Labradoodle growling a my four year old daughter

[Michael]

hello. my family just adopted a 2 year old male labradoodle who is well trained and very smart and kind. his owner trained him the 'dog whisperer' way. however in our first week together, he has growled a few times at my 4 year old daughter while she is petting him. he is very friendly with her and loving, and she is also very affectionate with him. each time he has growled, he has been lying down and she is gently petting him. he doesn't snarl, or bare teeth - it is more of a belly growl without any head movement or change in his behavior. we have my daughter feed him, give him treats, and stand tall around him. we have him follow her, as though she is always leading the pack. we have him sit and wait for all of us to enter or exit whenever we go in or out. has anyone else experienced this behavior and if so, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

growling is good, dont discourage him from growling. He is communicating to her that he doesn't like what she is doing. Many will discourage a dog from growling and then they end up with a dog that bites out of the blue~

As I in-vision your daughter in my head petting him I see her bending over, hovering over him... if this is the case this is a very dominate gesture and no one should ever approach a dog from above. Have her instead kneel next to him and pet him under the chin but have her announce herself first getting acknowledgement from him. If she startles him that could also cause him to become defensive.

Just watch her interaction with him.

[Adina P]

Are you able to speak with his former family?

Why was he given up?

Was he raised with children?

If he is not baring teeth... Is it possible that he's just "talkative"---some dogs are more vocal and aren't necessarily having a negative experience that they want to stop. But the former family would have to clue you in on this aspect.

[2SCdoodles]

I went through something similar with one of my doodles. Joe, the younger doodle, would growl much in the same way with my 17 year old daughter when she was rubbing his side over his ribs. That began suddenly, and it ended suddenly. When it happened he would repeat the behavior if someone else rubbed him in the same spot.

I was at a loss as to what caused it. It went away. I wondered if he was sore or perhaps had hit his ribs on something. I hope the growls will go away at your house, too.

[Laura Brody, CPDT]

Michael,

I am a Dog Behaviorist in Colorado. Run, do not walk to a behaviorist to have this dealt with immediately. Cesar Milan makes everything look as if being a calm assertive leader will heal all behavior issues in a 30 minute television segment. Do not take specific advice from anyone who is not a specialist in this field and has EVALUATED THE DOG IN PERSON. There is a big difference between coping and healing. Most trainers will try to train this out of the dog. With a small child in the house it is absolutely imperative that the dog's emotional reaction to her change from the inside out so that if you are not there to supervise your dog will still have a positive emotional association to your daughter. You cannot expect your dog to just "accept" your young daughter as a "pack leader" because she walks out of the door in front of him or stands tall.
My practice is full of these heartbreaking situations. Please see a professional.

[April Cliber]

I completely agree with Kendra. (Noble Vestal) We have a very sweet, wonderful and social golden retriever that loves it when we pet her and is always looking for attention. However, she does not like it when we "hover." We can pet her anywhere, she just doesn't like us to lean over the top of her and will let out a quiet growl. We have had her since she was 8 weeks. She's well trained, loving and has never been mistreated. She simply does not like us to lay over her. So, we don't. She knows she's not the leader, she has never snapped, but is saying, "Hey, I don't like that!" Our other dogs will take any and all attention. :o) I just think some dogs like a little more personal space than others.

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Michael...I applaud you for adopting!......While it is such a rewarding experience, rescues and/or rehomes can come with a certain degree of emotional baggage and in some cases bad habits depending on their backgrounds....I'm no expert by any means but as my good friend Karen has said repeatedly, these beautiful "beings" are capable of many deep emotions. Adopting a rescue or rehome dog, a doodle particularly ( because of their extreme intelligence) can be equivalent to adopting a young child who was abandoned at an orphanage with no warning or explanation......Can you imagine being uprooted from the only home and family you have ever known and being thrust into a new, unfamiliar environment, family situation without ever knowing why?........

What you are doing is great!... as dogs will sometimes view small children as peers and react to them as if they are socializing with another dog..Reinforcing the "pecking order" with the techniques you described is positive! .and Kendra is absolutely right with everything she has said....Do not discourage the growling.....some dogs who are reprimanded for growling are ultimately conditioned to bypass the warning and bite. It's important to teach your daughter to recognize this behavior and some of the subtleties of "dog language" and communication and react accordingly...As he is learning his borders and boundaries, your family too can learn about his and both can be mutually understood and respected.....

That all being said, I too would like to know if you have any background on his previous family? As Adina pointed out some dogs ARE more vocal than others and it could be that your boy is simply "talking".....My doodle does this when I rub his belly...I would classify his mutterings ( no pun intended) as belly growls/grunts of pleasure.....It took me awhile to interpret...lol......So I am curious about your doodles background too......

I don't have any positive words for Cesar Milan...I am not a fan.....I think in many ways his "way" is rigid and while it works wonderfully with extremely aggressive dogs his methods don't always translate well with the common issues of a typical family dog or the typical family for that matter!...lol......I personally prefer positive reinforcement training that is based on fun and praise..........It has been my experience as an adoptive rescue parent ( and many would agree with me..and some may not) that "they become what they feel and are given"..In other words if you provide unconditional love, leadership, safety and security and appropriate guidance you will get love and good behavior in return......

