Expert: Kaza - 8/20/2009

Question
We have a 8 month old, male nuetered bichon.  He is crate trained and is completely house broken.  We have noticed that he has begun to occassionaly growl and snap when we try to pick him up.  It is not all the time, just occasionally.  He used to love for us to pick him up, so this is a definte change.  Any clue? Thanks so much.

Answer
Hi there
this is not unusual for the breed giving his age. Many Bichons go through a teenage temper period at just about this age, some maybe 10 months when it starts others a little older, whilst others can be as young as 7 months, these tend to be from larger litters.Its a way of expression and so long as you keep a grip on the situation by saying NO , then the dog will soon get over it.
Its very similar to human teenagers who get a bit gobby during puberty. Thankfully dogs age quicker than humans , so the period doesnt last as long as it does with teenage children.

Simply all you have to do is reassure the dog ,discipline NOT shout, and NEVER hit even if he growls.

Good luck
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