Seemingly Random Growling

[Guest WiltedEars]

My partner and I have had our girl Roswell for about a month and a half now.

 

She absolutely adores our bed and sleeps with us every night. She is an extremely cuddly dog, loves to put her head on your chest and her paws on you. However, within the past couple of weeks she's started doing this thing where she will growl at seemingly random times.

 

This is not the contented groan she makes when relaxing. At first I thought it might be when one of us accidentally leans on her foot (the only time she's given me a warning growl before), but she'll do it while laying contently on top of one of us, and then continue to lay there.

 

One of the first times this happened, I was taking a nap on the bed in the middle of the afternoon and she came up to lie down with me. She stayed there for a moment, then growled and barked in my face.

 

She has not snapped (yet). Both my partner and I are concerned by the behavior, but have sort of been waiting it out to see if there's a common cause and haven't come to any conclusions. It doesn't appear to be territorial, considering it's not when someone first lies/sits on the bed, when someone starts petting her, or gets close to her. She has no issue getting off the bed if we ask her to.

 

It has happened in the morning before we've taken her out the first time, or if she hasn't been out in a little while. So, we were wondering if she's trying to say she wants something--like going outside. This is a behavior our roommate's dog exhibits daily to ask for playtime or attention and to express impatience.

 

Otherwise, I've done a lot of reading about growling/aggression but can't seem to find anything like our situation!

 

Do you think Roswell is trying to express something? Should we be concerned or correct her? We don't want this situation to end up escalating, so any advice is greatly appreciated!

[macoduck]

Sleep and/or space aggression. No more privileges on your bed or couch. Do not lay beside her and cuddle. Some greyhounds grow out of this, some don't.

 

If she insists on getting on the couch or bed, put her leash on a guide her off. Do not tug on her collar.

 

This is an occasional behavior that adopters will see at this time point.

 

She does not yet know what planet she has landed on and she doesn't (yet) speak the same language as your other dog. Make the no bed/no couch/no cuddle changes now before a bite occurs.

[palmettobug]

I was dumb, I got bitten before I learned. Don't make my mistake, take Ducky's advice.

 

Johnny is fine snuggling on the couch, but he doesn't even try to get in bed with me anymore.

[NeylasMom]

Sleep/startle aggression. You're probably waking her up with slight body movements. You can actually change her response to this. Very high value treats like chicken, cheese, meatball for this, no kibble or processed treats. Start by tossing food in front if her nose then make a sound to wake her up. You're starting to make an association with being woken up and food happening. When she's immediately looking for the food upon waking, you can start to wake her by tossing a stuffie toward her back end. When shes again starting to look for the food, you can do the same thing, but feed as soon as she looks up. Gradually start to wake her by touching other areas of her body. You want to make sure that before you changr what you're doing, you are seeing her give you the "Where's my chicken?!" look immediately upon waking. I wouldn't do this many times a day, and would of course do it while she's not in bed with you. Would be a good idea to remove bed privileges for the time being, but practice a solid off cue that gets reinfirced with food so you can ger her down without conflict if she gets up.

[greysmom]

Just because you can't find a cause doesn't mean there isn't one. *Something* is causing her to growl, and it's almost always going to be a warning. Greyhounds learn proper dog behavior because they stay with their mothers and their littermates longer than your average adopted dog, and a growl is one of the ways they express their displeasure.

 

You didn't see this behavior before because she was likely repressing it in a new living situation. Now that she's becoming more comfortable and settled, she's beginning to express her herself.

 

It's hard, because you love your girl and you want to snuggle - and she likely wants to snuggle as well - as long as nobody moves or touches her feet or breathes! Lots of greyhounds have the same issue. Some will get over it in time, as they develop a sense of trust in their situation and people. Some will never get over it and will be a risk their entire lives of growling/snarling/biting when in close proximity during sleeping. Also, don't use her eye position as an indicator of awake vs asleep. Many greyhounds have the creepy habit of sleeping with their eyes wide open.

 

The safest thing to do is to restrict her bed and couch priviledges. She can come up for a few minutes of cuddling, but needs to get down for actual sleeping time. She'll be happier. You'll be safer. Also train yourself to call her name and touch a part of her well away from the toothy end before you begin to pet her when she's asleep. Work with her during a happy, non-sleeping time on an "off" command using very good treats.

[Guest WiltedEars]

I feel like I should verify -- this isn't every time she's been woken up or alerted. She can be woken up by us, even from nightmares, and not growl at all. It's just been scattered random instances, some of which she was already awake?

 

I definitely want to be careful and nip any sleep aggression problems in the bud if that does turn out to be it, obviously. She's just generally really cuddly and happy to share the space, and puts herself very close to us willingly without any issues.

