Puppy growling?

[Dawn]

We brought Molly home last week and she has been lots of fun...and hard work! She has had some issues with diarrhea but we're working on that. My question is when I pick her up and put her on her back to cradle her she growls...is this normal puppy behavior or aggression? I think I am paranoid now that she is aggressive.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

Was Molly maybe the dominant female in the litter? Forcing a dog onto its back is a dominant behavior and is telling the dog in very strong language that you are the top dog... she may not understand that you're flipping her over to love her; she sees it as a demonstration of your power. Which probably is unnecessary to point out to her, since she most likely has already accepted you as the leader. So maybe avoid the belly up manuever and pet her in different ways?

[Dawn]

Actually we chose her because she was not the dominant female in the litter. That little girl was very obvious in her behavior with the other pups. The only other time she's growled is during play. When she is playing with people, or her toys she tends to get all excited and growls sometimes, not always.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

She sure is cute! I think dogs have different growls. One of my dogs also growls when we play tug or catch with her; it's very playful and not aggressive at all. Does Molly wriggle when you flip her over and seem uncomfortable? Sometimes you can get clues from other body language signals. I sincerely doubt she is aggressive!!!

[Adina P]

Dominant with dogs and dominant with people are two different things. She could also just be a vocal pup. I would not yet come to conclusions about 'aggression' yet.

[Liza, Halle and Finn]

Kachi did this as a puppy as well, but he was the largest and most dominant pup in his litter. To this day, when he is reprimanded, he falls into the submissive position, and still grumbles under his breath! Your little girl is probably just feeling insecure when you flip her over, once she figures out that you're the boss, she'll stop. But I have to say, Kachi is now 8 months old, and he still growls when he plays, and he can sometimes sound down right vicious!! I'm sure to people who don't know him, they're like, "Whoa, Cujo!"

[Sue & Willy Babe]

Willson use to growl when we picked him up as a pet until I realized he was tired and wanted to be left alone, He is a almost perfect 5 month old, willson is the runt of his liter, one other reason he growled we wanted to keep on playing with him, and keep him awake which was not a good idea he needed his sleep!!!!
He growled a little today, but that is because it is snowing and this of course his first time to see snow!!!!

[Leslie and Halas]

It's funny that you said he's growling at his first snow. See the discussion below. I started it because Halas often growls or woofs at new things. A lot of people responded and said their doodles do the same.
http://doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/2065244:Topic:252459

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

It is highly unlikely that this is a dominant growl. Instead of picking her up, try cuddling with her on the floor with treats and belly rubs, gently easing into belly up on the floor with more treats and belly rubs. Pick her up and cuddle her like you were going to burp a baby. Human babies and dog babies all have position preferences that have nothing to do with dominance. Dog trainers used to believe you had to "belly up" a dog to exert dominance, but this idea is no longer believed to be true. Your pup is so young that likely the position is uncomfortable or scary. One of my doodles loves to be rocked belly up and the other does not. The belly up dog is the more dominant with other dogs while the floor or bed cuddler is more fearful of other dogs. Neither are ever even slightly dominant with people. Of course any inappropriate use of the mouth results in immediate ignoring of the pup until he apologizes by returning to kiss or lick you or sit near you.

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Sounds like she's as Adina said "a vocal pup"...Something I have learned through working in rescue and rehab is that you don't reprimand a puppy for growling...Growling is dogs way of warning..."Stop or I may bite you"..What can happen as a result of reprimanding is that you end up with an adult dog that will bipass the warning and just go right to lunging and potentially biting....

[Dawn]

Thank you all so much for all of the advice and encouragement. She no longer growls when I put her on her back! I really do appreciate all of the feedback. :)

[Dawn]

Thanks. She still growls a lot while she's playing though. Whether it is with her bone or my kids!

[Adina P]

Have you seen Halas' video? http://doodlekisses.com/video/new-toy
Click the link above to see him growl as he plays with his toy. Really funny!!!