Growling

[Guest maxlover]

Hey, everyone max has a growling problem and i dont know what to do!

If he is playing with a toy and you try to take it he raises his top lip and growls real loud.

We have tried many thing such as spraying him with water but he dosent stop

 

[Batmom]

See here re how to teach a "Drop it!" command: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/281536-how-exactly-do-you-teach-drop-it/

[silverfish]

What Batmom said.

 

Also, be very, very careful about discouraging growling. You really do not want to teach a dog that it isn't OK to growl, or you may end up with a dog who bites 'without warning'.

 

Dogs actually very seldom bite without warning (unless they have a medical problem) but many appear to do so, because people have taught them that they must not ever growl a warning.

[Guest verthib]

Also search for the "trade up" method. It works. Our new boy Angus did the same thing. A few months of hard work he has now mastered trade up and now knows leave it.

[sobesmom]

If that's the only time he growls, he does not have a growling problem, he has a toy-possessive problem.

 

Does he ever growl if you approach his food, or his bed?

 

If not - it's a very concentrated issue - and easy to fix. It does of course take patience. I would NOT recommend spraying him or in any way disciplining for it. I'd suggest TEACHING. The dog doesn't know what he's doing is wrong, so discipline might only make it worse.

 

Trade up. Teach that there is a REWARD for giving.

 

Good luck. Good question. Please keep us posted. There is good stuff to be learned here.

 

BTW - Batmom responded to you - I know you're a Newbie, and you'll eventually get to know who the "experienced" people are - Batmom is definately one. I've learned a LOT from her.

Edited January 9, 2012 by sobesmom

[Guest verthib]

I encourage you to read all advice and take what you like and ignore the rest. There is some great advice from less 'experienced' owners, which is really a loose term. Good luck-- again, try trade up. It really does work.

[inugrey]

I am fostering a dog right now who was trained not to growl so she goes right to the snap/bite. As others have said please listen to him and teach trade up. If you want I can tell you what I have had to do in the past six months to work with a dog who no longer growls when she is uncomfortable. It is not easy.

[Guest maxlover]

if he is on his bed and you go and sit next to him sometimes he will growl but mainly with his toys

 

[MaryJane]

if he is on his bed and you go and sit next to him sometimes he will growl but mainly with his toys

 

 

If he is growling when you go and sit next to him on the bed then ... you are going to fast with him. He does not trust you yet and you are getting too close and too soon, you need to give him more time. When he is on his bed, don't go near him - if you want to pat him then call him to you. After some time, you should be able to get closer to him on the bed but, you will need to do it in stages.

 

edited to add ... also, don't spray him with water as that is not going to help him build trust in you.

Edited January 9, 2012 by MaryJane

[Guest Jupiter]

Only use punishment/correction if you are simultaneously teaching the appropriate action. By spraying with water you are just escalating the situation. There is no redirection, only a memory of "if this human tries to get my toy away they spray me with water and its horrible!" and nothing is learned. Correction and punishment is necessary to learn, but its should be used as a teaching device only, not as a way to "get the dog to stop!" For a lot of greys it takes a long time for them to realize you are trying to teach them something since they've never really been given treats or rewards as training. It took our honey dog a full month to realize that she had to go through me to get the treat in my hand, and would lick/paw at my hand for minutes at a time without looking at me in the eye once. Punishing her or correcting her behavior during that time was futile - she didn't get it.

 

Set your dog up for success. Find out what his favorite things are and if he is too focused on a toy that you need to get away from him, use something of higher value to switch it with. Nobody has ever given him a toy, nor has anyone ever taken anything away from him, so forgive him of his bad manners until he learns what its like to be a household pet. In the meantime, gain his trust so he eventually knows you're not taking that toy away forever, and that you two can have fun playing with it together. If he growls at you he's just trying to tell you to back off and leave him alone, which is just another form of communication and definitely not something you want to train him out of doing.

[Guest maxlover]

Thanks guys max is doing great!! He barly growls I've been sitting on the bed next to him for like 15 min. Every night woohooo

[Guest tubbys]

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GeorgeofNE]

 

BTW - Batmom responded to you - I know you're a Newbie, and you'll eventually get to know who the "experienced" people are - Batmom is definately one. I've learned a LOT from her.

 

 

I'd like to second this!

[Guest chimni]

Thumbs up for behavioral training!

[sobesmom]

I encourage you to read all advice and take what you like and ignore the rest. There is some great advice from less 'experienced' owners, which is really a loose term. Good luck-- again, try trade up. It really does work.

 

I hope you didn't think I meant any offense - I didn't. I've learned a lot on this board from a wide group of people. I still consider myself inexperienced, but I dole out ideas to be taken or left as needed.

[Guest verthib]

I encourage you to read all advice and take what you like and ignore the rest. There is some great advice from less 'experienced' owners, which is really a loose term. Good luck-- again, try trade up. It really does work.

 

I hope you didn't think I meant any offense - I didn't. I've learned a lot on this board from a wide group of people. I still consider myself inexperienced, but I dole out ideas to be taken or left as needed.

