and nervousness.  It sounds like you are doing the right things with your puppy, but this breed is noted for a high difficulty in socialization.  I can recommend an excellent (and short book) "The Cautious Canine" by Patricia McConnell.  It will give you some suggestions and techniques to help your girl learn to associate strangers with good things.  I don't want to sound alarmist, but I would be concerned with the snapping behavior especially.  A puppy will not grow out of this behavior, even with intervention and professional training, my boy remains aggressive to strangers.  But working with a 5 month old is much easier than a 160lb adult!  I would also caution you about the dog park...as your girl ages, she is likely not going to be a good candidate for continuing to play with other strange dogs.  Again, I don't want to make you worry unnecessarily, but I know from personal experience just how difficult this breed can be to manage, and what you are experiencing right now is just the kind of behavior that my boy exhibited early on. 

[Josh]

Thank you Carrie, I am starting to see that she probably won't be right for the dog park, she plays great but as she has gained size she is now showing her dominance more with the tail up and the shoulders and head held high, she plays fine and is very gentle with small dogs and puppies.

 

She is starting obedience with a trainer who is familiar with the breed and currently trains GSD's so I am hoping that will give her more of a base and I try to read up as much as I can on proper training techniques so hopefully it's just a stage.

 

The snapping only happened once and it was because a guy came up behind her sneaking and grabbed her head and probably scared her, but yes i don't think it is a good thing to happen even if it's only once.

 

Thank you for all the advice, I will track down the book and have a read.

[Savas Pilarinos]

MY opinion is that it's not a normal behavior.. It's normal to be more alerted at night but not to growl.. And since she is still a pup that can grow into a big problem when maturing. The right thing to do is find a good tainer and experienced with mastiff and guarding breeds. Cause he has to see exactly what happens... to find why.. and a solution...

For example you might stress her from pulling the leash when u see someone.. She might get in a fearfull state... She might not be introduced good enough to people with hats or walking sticks or raincoats etc..  

[Aescleah]

actully for a boel i think that could be a normal behaviour.  as we all know they are not labs they are supposed to be reserved and on guard. but one thing you have to remember is you are the leader and if you dont want your puppy growling it should not be growling  when zeph did this i just gave a leash correction  with a chokie that worked for me with a no and that was it and it was over. 

that being said i do not agree with dog parks i also think overwhelming a puppy of this breed with to much socialization can be just as bad. people who are chasing my zeph around get told to back off and i have had more then a few. a breeder told me once that forcing a boel to be more friendly with people then it wants to be can ruin a dog.

i do think boels have more of a problem with vision at night i really dont think thy follow  things well in the day time  when zeph plays fetch she had troubles tracking the ball  unless she is already chasing it  which is how i found out she is pretty good at tracking lol i have also heard of more then a few stories in africa were farmers were attacked by there own dogs because the dogs  did not realize they were attacking there owners some seemed to think that it was poor night vision.

 

Ashley 

[Jay]

In my opinion she sounds fine, it seems to be normal boerboel behaviour.  She is just more alert at night, just being protective.  Just try and reassure her that things are ok and that you are in control of the walk.  Remember this breed is a very protective dog so may get a growl when they unsure about somthing.

 

Jay

[Josh]

Thank you for the replies, I have tried a few things such as have friends wear hats and dress up strangely and have my boerboel meet them, she is cautious as expected and seems to look to me for advice on how she hsould be acting which I think is good, I am going to try and have her in dog park less and have her interact with people more in different situations and see how that goes, My 12 year old beligian malinois has been doing  a great job also of showing her what is what and tends to promptly correct her in situations that she is unfamiliar with.

[Roland L]

Yes,  I did not get a BB so I can be part of the dog park thing.  BB's like the dogos, rotties and pits I had before are not really 'designed' to be with strange dogs.  Among their own pack they eventually figure out the pecking order but in a constantly changing situation like a dog park, you will be asking for trouble.

 

My dogo was fixed and was fine in a dog park until an intact male GSD tried to dominate him.  Then all hell broke loose.

 

With people, they key is to build up their confidence, expose them as much as possible.  Don't force them to be friendly, most bb's from what I gather are at best indifferent to non-pack members.  At least my 4 mth old is anyway.  I take all my new puppies to be socialized at places like Walmart parking lots and just sit outside quietly.  Let them watch from a distance and get used to all the carts going by, all kinds of people etc.  Reassure them if needed that this is 'normal'.  Eventually they will get it.  When they look like they're good with it, get closer to the hub bub and find busier places until they are totally comfortable.

[Marcella Burgess]

Hi Josh,

 

At five months old, I do not expect nor do I ALLOW my pup's to act like this towards people of any sort at any age... this is far too young for a pup of any age to be deciding on whether or not to like someone... at this age they are going to 'TRY ON'  their big girl and boy shoes.. but you need to ALWAYS keep them in check for this sort of thing and tell them to knock it off.. redirect their attention to you with a solid focus or watch me command... a sit/down/stay... anything... but get her attention on you!

Can I ask... is she allowed on furniture at home? or allowed to walk through ANY door ways in front of you at any point in time... have you ever fed her from your hand... have you ever had her on leash tied to your belt buckle for a period of time... all of these things will tell the pup that you are in charge at all times and control all of what is her life... Try doing some research regarding a strict NILIF training program... I promise you when you start controlling and subtly exerting your dominance... your pup will fall in line...

In any regards however.... get yourself a good trainer!!! This behaviour is not acceptable for a pup it's age!

 

Marcella

 

[Chantell]

All i can advise you on is not to house/yard bound your pup!  The 4 - 6mth period is called the scary period,for the reason they feel insecure and scared of there surroundings! Best you can do is to go to puppy socialization classes. When she growls correct her if its unwanted! Ive got four BB - all four stay in my house - three male one female,they all have there place in the pack - so no fights at feeding time and no fights of whom is in charge because there is only one leader - that's the human in charge.You need to take her to play with other dogs,dogs that are stable and not questioning leadership! Its all about control.  Boerboels were breed to protect there family. When you show you are unsure of a situation you are in - say your walking with her she will pick up on it and - go in to protecting mode - it sounds weird/funny - but its true!But at that moment you should be able to always be in control of her. 

 

My six mth boy started growl also at 4mth - but to my advantage my other dogs trained him from day one, you fall in to the house rules, my four year old female even house trained him, would get up and take him out! And no food if you don't sit and stay and wait for the command that you are allowed to eat. And when you can walk with her next to you and not in front off you - you in control. Females are much more dominate and challenging to train and to control.