Max is starting to growl!!

[halter91]

My precious little Max has begun to growl. He growled at me and my grandmother , who comes over and takes him for walks. How can I control this? What i did was immeidiately make him sit and say no. then i prased him after a little for sitting. Any help would be appreciated.

Here's a new pic from Max's camping trip? How do I post multiple pics in a thread?? thanks in advance.

[lovemyshiba]

Max seems to get more handsome every time I see him!!!!!

About the growling, is there something in particular that you or your grandmother does that makes him do it?

I think what you are doing sounds good, but I'm certainly no expert--hopefully someone who knows more can answer your question--there are so many here on the board who have dealt with behavioral issues in dogs, maybe someone will post.


About the grandmother--what a great gal!!! My grandmother doesn't even like my dogs, let alone would she walk them anywhere!!!!

[sammi]

My Abby girl had started growling last spring and I also asked for help. Someone (maybe it was Aly) suggested I just ignore her at the time - so thats what I did and she stopped soon after.

Abby started out by growling at Buddy and he totally ignored her, and then she started growling at me when she didn't get what she wanted! So I stopped telling her "NO" and just ignored her. Hope this helps.

[clara4457]

I have been doing a great deal of research lately on dog aggression and might be able to help, but I need some details.

1. How old is Max? Is he an older dog that is just recently started growling? Is he a young pup? It could very well be medical. If he is hurt somewhere he might be growling to say "don't touch me".

2. When he growls, what is he doing? What are you doing? If you are reaching for him to put on a lead - could he have an ear infection so that if you touch his head it hurts him?

3. If you have ruled out any medical reasons - I would put him on a "Nothing in Life is Free" program. He must do a required behavior for everything. Make him sit before you feed him. Make him sit before he goes outside. Make him wait before you take him out. Put him in a down/stay and leave him there for increasing amounts of time. Praise greatly then treat before you release him.

There is a great booklet by Patricia McConnell that my behaviorist recommended called "How To Be Leader Of The Pack ... And Have Your Dogs Love You For It". She talked about Body Blocking, which I have started using and has been helpful with both my dogs. I got it from Amazon.com.

I think a trip to the vet might be in order to rule out any medical causes. Growling might just be Max's way of telling you something hurts.

[lv4dogs]

Clara has great suggestions! That is what I was going to say!
Also is he neutered? If not I would get that done asap (if 6 months) and enroll him in a reputable obedience class.

[pitc9]

Buddy still growls at my husband, and it's because he's afraid of him. We tend to believe the person that abused Buddy looked or sounded like Rick. Buddy does not growl as much at Rick as he used to, but by Buddy's body language we can tell that he was growling out of fear. The longer Buddy's been around Rick, the less and less it's sounding like a growl...now it's turning into a whine/growl.

Are you and your grandmother the only ones he's growled at? Have there been other people around that he did NOT growl at?

[halter91]

he growls when he is playing. He is 9 months old and he is neutered. He growls at me but like i posted earlier, i make him sit and i say no in a stern voice. He hasn't done it since last week. I guess he's just moody. Thanks for the help.

[MaxandSpike'sMom]

Maybe it was just a phase he was going through! Trying to see if he could gain the upper hand! Sounds like you put him in his place.

Clara's suggestions are great! Hope Max is getting better.

He is a very beautiful dog!

We would love to see more pics of him!

[halter91]

I can'r believe how little he used to be? Now, he's a stud!!!http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290209907

[cocker_luva]

it won't let me in without a password.

[jigsawyouth]

Oh.. now I understand. Max growls when hes playing? Well that's fairly normal. The growling is mainly just a dog's way of saying 'cmon lets play!' or even trying to provoke a mock-fight. You have to not only listen to your dog, but read his body language. If he is in a play position, with tail high and wagging he probably isn't being very vicious . When our border boys 'wrestle', they roll around and growl a lot! Most passerbys would think it was a dog fight, but they're just playing around and would never agressively nip or bite eachother.

If Max is also starting to mouthe your hands or nip when he plays, you can correct this by ending the play session, like you have done. Tell him 'NO', completely ignore him, even if he is play-growling... and make it clear that that threatens you. You can also try spraying him with water from a spray bottle when he growls at our mouthes you or other people. This alarms him a little, and stops him from doing what he is doing. Maybe you can try using booda bones or other tugs to create a play activity where its okay to be rowdy and play-growl a little. What you're explaining doesn't sound like agression to me at all - but you know your dog better than I do. All I can say is that you should definately go to obedience classes, even if you already have. Take a refresher course so that you can learn to establish your leadership over Max. And try NILIF-ing him like Clara said I'm sure you two will be fine. Maximus is adorable, and sounds like a sweet boy.