 

No offense taken!

This board is my go to place for almost all of my greyhound questions.

[racindog]

What Batmom said.

 

Also, be very, very careful about discouraging growling. You really do not want to teach a dog that it isn't OK to growl, or you may end up with a dog who bites 'without warning'.

 

Dogs actually very seldom bite without warning (unless they have a medical problem) but many appear to do so, because people have taught them that they must not ever growl a warning.

 

 

Triple ditto to that.

[Guest DragonflyDM]

Also search for the "trade up" method. It works. Our new boy Angus did the same thing. A few months of hard work he has now mastered trade up and now knows leave it.

 

 

I agree. The last thing you want to do is meet aggression with aggression (aka water bottle or yelling). Dogs are aggressive because they are defensive. They feel threatened (you are taking their toy, their food, their safety, etc.). So meet aggression with dispassionate authority. Calmly but firmly say “no” so that your dog knows that it is an unwanted behavior-- but then have an alternative for his attention followed by firm attention. If you shower the dog with loves and kisses they will see you not as an alpha. If they see you someone that might verbally or physically (they can’t tell the difference) then the dog will see you as a potential threat.

 

Every breed of dog I have had… if they growled, I let them know calmly but firmly “Hey…that is not OK” and then calmly did what I needed to do reassuring the dog all was safe. The dog will read your energy and figure things out. You stress-- they stress. You offer calm authority and supportive safe environment-- they will fell safe and supportive.

 

Boomer is my first greyhound (I am used to working dogs like collies and spaniels) and they do seem a bit more sensitive-- so it is even MORE important to be a good parent to them.

 

Hope that helps.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

I totally disagree with correcting all growling. You first need to understand WHY they are growling. I have posted in many threads concerning growling with new greyhounds. 99% percent of the time the growling is because of a lack of trust. In humans, we expect our dogs to instantly trust us, no matter what. In all actuality we have to earn the trust from our greyhounds. Is growling bad, no. In fact it is actually a very good safety device. We as humans that have had "dogs" fear growling. We somehow see it as a personal affront, and decide that it cannot be tolerated. So our "dogs" raised as human surrogates, don't growl, they just go to bite. Here is a greyhound's method of communication of anxiety (likely caused by the human doing something wrong, not the hound):

1) exhibit anxious body language (licking lips, head and eyes turned down, tail tucked, whale eye)

2) low growl, sometimes barely audible

3) louder growl, sometimes followed by raising of the lip

4) air snap (intentional biting of the space NEAR a person, but no contact made)

5) actual bite

 

Now, most people are so blind to the natural body language of a dog, that they miss step 1, so what happens then when you take away steps 2 & 3? You have a hound that seemingly goes from normal-happy, to CUJO biting the air. It is very distressing.

 

Do not train your hound not to growl. Learn WHY he/she is growling. You will see it is probably your fault your hound is growling and telling you that they are anxious about what you are doing.

 

Why do they growl? Could be fear (you invade their personal space, hover over them, grab their face and pull it to yours). You must realize that face to face contact in the dog world is actually a very aggressive thing. Greyhounds have been raised as a pack animal, not a human surrogate, so you must realize they have a different language than typical "dogs". They don't know you, they don't understand the rules of being a pet. They don't understand that while you gave them this wonderful prize (bone), you now want to take it away from them? They don't understand when they are sleeping so comfortably, why you would invade their space for any reason other than to hurt them. You must look at life from their perspective. Once you do, you will see how most situations are based in the fact they don't TRUST you. Be it because they don't know the rules of being a pet, be it because you messed up by correcting them one time when they messed in the house and now they see you as something to fear. The fact is, most of the time they don't know.

 

You need to build trust with your hound, with trust, most other issues will disappear. Ways to build trust:

1) hand feed (I recommend this a lot) each meal for 1 month

2) obedience class (also highly recommended)

3) lots of walks

4) play time, such as a lure pole, or throwing stuffies

5) hide and seek game (takes two people and they must know their name)

 

As you have your hound for a longer duration, and you do things to build trust, you will be able to invade their space, take away things without complaint and move them around at will. But you must have trust for these things to work. In the immediate future, I would not give any high-value treats. Should you need to take something away from your hound, trade up with a squeaky toy, or a really good treat. Understand you are not "bartering" with your hound, you are earning trust. You are telling the hound that if he/she does what you want, good things happen. I would also not allow the hound up on furnature until you have basic obedience taken care of and the hound knows the "off" command. Once the hound knows "off" or "down" then you can allow him/her on the furnature and if you get a growl, then simply "off" and they will begin to understand not to grumble when on furnature. You are not teaching them to not growl, you are teaching them when growling is appropriate. See the difference?

