Puppy growls when picked up

[gsdraven]

There's no reason not to pick the puppy up. If he was growling because he didn't like being leashed would the OP be told not to do that too? No. The OP should be able to handle his pup who is just barely 4 months old.

[MissMetric]

I think it's a little ridiculous to say there is no reason whatsoever to pick a puppy up. Vet table, introducing him to various heights, placing a puppy in a high car, steep stairs...

Just show him that being lifted isn't a bad thing. Treat for calmness, don't respond to his growling but be careful to not drop him if he gets nippy. Remember...he is a baby and those heights might be scary to him. Introduce him to being off the ground in other ways and gently set him down. Your puppy must get used to being handled in various ways.

[Liesje]

Originally Posted by gsdraven

There's no reason not to pick the puppy up. If he was growling because he didn't like being leashed would the OP be told not to do that too? No. The OP should be able to handle his pup who is just barely 4 months old.

Agree. I pick up my puppies all the time and I'm not a cuddly puppy person, and I don't do it just because I can or to prove a point but sometimes if I want to actually GET from point A to point B in the same week, lol. I also make sure I can safely lift up my adults. I lifted Nikon onto a table for canine massage therapy not long ago and I will say the people watching were impressed how easily he let me do it. My dogs are handled all their lives.

[Thorny]

Clearly these dogs can be carried. I lift mine into and out of the truck right now as its too high for him to do on his own. When hiking I can remember many boulder strewn trails where I've had to lift my other dog up or down to prevent them from getting hurt. Some places dogs just can't go on their own.

In this particular situation where you carried him across the kitchen, any chance your mom was yelling at you to keep that bleeping dog off her clean floor? My pup is the same age as yours and is already protective of me in those kinds of situations, so maybe he was growling at the event, rather than being carried?

Also, how do you carry him? If he does not feel secure it might cause him to get upset, or if you tweak one of his legs out of shape he might be hurting.

I carry Gunnar similar to this and he seems good with it and its easy to scoop him up and set him down




I've also carried my old lab like in the picture below, which she was fine with and she felt secure, but setting her down from this position was hard and it would put my face too close to puppy teeth for right now:

[LifeofRiley]

How are you picking him up? Is it possible you are hurting him? I think somewhere on this forum there is a discussion about the best ways to lift your dog.

[doggiedad]

i think you should be able to pick your pup up without
him growling. make sure he's completely supported
when you pick him up. make picking your pup up
a part of his training.

[Stevenzachsmom]

Adam, I agree that you should be able to pick Zack up without him growling. Zack is a border collie, right? I don't know much about BC temperament. I know they are highly intelligent, have lots of energy and need lots of exercise.

I have a new puppy too. He is a hound mix. He growls a lot. He growls when he plays with other dogs and when he plays with us. I don't have a problem when he "play" growls. But, like Zack, he also growls when he doesn't like something. He never growls at my husband or me. He growls at my kids - who are young adults. My puppy does not like to be picked up, made to go in his crate, or stop doing something he wants to do. He will sometimes growl if my kids try to "make" him.

msvette gave me this link to mind games....
Mind Games (version 1.0) by M. Shirley Chong

I have been using mind games and it is really helping. I am seeing much better behavior from the puppy. We also try to desensitize him to the things he doesn't like. He is by no means a nasty, or aggressive dog. He has a wonderful temperament. I just find the "I don't want to do something growling" inappropriate.

I believe the reason he growls at the kids vs me, is because they do not approach him with confidence. They were also not incorporating the rules. Now that they are listening and we are all on the same page.....HUGE improvement.

Zack should be handled every day. Look in his mouth, ears, lift his paws. Touch him all over. Like doggiedad said, "make picking him up part of his training routine."

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Speedy2662]

Thanks for anyone that helped out explaining - there are lots of occasions where I have to pick him up. For example to get to the car, vet table, and more. To those who asked, no, my mum did not tell me to keep that bleeping dog out of her clean kitchen. She loves Zack equally as I do
I am picking him up like this:
and it doesn't seem to hurt him, he just doesn't like it. What I think is that my parents lift him up to put him in the crate, and now he thinks that when I pick him up he will go to the crate. At least that's what I think happened. (PS. Now we put a treat in his crate to get him to go in there, so that's fine )

[Stevenzachsmom]

Adam, You are very smart. I'm sure Zack does think he is going into the crate. We also treat my pup to get him to go in. I have also instructed my kids to leash and lead him where they want him to go, rather than being "pushy." Puppy doesn't like to be man-handled. LOL!

[GsdLoverr729]

I like Kyleigh's advice for dirty paws, versus lifting him.
I guess i can't get the image of Zack being full grown and still waiting to be lifted when his paws are dirty out of my head. Lmao!

Adam, maybe also support his rear a bit when lifting.