new growling habit...please help

hi,
duffy is nearly 9 months now and he's started to growl at us when he never used to before.

he only growls sometimes when he's got something in his mouth and we try to take it or when he's sleeping and we pick him up. this happens sometimes but not always and we're concerned it could get worse. he's always been a little nippy but never aggressive or biting to hurt but we're scared the growling could be the start of something awful.

he's normally a sweet, cuddle little baby so this new behaviour has taken us by surprise.

the last thing we want is to be afraid of our dog and we want to fix this. can anyone help? please?

Many animals startle when you wake them, that's normal.

As far as the growling when he has something, it sounds like guarding. Does he do it with food also? His bed? What happens when you go over and take it?(do you?)

sounds like he could use NILIF

twinmommy,

he's not at all protective of his food and let's us grab his toys from his mouth and never growls. he only growls when it's an item he isn't allowed to have. and we do take it growling or not. he's a puppy and he'll eat what he can get his hands on so we have to pull peices of paper from his mouth even if he's growling. we always take it.

and, not to be ignorant, but what is NILIF?

What type of dog? I can take my Eskimo's food from his mouth - no problem. But when someone drops a half-eaten, still warm hamburger on the street - wrapped in foil of course - and he gets it it is a nightmare trying to get it from him. He fights to keep it - he doesn't really growl so much as "express his opinion" - after all this is something worth fighting over. Other street refuse is a problem as well. Eskimo's love paper items - unfortunately too many slobs discard used Kleenex. I wear rubber gloves now when I walk him for just this reason. Eskimo's definitely do have an aggressive trait, but we are not at all concerned about him growling at us as it has not happened, except in the circumstances you have described. If I have to wake him up - unusual as Eskies are alert dogs - I just touch him gently. I don't think you have anything to worry about unless your pup starts to show aggression over everyday things.

Sounds like he's going through adolescence. When dogs hit this stage, they test what your limits are. They've put themselves at a certain rank in the heirarchy during the first few weeks of life, and now they are reassessing if that is where they should be. So if they test and teast and each time they win, then they'll pass you in the heirarchy and become alpha. I've seen it sooooo many times at our park and the people end up giving the dog up because they can't assert themselves enough, or they just think the dog "has gone off".

You can't let him win. If you pick him up and he growls, putting him down is like obeying his command. You have to teach him "No growling" and let him know that under no circumstances will you tolerate growling. Just remember if he's growling to keep your face away from his teeth...

Same for the toy. In a pack, whoever ends up with the toy is the alpha dog. If you can't get it away from him, he wins, and proves himself to be alpha.

Have you done any obedience with this bugger?

My 10 month old puppy started doing the exact same thing recently. He never guards food, toys, or places (he also doesn't mind if I wake him up) and I tought him never to pick up food from the street at an early age. But with small objects that he knows I'm gonna take for fear of swallowing, he growls and has bitten me once when I tried to open his mouth.

What I did was try to teach him the drop it command. At home, I would present him with a cookie, say drop it, and when he did, I exchanged the cookie with the object.

On walks, if he had a stick in his mouth I would say drop it, take it from him, command him to sit and then give it back (and repeat the drill).

Now he is reluctant to give back small objects, but doesn't growl anymore (although I admit I sometimes give up and let him have them).

Prin, how do you teach a dog that growling is not allowed? Should I punish him if he does it again?

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

Try that website out. My sister and her husband made the mistake of backing away or laughing when their Jack Russell started doing this. It did progress. He's a great dog and he doesn't bite but he will growl and scare plenty of people who don't know him. You need to show him that the growling will not hinder your actions when he tests you, this way he knows it is pointless.

I was thinking about it, and I can't remember how I did it. Other than saying "NO GROWLING" as soon as the growling started (very firmly) and "yes she stops growling" when she would stop. Other than that, I can remember pushing her lips down a couple of times in a futile effort to show her what I wanted... :D I think it's about timing. If you say no growling the second a sound comes out, then the doggy has a better chance of realizing that the noise is what you are talking about.

sorry for not getting back to you sooner... :)

N-nothing
I-in
L-life
I-is
F-free

that link that someone gave (Angeleyes??) is good too!!

How's things goin'?

Growling often starts for some thing that you may or may not mind for, but has to be "nipped in the bud.". The "radius" of things to growl over will become larger and larger, encompassing more things, until you have bigger probs.