Growling Pup when held or picked up

[JBSoulmates]

So our 9 week old American Cocker Spaniel is very spunky and opinionated. When he’s running around like a live wire and we go to pick him up or try to hold him, he protests with a growl. We do NOT put him down until he’s settled a bit.
  Is this normal behavior or is it something I should worry about? What is the best way to correct this because obviously that kind of spunky nastiness will not go over well once he starts going to the groomers.

[elaine.e]

A lot of dogs don't like being picked up or held and find it quite intimidating. That might be the problem with yours, or it might be that when he's overexcited and hyped up he loses the tiny bit of self control that he has and overreacts, especially if he's tired as well. It's a bit like trying to restrain and slow down an overexcited toddler

My 9 year old Cocker didn't like being picked up when he was a pup. It was an anxiety thing with him and he would look away, look uncomfortable, make it plain he didn't want to be there and if overexcited or tired would also growl. Dogs obviously need to be picked up sometimes, so we did our best to get him used to being picked up and handled by choosing those moments when he was calm and taking it slowly, making it a gentle and rewarding experience for him. We'd practice every day, and make that our time to get him used to being handled as well as picked up, a few seconds of light brushing, looking in his ears, under his tail, picking up and touching one paw at a time and so on. All the things he'd need to be used to for trips to the vet or groomer.

It worked and he's a very easy dog to handle by us and by others and behaves impeccably at the vets and when I'm grooming him. He's still not a cuddly dog and we respect that and give him space, seeing it as a bonus when he volunteers for a cuddle or hug, but never forcing it on him.

[JBSoulmates]

Well said!
   He doesn’t do it all the time. It’s definitely more when he’s over excited or in protest because he wants something he can’t have. But when he’s calm, all is well.

[bizzylizzy]

I remember picking Humphrey up on about the second day we’d had him and he screamed, I‘d put my hands under his stomach and it must have somehow hurt him. After that, I was always careful to support both ends, one hand under his chest and the other under his bum - you probably do that anyway but just thought it worth a mention.....

[bmthmark]

I remember picking Humphrey up on about the second day we’d had him and he screamed, I‘d put my hands under his stomach and it must have somehow hurt him. After that, I was always careful to support both ends, one hand under his chest and the other under his bum - you probably do that anyway but just thought it worth a mention.....

Yes this is a very good point. I remember when my Jett was little, when I picked him up he was fine. However when my daughter picked him up he yelped then growled.
I think this was because of the way she picked him up. She didn't put too much weight on his chest which I think made it uncomfortable for him.
I taught her how to support both ends by using arm to make it easier on his chest. He seemed fine after that.

[JBSoulmates]

He’s definitely not helping. It’s more of him being feisty or opinionated sometimes. Like I said, especially if he’s wound up.

[Holly Berry]

He’s not spunky and opinionated, he’s a puppy.

Equate this to a child who is running around having a whale of a time, but you feel they are getting tired and need a rest. Are they going to calmly allow you to pick them up, or throw a tantrum?
You are basically stopping him from enjoying himself and he doesn’t like it. Please don’t turn it into a battle of wills, otherwise you are building up trouble for yourself.

As with children, you have to set the boundaries. Pick him up at other times so that he doesn’t associate being picked up with you stopping him doing something, make being picked up being something pleasurable. We always seem to believe that animals should have some in built mechanism that means they always comply with humans, no they are quite able to do whatever they want. The trick is to want to do what we want and as with children in a way that they think it’s their idea. They are much better at training us than us training them.

Rewarding the behaviour you want is the way to go. Reward what you want and ignore what you don’t, unless it’s dangerous of course. Cocker spaniels are very amenable, but stubborn and want to please you.

Enjoy your puppy, they soon grow up 

[hoover]

We had to contend with this from a young age and Ollie thought nothing of whipping his head around to snap if he thought you might want to lift him. Hopefully you can get him used to the handling in a positive way by making it a rewarding experience - a treat every time he gets lifted.  We had to work 2 at a time with Ollie because he would turn so snappy - one person to occupy the head with treats and the other person to lift.  It worked out pretty well for us and we can generally lift him now without issue (unless he is hurt - another story!) We lift him pretty much every other day to keep him in practice (he is nearly 3 now) and something positive happens for him each time - he might get to look out a window he can't normally see from, or see on top of a cupboard, or a view of the contents of the fridge    etc etc.  It is definitely something worth trying to get on top of early on in addition to other body handling exercises - examining mouth, paws, ears, being able to take by the collar as there may be times when you really, really need to do something to get them out of danger. Best to try to keep him under threshold of response, however, as each time he reacts badly this reinforces that particular response as a viable option for him to resort to, making him more likely to use it again in the future.

[JBSoulmates]

Thank you for the replies! He does well for the most part with handling and picking him up. He loves to be loved on. It’s nust those few puppy moments when he wants no part of being kissed on that he’ll protest. Just like a child.