14 week old labradoodle puppy growling?

She is trying to dominate over you. Learn everything you can about training. The first step in training any dog is to establish that you are the pack leader. This should be done in a firm and humane way. She is a little too young for puppy class, but sign up for one now, sometimes there is a waiting list. This is a puppy that is definitely going to need to be socialized or she will show this aggression toward others even if she no longer does it to you. Puppy class is a great place to start socialization skills because it is a safe and controlled environment. In the meantime, you can't back away from her when she growls (that gives her all the control and makes her your pack leader) Hold her down gently (without yelling at her) tell her to 'settle' (only say it once) and firmly hold her down until she becomes submissive (stops growling and fighting to get up). Puppies may growl or whine a lot (but as long as you are just firmly holding them still they are fine). You need to do this multiple times throughout the day to show dominance. Puppies have a very short attention span, so when she becomes submissive (early on 10 seconds is an achievement, gradually increasing the time) immediately give her lots of praise so she realizes that she has pleased you. This is very common for young puppies, they went from knowing that mom was leader of the pack and now they have no idea if it should be you or her. Make sure she knows that it is you. Good luck and again, learn as much as you can about training.

I have no idea what line of Poodles the breeder used but there are some standard Poodles that have a nasty streak. Do NOT smack the puppy as the one poster suggested. This just encourages the dog to continue the challenge and actually encourages biting your hand, since it becomes a source of punishment. When he bites at you or growls, push him down on his side and make his stay down until he relaxes. He will fight with you but hold him down and growl if he tries to bite. Hold him down by the shoulders and hips. I will warn you, if this has been going on while he WILL fight you seriously about this. It is what his mother would do if he bit at her and wouldn't stop when she told him. So you are talking to him in DOG language and he will know that if he gives in you are the pack leader. Now, that said, there is no way a 14 week old should be challenging you like this. This is the kind of behavior you would expect from a 9 - 10 month old coming into sexual maturity. So be prepared to have it show up again at that age.

You need to talk to the breeder and if she doesn't take this seriously or tells you this is normal, I would consider returning the puppy. If you keep it, contact a behavior specialist and make an appt. You are right in wanting to nip this in the bud. But this is a behavior that is bred into this puppy and you will have to learn how to keep it under control. This will not be an easy puppy to live with. Good luck.

First of all, you should NEVER hit your dog. That will teach him to fear you! Fear never does any good.

He is a puppy and needs to be trained in the right way. A firm NO should suffice and then quickly put him on the floor. (if he snaps when you are holding him) A squirt bottle is also a good tool to use or an aluminum can with metal coins to shake. If you use a squirt bottle, don't squirt directly into his eyes.

Also, If he just started to growl recently and he snaps and gets worse when you touch him or attempt to pick him up, he might actually be in pain. I would consider taking him to a vet to see if he is hurt. I wouldn't want to be touched and picked up either if I was hurt. lol

Stop worrying about dominance and pack leader nonsense and work on stopping this behavior before it escalates into actual aggression. You have to be careful and not make it worse by insisting upon being "dominant" to your puppy. This makes the biting and aggression worse.

I'm very surprised to read this dog is a labradoodle with this problem. Makes me wonder if maybe a medical problem is going on.

Please read this article;

http://www.associationofanimalbehaviorprofessional...

http://dogtime.com/topics/aggression-toward-people

Here is how to stop the biting right now;

http://www.dogtrainingbasics.com/Nipping.htm

Use one hand grab the side of his neck and push him to the ground til he's all the way down on the floor and say no very sternly in his face if he fights to get up keep him down once he stops fighting he's basically saying ok I'm submitting to you the alpha dog do this immediatly anytime he snaps growls or shows any aggression towards your kids it sound cruel but it's very very effective I use this tactic on my own dog and it has begun to work I hope this works :)

Puppies bite. You need to teach bite inhibition. Like you did with your other mutt. And make sure your kids are always supervised around the mutts.

The dog is doing the natural thing and challenging you. You need to smack the dog HARD a couple times when it does it again. You have to show the dog that you are leader of the pack.

same as any dog you know how to train, exercise and supervise

just typical untrained puppy that needs more exercise to me.