Dog growling12/29/2023 ![]() ![]() Don't put your dog in the same conflictive situation again until you’re sure that he’s understood that there's no need for him to feel threatened. To give a quick example of what we mean here: if your dog growled when you came close to his favourite toy because he thought that you were going to take it away from him, you’ll need to make him understand that you’re not a competitor.ģ. Draw up an action plan, so that your dog will then understand that the situation that he’s interpreted as a threat, is no such thing. What was your dog's body posture like? Was he leaning back with his tail between his legs to show that he was afraid, or was his posture an offensive and competitive one? For more information on how to identify each posture, take a look at this article on canine body language.Ģ. In what context was he growling? What was happening at the exact moment when your dog growled? (where was he, who was he with, what was around him, was he playing with something, where was the person he was growing at?).Ĭ. You need to focus on three important points:ī. Take note of the precise circumstances that have caused your dog to growl at you. If it’s not a good idea to tell him off, then what’s the alternative?ġ. ![]() In the future he may choose not to warn you by growling, but go straight in and bite. You shouldn’t punish your dog when he growls at you, because if you do, you’ll be teaching him to eliminate a warning sign that’s a fundamental part of his way of communicating. In these cases, and other similar ones, growling is a warning sign: ‘if you don’t stop doing whatever it is you’re doing that I don't like, I’ll bite you’.įirst and foremost you need to know that: When you want him to get down from the sofa?.When you want to tell him off about something?.When you try to pick up one of his toys?.‘My dog growls at me in a threatening way. One simple example of this kind of exercise would be to ask your dog to sit quietly while you put his food in his bowl. In the case of dogs who are every excitable, our experts recommend introducing a set of daily games that will train him to control himself. In this way you’re calming him down, and then offering him a scent game that doesn’t involve any physical activity. If you're playing at home, maybe you can get your dog to lie down first of all, and then encourage him to stay calm for a while by using edible treats.If you’re in the street, take advantage of the fact, and start walking.The best thing to do is to interrupt the game, and look for an alternative activity that’s calmer, and more relaxed: However, if you notice that your dog starts growling when he’s getting really over excited, rin a similar way to small children when they just don’t know when to stop, this is when you need to intervene. It’s very common for dogs to growl, for example when they’re pulling on their teether, or on a knotted rope. As we’ve already said, games are a sort of simulated struggle. If your dog growls when you're playing together, in principle there’s no need to worry. ‘My dog growls when I play with him, what should I do?’ But growling in play, or in competitive situations could be a sign that there's a problem. Obviously there’s no problem if your dog growls at you when you're scratching his tummy and he’s loving it. ![]() ![]() If you’re reading this article, ‘My dog growls at me, what can I do?’ it’s no doubt because your case falls into one of the three categories mentioned above. As a threat: as we all know, dogs growl as a warning sign, to indicate that they’re ready to bite or attack.For example when they’re relaxed and you're scratching them in their favourite place. In the context of pleasure: some dogs make sounds that are very similar to growls when they’re feeling very happy.So when they’re playing, very often dogs growl as a playful (rather than a real) threat. This happens because one of the functions of play is to hone the dog’s ability to fight and hunt. In the context of a game: some dogs growl when they’re playing.In fact a dog might growl in any of the following situations: ‘My dog growls at me’: The fact that your dog growls at you is not necessarily a sign of aggressivity. Dogs use it to let their rival know that they should move away, and to warn that the dog’s ready to fight to defend himself, or to defend something that he considers to be his. In the context of a threat, growling is a warning sign. In canine ethology - the science that studies the natural behaviour of dogs - growling is considered to be a natural form of vocal expression, one that forms a part of dog language, and that can be associated with different emotional states: pleasure, fear, excitement etc. All dogs growl on occasion, because it’s part of the way they communicate. Just because a dog growls, it doesn't necessarily mean that he's aggressive. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |