Growling: Growling is meant to avert aggression, not cause it

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I've often commented here on DK when I see discussions about Growling.  I've even posted a video about different sounds dogs make to help new puppy owners understand that dogs have no voice. They communicate with guttural sounds.  A growl is not a cut and dry, one word, communication. It is not hate. 

They make sounds and these sounds are most likely to be play, excitement, disagreements, but not aggression. Often, others comment, " Growling is NOT ACCEPTABLE, under any circumstances"

I cringe when I see the absolute comments.

I was raised with the 'not acceptable' opinions too, but mine changed somewhat  over the years.  I've lightened a little.  I try to incorporate dog body language into sounds dogs make.  I'm no pro and it's tough.

Many of you know I lived with an aggressive doodle who never made a sound. It was all in her eyes and body language and those spoke powerful. 

I'm hoping I can get others to read an article and understand what I've been taught.

I'm seeing too many dogs given up at young ages because of just a simple miscommunication error.  Today was one of those  :(

I'm hoping that we don't overreact, correct the dog ( I see this a lot too~ the dog needs immediate correction).  I  was beginning to think I may be thinking wrong but this article affirms what I was taught:

Pay attention to the circumstances, dont react to the noise but react to behavior, is there danger involved?

If it continues and you see anger in your once pleasant dog, take him to the vet. If you have a young puppy, get to a trainer early on not when the problems begin. 

Understand the difference between Aggression and Communication.  If you dont know what's going on with your dog, find help!  

Otherwise, JUST LISTEN.  Your dog is speaking  :)   What is your dog saying?   Sometimes it's just all talk

Etc.  So, here is the article.  Enjoy

Why Growling is Good

A woman I sometimes chat with during my morning dog outings asked my opinion about an encounter she recently had. She’d been been walking her four-year-old mixed breed dog around a local park when she crossed paths with a man whose dog was off leash. As the owners walked toward each other on the narrow trail, the foot loose and fancy-free puppy ran up to the adult dog. With the usual lack of canine cluelessness that accompanies early dogdom, the pup leaped at the dog relentlessly in an attempt to initiate play. The woman’s dog, while not aggressive, did not want to be bothered. He growled. The puppy didn’t back off, and again tried to engage the older dog. The dog growled louder. The man made no attempt to put his dog on leash. The woman, feeling embarrassed that her dog had growled, ended up apologizing to the man and walking her dog away.

The adult dog’s hackles might not have been up during the encounter, but mine certainly were. The woman’s dog had done nothing wrong. She had nothing to apologize for! Growling is a perfectly acceptable canine warning. It’s a dog’s way of saying, “Hey, I don’t like that,” “Don’t come any closer!” or “Please stop what you’re doing.” Being on leash, the adult dog didn’t have the option to leave. He could certainly have snapped at the puppy, or worse. But instead, he gave an appropriate warning. That the puppy didn’t buy a vowel, get a clue, and understand what was being spelled out was a problem, so the dog growled louder. Hopefully that puppy will learn to back off when adult dogs warn him away, before his puppy license expires and an adult dog cleans his clock. And hopefully the man will learn to leash his dog when encountering others.

Understanding that a growl is a threat is hard-wired in humans, so it’s reasonable and even advantageous that we become upset when we hear one. But a growl from a dog is actually a good thing. I’m not suggesting that it’s a good thing for a dog to growl at his owner, but growling is a non-aggressive form of communication. Think about it. If someone kept shoving into you on line at the post office, you’d eventually say something like, “Excuse you!” But what if you didn’t have a way to warn the person that you were getting irritated? Eventually, you’d have to resort to either leaving, or physically getting your point across. Whether a dog is growling at another dog or a person, it’s simply a warning. If the dog wanted to attack, he would have. Growling is meant to avert aggression, not cause it. But people misunderstand, and punish dogs for growling. A dog then learns that growling leads to being punished and, unfortunately, once his early warning system has been removed, the dog is likely to begin biting with no warning. As a trainer, I’ve seen many dogs like that over the years and believe me, they’re no fun to rehabilitate.

If a dog is growling at you, whether the dog belongs to you or someone else, the best course of action at the moment is to defuse the situation. After all, the dog’s arousal level is already elevated. You don’t want to shout or worse, get physical, as those things could lead to a bite. Instead, glance down and to the side (this tells the dog you’re not a threat while allowing you to keep him in your peripheral vision) and back away slowly. Don’t turn your back on the dog if you can help it, as some dogs are more prone to attack from the rear. If the dog in question is your own, address the situation that caused the growling—for example, food guarding—at another time when your dog is calm, with the assistance of a professional trainer if necessary. Remember, growling is simply communication. If we take a moment to assess why a dog is growling instead of automatically taking the attitude that he’s behaving inappropriately, we will react appropriately ourselves.

http://wildewmn.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/why-growling-is-good/

[Mary Beahm]

I have had my doodle for 3 months now. The growling is generally playful - we play take away with her toys and balls and she loves it.  I even growl back,  At other times, she is really trying to tell me where to scratch/rub her.  Yes, there are indeed many kinds of growls/talking and I think we just need to find out what they are.

[Pat and Traveler]

As it happens, Trav growled at my daughter recently.  We were all on the bed, daughter and I talking, and she was handling Trav's feet.  Trav has known her all his life, and has never growled at a person except while playing.  She'd just finished clipping his claws, and he has a sore pad on one foot.  He has never liked having his feet handled, but has always endured it, with maybe a few attempts to jerk his foot away.  Anyhow, he was lying on his side and she was playing with his feet.  He growled, just a very, very soft sound, but it was definitely a growl and it amazed both of us.  I said 'uh-uh' in a stern voice, and then we both played with his feet for a while with no further vocalization from Trav.  I'm sure he wasn't planning to bite or attack, but was letting her know that he'd had enough foot handling for one day.  I'm not worried about this incident, but will pay attention, and daughter will make a point of handling his feet again when she's here, just to make sure there's no repeat performance.   

[BG and Gavin]

I have been following this important thread with a great amount of interest.  I have not jumped in to comment because I have been spending a lot of time mulling the whole thing over.  I see points on both sides, but I feel completely unqualified to have an informed opinion because I am too inexperienced with dogs.  All of our dogs growing up never growled at us and I would drop dead from a heart attack and be very upset and/or know that something was physically very wrong if Gavin ever growled at anyone. HOWEVER, Gavin would be considered an "easy" dog with an excellent temperament.  Communicating with a dog with significant problems/negative behaviours, well I would have to consult an expert because it is out of my realm of experience. I do believe in the relationship between the dog and the handler and my personal philosophy is that this is the most important aspect of dog ownership and getting them to "work" for you.  I learned this philosophy through watching my father and my hands on experience training horses.  Once you gained their trust and respect (with also meant challenging them appropriately and not letting them get away with bad behaviour and desensitizing them to various "scary" things) they worked best for you.