 

I also want to add that if she doesn't seem like she's in the mood to cuddle, she will remove herself and lay in her bed on the floor (we leave her alone entirely when she's in that one).

Just because you can't find a cause doesn't mean there isn't one. *Something* is causing her to growl, and it's almost always going to be a warning. Greyhounds learn proper dog behavior because they stay with their mothers and their littermates longer than your average adopted dog, and a growl is one of the ways they express their displeasure.

 

You didn't see this behavior before because she was likely repressing it in a new living situation. Now that she's becoming more comfortable and settled, she's beginning to express her herself.

 

It's hard, because you love your girl and you want to snuggle - and she likely wants to snuggle as well - as long as nobody moves or touches her feet or breathes! Lots of greyhounds have the same issue. Some will get over it in time, as they develop a sense of trust in their situation and people. Some will never get over it and will be a risk their entire lives of growling/snarling/biting when in close proximity during sleeping. Also, don't use her eye position as an indicator of awake vs asleep. Many greyhounds have the creepy habit of sleeping with their eyes wide open.

 

The safest thing to do is to restrict her bed and couch priviledges. She can come up for a few minutes of cuddling, but needs to get down for actual sleeping time. She'll be happier. You'll be safer. Also train yourself to call her name and touch a part of her well away from the toothy end before you begin to pet her when she's asleep. Work with her during a happy, non-sleeping time on an "off" command using very good treats.

This does make a lot of sense re: her not feeling comfortable with beginning to communicate with us until now. I'm willing to restrict her access to our bed/the couch, I'm just worried that there's another underlying problem that may worsen if not addressed.

[greysmom]

"I'm just worried that there's another underlying problem that may worsen if not addressed."

 

Like what???

 

Growling is just a vocalization. It's not necessarily (or even primarly) aggressive - that's just how humans choose to hear it. All she's doing is letting you know *something* isn't right in her world at that moment. If you are super observant you *may* be able to discern what it is, but more than likely you won't be. The easiest thing to do is eliminate the need for her to growl in the first place by limiting her bed time for a while.

 

This is also a really common thing we see here in this section, so your issue isn't unique. If you'd like to learn some more about dog behavior, pick up just about any book by Patricia McConnell ("The Other End of the Leash" is a good starter behavior book).

[KickReturn]

Too soon. Everything is too soon. You don't know her and she doesn't know or trust you yet. If you possibly can, get her off your bed and into her own super comfy bed on the floor beside you.

 

I'll grant you that the behaviour is a bit different, growling while seemingly content and comfortable, but I would still read it as her being a little concerned about her safety and vulnerability and offering some defensive warnings. That is the safe way to view things.

 

I would also view the growling as a window into her deeper feelings and act accordingly. Even though she seems perfectly amenable in all sorts of situations, I would highly recommend that you treat her with the utmost respect regarding how you approach her, touch her, etc. particularly when she is lying down. It is the very least that she deserves. In time she will let you know when and if she is ready for more liberal physical interaction.

Edited November 14, 2017 by KickReturn

[GeorgeofNE]

My dog does this. I accept that I am probably taking a risk allowing him to continue to sleep with me, but I am a grown woman and I have already lived through one greyhound with sleep aggression (which is NOT what this is, IMHO).

 

When he growls anywhere near my face, I make him move over and get his face away from my face.

 

However, Ducky is spot on with her advice. That's the safest option--no more sleeping in the people bed.

[Guest nicky604]

There's a very good Youtube video called "Social Signals In Dogs". It's a lecture with visual slides, given by Dr. Melissa Shyan-Norwalt.

 

It's very helpful as it shows you how to recognize and read canine signals and body language.

 

This will definitely help you read your dog and understand her.

 

For example, you are petting your dog and you notice she licks her lips.

 

Lip licking is a way a dog calms himself when he is feeling nervous.

 

If I see my dog lip licking, I understand that he feels nervous (so I stop patting him).

 

Also, you may notice that when you are looking at your dog, he turns his head to the side away from you.

 

This is your dog saying to you, please don't stare at me, you are making me uncomfortable with your human laser beam eyes and

 

I don't want any confrontation, so I will be very polite and avert my head.

 

It's important to allow your dog to switch off and relax. Try not to stare at your dog or watch your dog all the time. Also pointing your feet and

 

the front of your body towards your dog, will activate the dog and put her on alert. Ignoring your dog will help her relax and switch off.

 

Dogs really need lots of down time to be able to feel comfortable and relaxed.

 

Also, they like really like structure and predictability.

 

It helps them feel safe.

 

This video goes beyond the basics and gets into quite a bit of detail ... it explains how when dogs are unsure of a situation or unsure how they should act,

 

they can give mixed signals.

 

It's a really good lecture.. it helped me understand some of the more subtle body language and mixed signalling that can be harder

 

to interpret.