Sometimes, a 15-minute stay in a crate is necessary to resolve the situation, especially if a child has been nipped. Puppies should not be screamed at or physically punished for this behavior. Screaming raises the excitement level, and hitting with hand or object or clamping the tiny mouths shut escalates the situation and can put the pooch on the road to fearfulness or aggression. Puppies that growl or bark at other puppies and then attack with ferocity are not aggressive or vicious but they are attempting to assert dominance. Puppies seldom injure each other in such circumstances, and it is well to let them work out their relationship if they will be seeing each other often.
Many breeds of dogs have dominant temperaments, especially the working breeds and terriers.
Some people consider any scuffle involving puppies or young dogs of a dominant breed to be proof of aggressiveness or viciousness, but they are wrong. However, they have contributed to a false picture of several breeds with their proclamations. The breeds with dominant temperaments were developed to be independent, courageous, and intelligent to carry out their jobs of guarding palaces, people, and livestock, hauling sledges across frozen tundra, or hunting ferocious game. Breeds with submissive temperaments are among the most sought after family dogs. These are breeds that were developed to work in close harmony with man and often with other dogs and they readily accept the supremacy of man.