As a veterinarian in general practice, seeing a brand new puppy for a wellness check-up is one of my favorite parts of the job.

(I’d wager this is true for most vets – ask anyone!)

Puppies are cute, and obnoxious, and very, very busy.  They sniff all around the exam room, jump up to say hello, and try their best to eat my shoelaces.  They chew on my stethoscope while I auscult their hearts.  They eat treats eagerly when offered, and shove their noses into my scrub pockets to look for crumbs.

They turn over the wastebasket, or get excited and pee on the floor.

These things are normal, and they make me happy.

Or, they’re calm and drowsy and snuggly, like a toddler at naptime.  They wake up long enough to lick my fingers on the exam table, yawn luxuriously, and fall asleep on the scale.  They cuddle happily in my lap while we talk about vaccination schedules, microchips, and heartworm prevention.

This is normal too – a different kind of normal, for a different kind of pup.

A solid 90% of my puppy visits fall into one of these two categories.  Normal puppies, doing normal puppy things.  Exploring their world, making friends with anything that moves, or snoozing contentedly through whatever happens around them.

If your puppy is like this, congratulations!  You’re in great shape.  Keep doing what you’re doing.

Sign up for a good puppy class, invest in some puzzle toys, and keep up with socialization – but you’re off and running in the right direction.  Odds are good that your pup will turn out to be a stable, friendly member of the family.

BUT.

What about the other 10%?

These are puppies who are NOT doing normal puppy things.  At 8 or 10 weeks old, they are cowering under the chair in the corner of the exam room.  They are petrified of me, and my friendly voice, and my offers of tasty string cheese.  They yelp in terror when I touch them, or hide their head in their owner’s arms and shake uncontrollably while I check their hearts and feel their bellies.

Or they bark at me when I enter the room, and regard me suspiciously from a distance.  They might eat a treat tossed on the floor, or not, but their demeanor doesn’t change.  On the exam table, when I try to look in their ears or touch their mouth, they give me a hard stare and a long, low growl.  They need a muzzle to safely administer their first set of vaccines, because they make serious attempts to bite the staff.

In such a young puppy, these things are emphatically NOT NORMAL.

So if this sounds like your puppy, what should you do?

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And that brings us, finally, to today’s topic.  How concerned should we be about these “red flag” puppies, and are they likely to get better as they grow up?

(Spoiler alert: unfortunately, no – not without help.)

So, first – a few facts.

Over the past several years, studies¹² on puppy behavior in the veterinary clinic have provided evidence of what clinical experience has told us for decades.  First – while most puppies fall somewhere along the spectrum of normal behavior, there are a small percentage of outliers who show unusual signs of anxiety, aggression, or other issues at a very young age.

Second, and perhaps more importantly – these “outlier” puppies do NOT tend to significantly change their behavior as they get older.  In practical terms, this means that fearful, aggressive, or otherwise atypical pups are very likely to grow into fearful or aggressive adults.

This is a critical point to understand – and really, truly believe – if you happen to have a puppy who shows these early red flags.

In my clinic, I try very hard to have honest conversations with the owners of these pups.  We talk about being proactive, and intervening early to help their puppy overcome these issues.  But sadly, it’s rare for anyone to take the problem very seriously.

And really, who can blame them?

They’ve just brought home their fluffy bundle of joy, and the entire family is head over heels in love with their new pup.  Sure, maybe he’s a little nervous about seeing the vet, but that’s normal – right?  And maybe he growled at the neighbor when she tried to say hi, and wets himself in fear whenever a car drives slowly by on their quiet suburban street.

Surely, he’ll grow out of it.  He’s so young and cute, right now.  They’ll sign him up for a training class or something when he’s older, if it becomes a problem.

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What I’m here to tell you today, is that this is wishful thinking – and it simply isn’t true.

No, he won’t grow out of it.  It’s a problem NOW, and it will be a bigger one in the future – don’t “wait and see” how things go.

I see these puppies again when they’re a year old, and have just bitten a visiting relative.  Or at 18 months for their first adult wellness visit, when they can’t be touched or examined without injectable sedation.  Or when they’ve just turned two years, and their owner wants to rehome them because they can’t walk on a leash without barking and lunging at anything that moves.

These outcomes make me sad.

Let me be clear – it doesn’t have to be this way.  We can do much better for these puppies.

But first, we have to admit that there’s a problem, and be willing to take it seriously.