 

Chad

Edited February 23, 2012 by Greyt_dog_lover

[Guest verthib]

I totally disagree with correcting all growling. You first need to understand WHY they are growling. I have posted in many threads concerning growling with new greyhounds. 99% percent of the time the growling is because of a lack of trust. In humans, we expect our dogs to instantly trust us, no matter what. In all actuality we have to earn the trust from our greyhounds. Is growling bad, no. In fact it is actually a very good safety device. We as humans that have had "dogs" fear growling. We somehow see it as a personal affront, and decide that it cannot be tolerated. So our "dogs" raised as human surrogates, don't growl, they just go to bite. Here is a greyhound's method of communication of anxiety (likely caused by the human doing something wrong, not the hound):

1) exhibit anxious body language (licking lips, head and eyes turned down, tail tucked, whale eye)

2) low growl, sometimes barely audible

3) louder growl, sometimes followed by raising of the lip

4) air snap (intentional biting of the space NEAR a person, but no contact made)

5) actual bite

 

Now, most people are so blind to the natural body language of a dog, that they miss step 1, so what happens then when you take away steps 2 & 3? You have a hound that seemingly goes from normal-happy, to CUJO biting the air. It is very distressing.

 

Do not train your hound not to growl. Learn WHY he/she is growling. You will see it is probably your fault your hound is growling and telling you that they are anxious about what you are doing.

 

Why do they growl? Could be fear (you invade their personal space, hover over them, grab their face and pull it to yours). You must realize that face to face contact in the dog world is actually a very aggressive thing. Greyhounds have been raised as a pack animal, not a human surrogate, so you must realize they have a different language than typical "dogs". They don't know you, they don't understand the rules of being a pet. They don't understand that while you gave them this wonderful prize (bone), you now want to take it away from them? They don't understand when they are sleeping so comfortably, why you would invade their space for any reason other than to hurt them. You must look at life from their perspective. Once you do, you will see how most situations are based in the fact they don't TRUST you. Be it because they don't know the rules of being a pet, be it because you messed up by correcting them one time when they messed in the house and now they see you as something to fear. The fact is, most of the time they don't know.

 

You need to build trust with your hound, with trust, most other issues will disappear. Ways to build trust:

1) hand feed (I recommend this a lot) each meal for 1 month

2) obedience class (also highly recommended)

3) lots of walks

4) play time, such as a lure pole, or throwing stuffies

5) hide and seek game (takes two people and they must know their name)

 

As you have your hound for a longer duration, and you do things to build trust, you will be able to invade their space, take away things without complaint and move them around at will. But you must have trust for these things to work. In the immediate future, I would not give any high-value treats. Should you need to take something away from your hound, trade up with a squeaky toy, or a really good treat. Understand you are not "bartering" with your hound, you are earning trust. You are telling the hound that if he/she does what you want, good things happen. I would also not allow the hound up on furnature until you have basic obedience taken care of and the hound knows the "off" command. Once the hound knows "off" or "down" then you can allow him/her on the furnature and if you get a growl, then simply "off" and they will begin to understand not to grumble when on furnature. You are not teaching them to not growl, you are teaching them when growling is appropriate. See the difference?

 

Chad

Ok so if they growl while on your couch we're supposed to let them? Uh NO. They are getting corrected and not being allowed on the couch. They growl when you reach for their food bowl. Uh they ARE getting corrected. I agree you can't correct ALL growling, but some growling is unacceptable. Growling if you're leaning over them or bugging them while they're sleeping is understandable but should still be worked on.

 

ETA: By correcting, I do NOT mean hitting.

Edited February 23, 2012 by verthib

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

NO you do not correct them for growling when on the couch, they are telling you that they are uncomfortable. If you read my post, you would see what I say to do about growling on the couch, you get them off the couch. They cannot differentiate between their bed, and the couch. So say you have a little child that is getting too close to your hound when he is on his bed. You have taught the hound not to growl ever when on a bed, so he doesn't, the kid keeps coming, and since you are watching, you don't see a problem. The hound is not beyond its comfort zone and air snaps at the child. You freak out and punish the hound for something that YOU DID.

 

So NO you do NOT correct for growling on a sofa or bed. Food, again you need to understand WHY the hound is growling. Trust is the issue yet again. So if you don't fix the underlying issue (TRUST), then you remove the safety net and get bitten. Plain and simple...

[Jackandgrey]

NO you do not correct them for growling when on the couch, they are telling you that they are uncomfortable. If you read my post, you would see what I say to do about growling on the couch, you get them off the couch. They cannot differentiate between their bed, and the couch. So say you have a little child that is getting too close to your hound when he is on his bed. You have taught the hound not to growl ever when on a bed, so he doesn't, the kid keeps coming, and since you are watching, you don't see a problem. The hound is not beyond its comfort zone and air snaps at the child. You freak out and punish the hound for something that YOU DID.

 

So NO you do NOT correct for growling on a sofa or bed. Food, again you need to understand WHY the hound is growling. Trust is the issue yet again. So if you don't fix the underlying issue (TRUST), then you remove the safety net and get bitten. Plain and simple...

 

[kudzu]

ETA: By correcting, I do NOT mean hitting.

Please define "correcting".