Why growl

However, it is still important to watch your dog's body language and make sure play growling doesn't lead to a dogfight. You may also notice play growling when you play tug-of-war with your dog.

Gentle growling is not a bad sign unless your dog is escalating and showing other signs of aggression. If your dog nips at your hand, lunges at you, or the growling gets very threatening, it's important to end the game. Figuring out exactly why your dog is growling is the first step in preventing escalating aggression. A growling dog is warning you that it may bite. Since we don't have a dog-to-English dictionary, the following can help interpret what a growling dog is saying:.

If you consider the context, you may be able to better deal with a growling dog. However, do not put yourself in harm's way, especially if the dog is not your own. You may decide to consult a dog trainer or behaviorist if your dog's growling turns to snapping or biting. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.

Unlike play and talk growls, you can think of these growls as stress growls. They tell you your dog is uncomfortable. How can you tell the difference between happy growls and stress growls?

Look at body language. If your dog seems stiff and is staring with a hard expression, that growl is serious. When you know a dog well, sometimes the tone of the growl can help too.

A loud, higher-pitched growl might tell you something different from a soft, lower-pitched one. However, when in doubt, act as if the growl is a threat. Particularly with young children, teach them to treat all growls with caution.

Stress growls are a warning signal. Their purpose is to tell others to back off before the dog is forced to take further action. They use growling to prevent the situation from escalating. And that gives growls great value. A dog that attacks without warning is incredibly dangerous. Hopefully, you now recognize that you should never correct growling.

If you punish your dog for growling, you will only inhibit growling. For example, punishing your dog for growling in the presence of other dogs will stop the growling. However, your dog will still feel uncomfortable around other dogs. Even worse, the lack of growling might fool you into thinking otherwise. Meanwhile, your dog is still stressed and just might snap without the benefit of a warning. Unfortunately, when you punish your dog for growling, you also exacerbate the underlying issue.

For example, if your dog growls at another dog and you punish the growling, your dog will likely think the other dog caused your negative action. We need to start listening to their communication instead of repressing it. Because to take away that communication can spell disaster in the future. Not only do they growl but their body will tense up. Mothers know this look and use it often.

A dog would be able to see this subtle sign of warning from another dog. We humans are less perceptive in general and usually push it with the dog to the point of them needing to progress to a verbal or more noticeable cue. The stiffening and hairy eyeball is what I call step one in a warning.

What happens if we correct a dog at this point? Well depending on the dog, we either teach them NOT to give a warning, or we get bit because the dog clearly considers itself a leader or equal to you because a leader or equal is allowed to give corrections to others.

Leaders are also in charge of food and high value items. What happens next usually is step three, or a nip. It might also be an air snap. There is a progression to this in proper dog language. They will only use the amount of warning signals what we generally label as aggression needed to end the altercation. Let me point out I am talking about dogs that have learned proper dog communication with other dogs.

If that other dog is a person and either ignores the warnings, or wants to prove a point, they will probably get bitten. How serious the bite is depends on where the dog connects or how much force the person tries to use against the dog. Staring into a dogs face can also cause a bite because it is perceived in dog language as a threat or a challenge.

Unfortunately children do this a lot. Humans, lacking muzzles, damage much easier than another dog. We also receive a lot of damage because we tend to pull away during a bite, which causes our more fragile than dogs skin to tear.