Advice on agressive puppy when tired

[Yuki no]

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HI all,got a 6 months old Shiba inu had her from 8weeks. Been great all along now if she sleeping or time for her crate she will not go in.its growls snarls n bites when we pick her up.tried most things treats to the cage ect putting her in bed before she gets tired,anyone got any other ideas I could try

 

[gypsysmum2]

There is an old, but very true, saying - "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie". This is because they have a survival mechanism that causes them to react aggressively when disturbed in their sleep. It is a brain stem reaction not a conscious decision to be nasty. If your dog is asleep when you need to move her then do it very gently and carefully without invading her space. Call her to move towards you rather than going in to her space.

Training her to go into her crate can be done all through the day. Start by always feeding her in it with the door open. Throw toys and chews in it. Never, ever, use it for punishment. Try not to confine her to it for long periods of time. Make sure she is getting sufficient exercise and stimulation away from home so that resting in her crate is seen as a bonus.

If she has negative associations with her crate then changing it to a different type might help.

 

[Yuki no]

Thanks for your quick reply,she has 2 x 30 minutes walks per day plus around the street 2-3 times a day for toilet,she uses her crate fine through out the day,she comes and go as she pleases. Im starting to think it's resource guarding cause soon as we go near her bed when she tired then.she kicks off.this has to stop soon cause it's slowly getting worse so needs to be sorted.we have 2 crates

1 she comes n go all day with pillows in and her toys near it.the other crate we use for disciplines

She goes in there for time out sessions

Her main crate is in hall way where she can see all the family.

The second crate is in kitchen where she is isolated do you think this method is gonna work,she is only in her bad bed for 10_15 mins until she calms down

 

[gypsysmum2]

Low blood sugar can cause dogs to be aggressive when they are tired. Is she due a meal when she behaves in this way?

I would move her main crate to a quiet place where she can be left entirely alone to rest when she needs to.

You say that you use the other crate for discipline. Dogs do not have morals they do know that some things are wrong. They do learn that we do not like some of the things they do and so will give signs of anxiety when we react badly to their actions. Discipline is hard to instil in a creature that does not have morals. It is far better to reward all good behaviour with attention and treats etc but to treat all bad behaviour by preventing it or ignoring it. If they are getting attention for bad behaviour they will continue to do it even if the attention is negative attention. They hate to be ignored.

What kind of behaviour gets her sent to her discipline crate?

Resource guarding can be caused by the dog trying to defend a "safe" space where it does not want to be disturbed. This is a basic need for a dog, to have a safe space where it will not be disturbed. If your dog is picking up on your negative emotions around her bad behaviour she will behave defensively. This is natural behaviour. The way to treat it is to teach the dog that they do not need to be defensive around us. They can trust us to understand why they are being "naughty" and to deal with each incident in a calm, reasoned way. Prevent the behaviour in the first place or teach the dog to perform a different behaviour that is incompatible with the naughty one and reward it.

If you let us know what the naughty behaviour is then we may be able to offer some alternative solutions.

 

[Yuki no]

She goes to the discipline crate mainly for growling snarling n showing teeth,this can be for a many reasons,trying to brush her,when play gets out of control,basically anything she don't want to do at that particular time

 

[gypsysmum2]

I would try to anticipate what things make her growl and show her teeth. If, for instance, she does not like being groomed then I would train her, in tiny steps, to accept it. Just show her the brush and reward her for calm behaviour. Move the brush near her, but not touching her, and reward her for calm behaviour. Touch her briefly with the brush and reward her for calm behaviour. Always stop before she reacts badly. Try not to use negative words like "no". If she reacts badly, at any time, then you have gone too far too soon with her re training. Always be prepared to go back a stage to a level that she could cope with.

Any other thing that "she doesn't want to do" should be approached in the same way. Encourage her to want to do it by training her with rewards. Lure her with a treat that is in your control and only release the treat when she makes an effort at co operating.

Are there any APDT training classes in your area. These are the gold standard training classes. The trainers all have to keep their skills up to date with the most modern methods. If you cannot get along to classes then you can usually book a one to one session with a trainer to sort out the issues you are having.