[JennyFrank]

Tonight in our puppy class Charlie was playing "nicely" with another golden retriever puppy that is about the same age. Both puppies are male. We've been in this class for 6 weeks now. Anyway, after what seemed to be simply puppy play (smelling, nipping, wrestling, etc) Charlie really growled at the other puppy. Both were on leashes, so my husband was able to pull Chalrie away but the growling really bothered me. Charlie hasn't done that with other dogs (both male and female, big and small). Any advice? I really don't want an agressive dog (not that anyone does) so how can I tell play vs. agression?

 

[taylor999]

Our Ripley acted the same way in puppy training classes, which surprised me since she was a bit smaller than the other pups in the class, and I was really concerned about it. She quickly grew out of it without me doing much other than giving her a good correction at the time. Now at 8 months, she's always the sweetest dog at the dog park and never growls at other dogs when in play. So, my non-professional advice is to keep doing what you're doing and Charley should grow out of it too.

 

[Jac]

Hi Jenny, this is very normal dog interaction.
Try not to overreact...just distract your puppy.

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