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Growling Puppy

19 15:55:23

Question
I just aquired a 3 and a half month old boxer puppy last week. We went over to my mother in laws house for a BBQ and I took her with us. They have a 3 year old grandson that was petting her, later the boy came back and she proceeded to growl at the child. The other day my mother in law came over and Kona started to growl at her to. She seems to be very shy when it comes to new and strange things, she is so young is this a sign she will be aggressive as she gets older?

Answer
At this age it's more likely fear-based; she is smack in the middle of a fear period, in a brand-new situation, and she hasn't had time to get comfortable with you, much less a bunch of other people who may have been doing things that made her uncomfortable.  (The fact that she's growling is actually a good thing - dogs that don't growl are dogs that bite with no warning.)  

You will need to work on socializing her, and on early training, sooner rather than later.  An unsocialized dog can very easily become aggressive, and it's much harder to work through that than to head off issues from the start.  Here are some good articles with tips and information on proper puppy socialization:

http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/socialization.html
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/deadlines.htm
http://www.hollysden.com/Dog-and-Puppy-Training-Articles/socialize-your-dog.htm

A "puppy kindergarten" class will be a big help to you, as well - it will get your puppy started on basic good manners, expose her to other people and dogs in a safe, controlled environment, and teach you how to teach her.  Most training clubs will have these classes (they may even be called "puppy socialization" classes).  There are listings of trainers by state here:
http://www.clickerteachers.net
http://www.nadoi.org
http://www.apdt.com

Good luck!