So how can you tell if your puppy is at risk, and what should you do about it?  We’ll close out today’s post by talking about each of these questions in turn.

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Let’s look at a few hypothetical scenarios in the life of a young puppy, less than four months old.  For each one, I’ll give an example of three types of responses:

GREEN = normal behavior, no need to worry. 😊  May need training to work on basic manners or specific skills, but no serious concerns.

YELLOW = keep an eye on this.  May be fairly easy to improve with some basic socialization and positive training.  If not, ask for help!

RED = concerning!  Puppy kindergarten or basic obedience training will NOT fix this.  Needs referral to a professional for comprehensive treatment plan.

Trimming puppy’s nails with treats and gentle restraint

• GREEN = wiggling, curious, friendly; or standing quietly, willing to eat treats
• YELLOW = freezing, growling, or struggling to get away
• RED = biting, or serious attempt to bite (NOT puppy mouthing); yelping or screaming in fear

Walking past the food bowl while puppy is eating

• GREEN = no reaction
• YELLOW = eating faster, freezing, or hunching over bowl
• RED = snarling, lunging, attempting to bite

Greeting a friendly stranger on a walk

• GREEN = approaching eagerly with loose, wiggly body language
• YELLOW = worried at first, hanging back or hiding; but warms up quickly and is happy to greet
• RED = hiding behind owner, shaking, cowering; or barking and lunging at stranger

Playing with another puppy (assuming similar age and energy level)

• GREEN = friendly and happy to interact, matches intensity level to playmate, both pups having fun
• YELLOW = gets overly aroused and bullies playmate; or acts fearful and unsure
• RED = aggressive behavior with injuries to other pup

A caveat – these assessments aren’t set in stone!  Every situation is different, so it’s hard to give black-and-white guidelines that hold true 100% of the time.  You may be able to think of exceptions to these rules, which is fine.  If you’re unsure, have a professional evaluate your pup and help you decide whether you have reason to be concerned.

But in general, you’ll notice a running theme – young puppies, less than 16 weeks old, should be relatively fearless about the world.  They should be friendly with strangers and other dogs, and they should not show any “grown up” aggressive behavior like snarling, lunging, or serious biting.

Your pup may well become more reserved around people and less tolerant of annoyances as he reaches adolescence and adulthood, which can be perfectly normal.

But right now, he’s just a baby – if he’s not acting like one, something is wrong.

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So if your puppy has any “RED” behaviors, what should you do?

First of all, don’t panic!  This doesn’t mean your new best friend is a lost cause, or that he’s doomed to a life of unmanageable fear and aggression.

Realistic long-term goals for these pups will vary quite a bit depending on their background, the underlying reasons for their fearful or aggressive behavior, and the owner’s ability to work on the problem – but in most cases, there’s a lot we can do to help.

What does this mean, exactly?

The most important take-away from today’s post is that these puppies need professional intervention as soon as the problem is recognized.  Not in six months, or a year – NOW.

Unfortunately, signing up for puppy kindergarten or taking a basic training class isn’t enough.  Neither is a private lesson with an obedience instructor, or reading a book on how to raise a puppy.

Instead, make an appointment with a behavior professional who has experience dealing with fear issues in dogs.  This might be a veterinary behaviorist, a general practice veterinarian who’s well-versed in behavior, an applied animal behaviorist, or even a trainer who has additional education and experience in working with dog behavior problems.

Here are a few resources, if you need help finding someone qualified in your area:

• Directory of board-certified veterinary behaviorists
• American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior – directory of behavior consultants
• Animal Behavior Society – directory of certified applied animal behaviorists
• International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants

An appropriate treatment plan for a puppy with serious behavior issues at a young age will likely include a systematic desensitization/counter-conditioning (DS/CC) plan to work on things that are scary to them, reward-based training to teach more appropriate behavioral responses for situations that cause discomfort or frustration, and maybe even medication to help reduce their fear and make it easier for them to learn and develop normally.

So, it’s not the end of the world.  There are always things we can do.

But the sooner you get started, the better your chances of success.

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1: Godbout, Martin et al. “Puppy behavior at the veterinary clinic: A pilot study.” Journal of Veterinary Behavior. (2007)

2: Godbout, Martin and Frank, Diane.  “Persistence of puppy behaviors and signs of anxiety during adulthood.” Journal of Veterinary Behavior. (2011)