Dogs have lots of ways of communicating but the growl is the one that will get a human reaction. I've been to see clients who have chastised their dog for growling, have hit the dog, have rewarded the dog or have just panicked.
Either way, the dog has learnt something from what it did. Good or bad. Dogs may growl at a person, at a child, at another dog or an object but there is a reason behind it. They don't just do it as a past time or to be difficult! After a while it can become a learnt habit and they don't know how to respond in any other way which is something we also want to avoid.
What is worth considering when your dog growls is the who, where, why, what at, location and your reaction. I say this because usually in the heat of the moment, owners forget to write down exactly what happened. And actually whilst its fresh in your mind, its better to jot down some bullet points, it will certainly help me or another behaviourist.
The main thing to remember with growling is that dogs do it for a reason, it is a warning system. Its a way of saying 'I feel uncomfortable' or 'I'm worried, please back off' but very often dogs get punished for using this really simple system. So they then realise that they need to up their game to get you to listen which is when the nips and the biting can begin.
Its a very fine line with growling reactions because you don't want to reward or punish the dog. In reality you want to respect what it is trying to tell you and work out a way to calm the dog without putting anyone in danger. It is why the art of growling can be so delicate because your reaction can teach your dog so much.
A great example is a rescue dog I have been working with in the last couple of weeks. She is under a year old, was used for dog baiting, had her front leg broken and left by the man who owned her. The new owner had to have the leg removed but her association and fear of men is incredibly sad to see. She is totally petrified. When a man walks in she will growl and physically try to run away. Now if we tried to stop her doing the growling and removing herself, she will find another way to convey her message which I would predict would be to start actively approaching men, lunging, biting and then running away. Because her first system didn't work. So whilst the growling isn't ideal, I understand it and what we now need to work on is providing her with other tools, other ways of coping but all of this takes time and patience.
The art of the growl is a very clever one, so when you see or hear it, respect it and try to assess the situation so that when you talk to someone like me, we can help you understand the reasons behind it and how to deal with it safely.
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