# Growling at Guests



## Julia Tompson (Mar 27, 2006)

Okay... Marsha had her puppies 2 days ago (we are both new to this). Naturally, all the people who have spoken for a puppy and been waiting anxiously for months want to see them. 

I have heard a lot of people say a mother can get snippy when people try to come near the puppies. My question is how long does this last? Marsha has growled at everyone who tries to approach her and no-one has made any attempt to touch them. She is fine with me... and this is a brand new behavior... she is fine with guests till now. 

I plan to keep one pup for future training. I am wondering if she is always going to be this way towards this dog because it is hers or is this just a temporary problem. 

The other question is... how should I handle it when mom growls. I'm trying to cut her a little slack cause she is a new mom, but I don't want to contribute to a bigger problem later. 

When my father came over... she heard his strong male voice and tented herself over the top over her puppies so he couldn't even see them and despite my reassurance... there was no way she was budging. 

Any feedback is great. 

Julie


----------



## Selena van Leeuwen (Mar 29, 2006)

Till the puppies are more independ...around 2-3 weeks. 
After a week it gets better, depending on the character of the dog. Best solution, if you want visitors to look at the pup, put mum in the backyard or a crate or something. EVEN better, don´t let anybody with the pups, except the care-takers...there isn´t much to see at the moment, it causes anxiety with mum and she maybe can drag the puppies to a saver place.


----------



## Julia Tompson (Mar 27, 2006)

Well I am glad to hear it gets better.  She is not normally like this. I was thinking and hoping it was just a phase but I didn't want to let it go without finding out more.

Many thank you's


----------



## admin (Mar 27, 2006)

Topic moved to Breeding section.


----------



## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Julia, if the mother stresses easily, try and wait till the pups are a little older before exposing her/them to different people. Although I'm NOT a breeder, I think the dam has a TON of influence on the pups temperments as they grow. If she's stressed, that may transfer to the pups. I'd love to hear the opinions on this from the expierienced breeders.


----------



## Julia Tompson (Mar 27, 2006)

Bob Scott said:


> ...I think the dam has a TON of influence on the pups temperments as they grow. If she's stressed, that may transfer to the pups. I'd love to hear the opinions on this from the expierienced breeders.


Bob, I read that somewhere else about the mothers stress influencing the temperament of the pups... 

Until they are a little more mobile and Mother is more relaxed I think it best to minimize the traffic flow. However I do what to socialize the crap out of these little guys when the time is right. I want to expose them to all kinds of things before they are gone. 

I think I will start a new topic on how to best socialize puppies and all the things that most influences them. 

Thanks for your your feedback.


----------

