growling when i discipline?

Hi, i am new to the forum and joined to try and find help with my 11month old bitch. She is the first dog i've owned but think am doin not too bad in training her. She is usually well behaved although extremely hyperactive 24/7 and usually listens to me (certainly more than she listens to my bf lol)

However, earlier on she managed to get through the baby gate and make a dash upstairs, when i went to tell her off and get her back downstairs she ran, jumped on the bed and just started growling an barking at me?
When i moved closer to her she jumped out the way then just growled and barked again, kinda lurching forward and snapping.
I just stood at the side of the bed silently and not reacting but trying to show her that i wasnt backing down ....she continued to growl and bark and nudge my hands with her nose but never actually mouthed or bit my hands..

So i dont think its over aggressive? But its not the first time shes been like this if shes misbehaved and i've told her off and tried to get her to move.
Is it anything to worry about? is there a better way to approach the situ?

What do you feed her, how much exercise does she get, and how do you tell her off?

Hm. I know that when my puppy did this, it was playfulness and attention-seeking or defiance rather than aggression, but I'm not sure if it'd still be defiance at 11 months old. Hopefully someone else will be able to explain what they think who have more experience.

Really sounds like attention seeking and an attempt to start play. Suki will still do this on occasion as well. How much exercise is she getting. Idealy she should have two 45 minute walks per day

This could also be signs of boundary testing with you. When she does the barking just turn your back and ignore her until she is calm again, she will not like to be ignored.

I would also ask what you're feeding & how you give her commands.

It certainly doesn't sound like aggression, especially as she was nudging your hand, I would say it's more like pushing boundaries or simply over excited playing.

Ticklymac wrote:Hi, i am new to the forum and joined to try and find help with my 11month old bitch. She is the first dog i've owned but think am doin not too bad in training her. She is usually well behaved although extremely hyperactive 24/7 and usually listens to me (certainly more than she listens to my bf lol)

Welcome to the forum, at 11 months old she is a teenage hooligan and like all teenager will try and push the boundaries, also Staffies are very active dogs and will go 24/7, mine is the same and he is nearly 4 years old. I do expect him to settle after lunch every day, I put a lead on him so he can't race round, he just goes to sleep with me and my other dogs.

However, earlier on she managed to get through the baby gate and make a dash upstairs, when i went to tell her off and get her back downstairs she ran, jumped on the bed and just started growling an barking at me?
When i moved closer to her she jumped out the way then just growled and barked again, kinda lurching forward and snapping.

First, she doesn't speak or understand English apart from the few words that you have taught her when training, she doesn't understand not to go through the gate especially if there is a spot were she can get through. Telling her off is useless, she doesn't understand what you are saying, all she can do is read your body language which to her may be aggressive. She jumped on the bed to get away from you and the growling, barking and lunging towards you could be her reacting to your body language. It could also be her trying to instigate play but with you telling her off I don't think it will be.

I just stood at the side of the bed silently and not reacting but trying to show her that i wasnt backing down ....she continued to growl and bark and nudge my hands with her nose but never actually mouthed or bit my hands..

So i dont think its over aggressive? But its not the first time shes been like this if shes misbehaved and i've told her off and tried to get her to move.
Is it anything to worry about? is there a better way to approach the situ?

You did the right thing to stand quite, looking back did the sound of the growling change? Growling is communication not aggression, I can tell with my dogs what the growls mean. Some means lets play, get lost, there is something scary about etc.

Dogs do learn by disciplining them but it takes longer than trying to put them into a position were they do what we want, in this care I would have tried to see how she got through the gate, was it not fastened properly etc. then I would go upstairs for my dog who hopefully would have calmed down after the high of going somewhere were she isn't allowed. I would then encourage her to follow me downstairs but wouldn't tell her off because she just took an oportunity that was there.

She is a dog and does what dogs do, they are supposed to have the mental age of a 2 or 3 year old child who don't understand why then can't do things and will also take advantage of any oportunities that arise. Look into clicker training her, Staffies take well to that type of training.

Thanks i didnt really think it was aggression but thought i was better checking, as im just a newbie dog owner.

She got through the baby gate coz whenever i go upstairs she goes mental crying and jumping at it and it must of came loose as this time it fell right off - thankfully she wasnt hurt!

I try to take her out for an 1hr every day, mostly off lead running around the woods (she loves it) plus a few 10/15min walks to go to toilet as i dont have a garden to let her out.