This may just be the "getting to know you" stage of your relationship with your new family member.....although while you are becoming acquainted and comfortable with each other it is important that you and your daughter learn to recognize your dogs "cues" and continue to be cautious until such a time that you have an understanding of his language......

Congratulations on your new family member!...Keep us posted!

[Laura Brody, CPDT]

Michael,
I see you have gotten lots of advice. I implore you to not try to deal with this yourself. What most dog lovers don't know is that the dog's emotions are deep and specific to it's species. We all try to apply human reactions and feeling to our dogs and although sometimes they accurately describe what we see, many times they do not. Adina's advice to find out as much as you can from the former owner is sound.

But, my long experience working with adopted dogs tells me that 90% of the time, dogs given up for adoption have issues that the former owners don't tell you about. Like a used car, there's going to be that one little thing that the former owners are afraid will be a "deal breaker" and in their desire to find a new home for the dog, they withhold. That's why there are legal disclosure clauses in home buying contracts, people usually have to be forced to tell the truth.

There may be a very easy and permanent treatment for this issue. Don't just assume you can "stay away from that hovering position". Your daughter has friends and they will come to your house and despite anything you tell them, they will bend over the dog and the rest may be history for your lovely Labradoodle if he bites the child.

Avoidance isn't the answer if "hovering" is even the issue. The prior owners know what this dog does. And newsflash, it could be a technique that the prior owner applied on this dog that is causing him to growl in the first place.

Your dog's life is at stake her. I cannot emphasize that enough. If he growls at the wrong person, they could report him to animal control and if he bites and it requires any medical attention, the emergency room physicians are legally required to report it.

Please call in a professional so you can start him and your whole family in the right direction. If it's nothing to be worried about, at least you'll have heard it from someone QUALIFIED to tell you that.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I am not a dog trainer nor an expert on any kind of dog training or behavior, so I would never presume to give any advice on this situation. If it were me, I would absolutely call in a well-recommended professional.
However, I must take exception to this statement:
"my long experience working with adopted dogs tells me that 90% of the time, dogs given up for adoption have issues that the former owners don't tell you about"
MY long experience with rescued and adopted dogs tells me that this is simply not true, and it is very harmful to those dogs who are being given up by the dozens all over this country right now. The old "there must be something wrong with the dog if they gave him up" simply no longer holds true. The economic crisis in this country is causing lots of perfectly lovely, well-socialized & adjusted dogs to be given up because the owners are losing their jobs and/or their homes. With doodles, we are also seeing lots of people rehoming them because of false beliefs about "non-shedding" and hypo-allergenic". I have fostered and known many, many wonderful dogs with absolutely no issues who are now living happy lives with new families. Please do not cause one single homeless doodle to lose his life in a kill shelter (and there are dozens of them in danger of this) by implying that 90% of adopted dogs have problems.
To use your home sale analogy, sometimes people sell a house because it is too big or too small for them, or they have a job transfer, or any number of reasons. That doesn't mean there is something wrong with the house.

[Kim]

I agree that NOT all rescue dogs come with problems. I have always had rescue dogs and with the exception of my red cocker spaniel (a definite unpredictable nutter) who I might add never was agressive to humans - just occasionally to other dogs, they have all been perfectly loving and obedient dogs. Some people take on a puppy only to get bored when it needs more than a cuddle . There are many reasons why a dog is given up for rehoming. If you can find out why it obviously will give you more of an insight, but in my experience ( over 30 years) it is not always necessary. I do agree with the 'hovering' thing but I would also suggest that in my experience it is not just the hovering but the fact that children are also a little unpredictable and sometimes talking to a dog when petting can help. If the situation continues you would be wise to err on the side of caution and seek a professionals evaluation and advice.

[Terri]

Hi,

I am not a dog trainer or any other qualified expert, but I am a dog owner who had a dog that displayed various degrees of aggressive behaviors. I can tell you with 100% sincerity, that if I were you, I'd call a trainer. Worst case scenario - this is aggressive behavior and you'll be in the right place (a qualified trainers hands) to help you. Best case scenario--he's just vocal, and again you will have a qualified trainers opinion on this--so you'll feel so much better about your daughter's interactions with your dog.

We had a dog (not a doodle), that was very grumbly in situations that made her feel hovered over or controlled. We got trainers involved and they were very concerned. Thankfully we started training right away. We tried working with her and it helped for awhile, but something was not right with her. It was out of our hands because she did bite. I truly wish we still had her, but I'm very glad she did not end up REALLY hurting someone. I loved her very much, but if a dog you own does hurt someone in your home, you are liable.

There's a good chance you just have a vocal new family member, who is just getting used to his new family. But it is very important to find out for sure. Doodles have a much different temperament than our last breed. Doodles are so trainable and so eager to please. A trainer can help you teach your pooch how to act/react toward your family. I have a lot of respect for dog trainers. Their jobs are very important for those of us who have furry family members.


Terri

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

http://www2.the-kennel-club.org.uk/safe_and_sound.html
Here is a link from the UK Kennel club. It is quite cute and might help. Personally, I would be very uncomfortable about a dog growling at a child.