What To Do When They Growl At Each Other?

[Riverhound]

We brought home a "sister" for Joe on Monday (still no name, sorry!). We're doing muzzles all the time when they're together, not letting her on the sofa, crating her at night, not feeding together, etc. Joe's getting plenty of "alone time" with Mom and Dad, and we're trying to keep his routine pretty much the same (except that I'm off this week, so it's more the weekend routine than the weekday routine). I think they're both being pretty good -- but there's been some fussiness and I'm wondering how to handle it. Here's some examples:

 

Joe was on the sofa, she stuffed her face in his face, he growled. Makes sense to me! I wouldn't want her face in my face while I was trying to take a nap in my favorite spot. We made "Ah, Ah" noises, and moved her away.

 

She walked past him while he was on his his bed -- little rumble from Joe. I scolded more harshly. She wasn't doing anything wrong that time, and I think she should be allowed to walk past nicely.

 

I didn't see this one. He stepped on her, she barked and snapped. DH used VOG, both dogs settled down quickly. DH guided Joe past her to where he wanted to be. (I think that was a good lesson for Joe.)

 

I was in the kitchen, dogs were in the living room (house is straight-through, so you can mostly see the living room from the kitchen). I heard big noises, and yelled "Cut it out!" They did. Dunno who did what that time, just wanted it to stop.

 

Now, it's only been a few days, and mostly they just sleep. Joe looks happy to see her when we get up; wagging tail and perky ears. They do fine on leash together; can sniff the same thing, walk under each other, push each other out of the way, etc. In fact, If they're both standing up everything seems fine. Joe bounced around in the yard and wanted to play with her yesterday evening. I think she would've gone for it if I'd let them. (She has a foot problem, and his knees are wonky. No zoomies for either one right now!) Probably a good run together would help sort things out, and at the very least they'd be tired!

 

So, when should I correct the growling? They need to be able to "talk" to each other, right? How do I draw the line between an acceptable warning and just being a butthead? How firm/loud do I need to be? I don't think either dog is being unreasonable. Joe's used to being an "only", and she's a curious young'un who has no concept of his space (except that she has never tried to lay in his bed).

 

Thanks!

[JAJ2010]

It was easy for me since I had Rainy long enough to know her pretty well before bringing a second dog in. She's very good at correcting bad dog behavior. I've seen her light into a lab puppy who most certainly thought he was going to die (I actually thought so too at the time) 6 seconds later the puppy was fine and much better mannered

 

Sunshine was a bratty puppy who had no respect when it came to personal space. I never corrected Rainy for snarling when Sunshine tried to steal her food, stepped on her, tried to run on top of her, etc. I actually praised Rainy! But I knew that Rainy most likely wouldn't rip her open so that made it easier.

 

I say as long as he doesn't escalate into actually biting let him grumble when appropriate and back him up with a follow up correction to the new dog. They will work it out soon.

[CaliforniaGreys]

My boys have been together for quite some time and we still have some growling. Usually, I let them work it out themselves only because I know them well enough to know it would not escalate any further than a growl.

They need to learn to respect each other's space, and if it's growling for a reason other than that, I just calming say 'knock it off' and they do. The only time I will intervene is when one is possessive of the couch or my bed, and they really have learned the difference in what space is not theirs, but that took a little time

[Remolacha]

None of my dogs are new, or young! However, Molly has recently decided she wants to share Sallie's bed (sometimes) Sallie is usually ok with this, but Molly the Princess doesn't always respect boundries, so there is occasionally some grumbling. I let them work it out unless it seems to be escalating, then I tell them to "knock it off, be nice", and they do. I direct it at both of them equally, unless I see one (ok, Molly ) being a butthead. Like the time she was trying to lie down in a space that was way too small for her, and nesting , and she stepped on Sallie. Sallie growled and barked, and I went and got Molly and made her move off the bed entirely.

 

If it's just grumbling, I'd let them sort it out.

[greysmom]

If you take away their ability ot talk to each other and make objections, then something that's a little thing can grow way out of proportion when the correction escalates. For the most part, let them work things out. BUT - they don't get to growl for no good reason - just walking by the bed is not a good reason. Trying to take food or treats IS a good reason - and a reminder to me that I need to supervise them better. You need to evaluate each incident by the dogs involved and what is actually happening. Some growling is to be expected when there's a new addition to the family.

[MaryJane]

Actually, IMHO it sounds like you are doing OK. I usually let them do a bit of growling when they are trying to warn the others to preserve their space requirement like when one is napping or when one gets to close, walking by -- pretty much what you have mentioned. If a ruckus starts up then I use the VOG and it quickly settles. I do have a good idea of what my dog's limits are and I watch if another dog is getting to that point because I do want to be there if there is going to be an escalation. My two know each other but, right now I have a foster so I have to make sure that he learns all the cues from the other two.

 

I don't allow growling at me - that gets a fast correction.

 

I do make special allowances for my girl Lucy - she is a seizure girl. She really wants a lot of space and because of her snarling, it does train the others to stay away from her which is beneficial when she is having a seizure.

[Brandiandwe]

Paige growls regularly at Brandi. Both are still relatively new (nearly 2 months for Brandi, 6 weeks for Paige). We tend to let it go, as it's usually Paige telling Brandi that she doesn't want to play. However, we don't allow growling when Brandi is walking past to get to a bed, or Paige not allowing Brandi into the family circle, or possessiveness over me, my bed or the spot beside me. We also don't allow Paige to 'shepherd' Brandi around, not letting her lie down.

[TheFullHouse]

Sounds pretty normal to me. I'll let small growls but when I hear big ones or growls with snaps I yell and both dogs involved will settle right down. I very rarely hear growls any more unless something exciting is going on and all the dogs are worked up. With time they'll get used to each other and you probably won't hear anything from them.

[Guest sheila]

For the most part I let my hounds work out these things for themselves. After having pairs of hounds for yrs now I have become accustomed to differences in the different vocalizations. Just grumbling type growls I ignore. A play growl has a different tone than an aggressive growl. There is just a different tone and stance when things are heading in the wrong direction. If I see the dog stiffen, lay their ears back, hackles rise is when I step in to break it up.