She is currently fed on Wainwrights puppy dry with a little wainwrights meat, she had a sensitive stomach as a pup, but am really thinking of switching her to raw?

Well, the food's certainly ok. You could probably step up the exercise a little if it's possible; maybe another longish walk of around 30 - 45 minutes?

Cyril baby wrote:then I would go upstairs for my dog who hopefully would have calmed down after the high of going somewhere were she isn't allowed. I would then encourage her to follow me downstairs but wouldn't tell her off because she just took an oportunity that was there.

I'd agree with this. Everything your dog does is a 'behaviour' and she doesn't know which ones we find acceptable & which ones we don't. If you try to encourage the 'good' behaviours & ignore the 'bad' behaviours she will stop doing the 'bad' ones because she gets nothing out of it!

Yeah i have always tried to reward good behaviour instead of critisimg bad behaviour as i had read this, that they dont understand. i always try to use short precise commands to make it easier to understand.

Any ideas on how to calm her down when i do go upstairs without her?
I've tried going up an then straight back down and increasing the time upstairs gradually but she still goes mental....

Have you tried giving her a special toy that she only gets when you go upstairs? Maybe a stag bar to chew, or a kong with something in it?

Thanks i'll give it go!

I don't stop my dogs going upstairs with me, I find it is easier than trying to stop them especially when they are new. I do ignore them when I go upstairs and carry on doing what I want to do, eventually they get bored and don't bother going upstairs with me. this does take time of course but I find it less stressful on my dog and myself.

My dogs learnt how to open the stair gate so I have made one out of MDF which works better, it has a small bolt on which they can't open, I have to have these bolts on my doors as well because 2 can open doors.

I must admit, I don't stop Dempsey from going upstairs. In fact all my dogs have had the run of the house.

The only thing I don't allow is going in the bedroom unless he's invited (which isn't often).

The gate is really just there for when we'r not in coz i dont quite trust her yet to roam free unsupervised.
Usually if am upstairs its housework orientated and its just easier without her at my heals or causing chaos in the washing pile!

Loki used to dive upstairs every chance he got. Actually so did my old dog, Zac; we'd come home to find all our rooms' doors open and the beds all messed up . We used to put a piece of cardboard on the stairs; flimsy, but he stopped bothering. Anyway, with Loki we don't have anything, but a few minutes a day, I used to have him on the lead and when he'd move towards the stairs, I'd say "ah ah!" and he'd walk back to me and I'd praise him and give him a small treat. I had to have him in my room the other day so I wrecked the progress and now have to start again but still, it did work, he'd more or less lost interest in it. Perhaps something similar might help? Maybe. But the other suggestions sound great

See my main problem is that when am off work i let her up into my bed for the security feeling and for the cuddles - i'm my own worse enemy and i know this

So this is probably contributing to the problem ay? Because sometimes she can come up and sometimes she can't.

Should i try keeping the gate open when i'm in so shes free to go up and down an eventually she be like "whats the big deal?"

Ticklymac wrote:See my main problem is that when am off work i let her up into my bed for the security feeling and for the cuddles - i'm my own worse enemy and i know this

So this is probably contributing to the problem ay? Because sometimes she can come up and sometimes she can't.

Should i try keeping the gate open when i'm in so shes free to go up and down an eventually she be like "whats the big deal?"

Ours just have free run anyway so difficult for me to comment

Ticklymac wrote:See my main problem is that when am off work i let her up into my bed for the security feeling and for the cuddles - i'm my own worse enemy and i know this

So this is probably contributing to the problem ay? Because sometimes she can come up and sometimes she can't.

Should i try keeping the gate open when i'm in so shes free to go up and down an eventually she be like "whats the big deal?"

Spot on , yes you are giving the dog mixed messages either she can go up stairs or she can't , she will be confused if you have let her up in the past and then say she can't come up, one or the other for me im afraid, time to choose which one for you Ticklymac

I originally got put the gate on the stairs to stop Gracie going upstairs, she had arthritis in all 4 legs and feet, both shoulders and her spine, one of her crutial ligaments had gone and the other partly, she also had a grade 3 heart mumour, the vet didn't want to operate on her ligaments because she was nearly 15 years young so she was banned from going upstairs and was carried up and down. At that time none of my dogs opened doors, now I have 2 of them, if there wasn't a gate they would open the bedroom doors.

I do let them go upstairs with me when I go, try changing the bed with 5 dogs trying to sleep on it.