Growling

[dottiesmum]

Hello

my husband and I have a rely adopted greyhound who is a 4 year old female. We have had her for 5 weeks only. Little summary for her. 

She has been doing very well overall in her new environment. Walking is mostly good aside from moments of freezing. Which we are working on currently. No signs of food or toy aggression. Enjoys pats and affection. Eating well. Can bath without problem and lift her into car when needed for vets or going to beach. All fine.

for sleeping she has a bed in corner of our room she sleeps on and not allowed on bed. This has been fine. First two nights home she cried and paced about though no issues now. We go to bed she goes straight to her bed and sleeps. In morning she waits for us to get up and on occasion will get up come to our bedside to tell us it’s time to get up. Though mostly she waits for us to say good morning then stretches and comes to our bedside. 
 

We have a couple of beds around the home for her to use during the day out of the way. We also allow her to lay on couches in living area on a section with blanket. She has not gone to any part of couch without the blanket area. So we are fine with this as plenty of room for us as well. 

Now after 5 weeks with us she has over last few days had a couple of growls at my son and husband (son is teenager so not small child as big as my husband). 
 

First occasion was my son was playing his computer and Dottie was on the living room couch on her own resting. My son has just suddenly decided to go towards her on couch to pat her and I assume startled her. She growled. 
 

second time she was on couch in other living room on her own resting. Husband went and sat on couch to pat her. She growled loudly. 
 

last time was last night. Dottie was on her bed on floor next to bed. For Xmas we had a couple nights at my parents so not our usual bedroom. Her bed had to be right next to ours so not much room to walk around. My husband went to bathroom at bedtime. When he came back it was semi dark he walked straight into her bed to pat her. She growled. 
 

now all times neither my husband or son let her know they were approaching. They have just suddenly come up to her while she is lying resting to pat her. Each time causing a growl. 
 

At no other times has she shown this behaviour. She has shown separation anxiety and follows us around (especially myself) all day. Getting up to walk from a room to get a drink or go anywhere she follows. She won’t stay in a room on her own. So she does have anxiety and is obviously still settling in. She is extremely Velcro. She does seem to want oats fairly frequently and follows you around wanting pats. So it seems the issue is only when she is lying down and possibly startled? We do not think she was asleep on these occasions eyes open. Also last night I was patting her and had only just lay back down in bed when husband came in and stood on her bed in dark coming to pat her when coming back from toilet. 

my question is how should we be responding to this to help settle her in and work on this issue so it does not escalate further.

 

thank you 

 

[dottiesmum]

Also when I say not sleeping eyes open I am aware she does sleep with eyes open half opened closed. Though on two of these occasions she was awake not a few moments earlier and responding. With son she would of been startled. Awake or asleep as it was sudden one minute playing computer next minute bouncing towards couch. (I have spoken to him not to do this and he is a teenager and old enough to work on this with us. I have asked him to call out to her at all times before approaching her when lying down whether asleep or awake). Last night it was a minute or so I had been patting her fine. Then she lay back on bed a minute when husband walked through and walked directly into her bad half lit dark room. Thank you 
 

 

[dottiesmum]

With husband going towards he on couch the second growl she was awake. Resting though awake. He went to plop right next to her and she growled. Sort of air snapping growling or opening nought and growling. This lasted a couple of seconds. After which we were shocked so we just reassured her and pat her she came up to husband to get pats and get closer. So we aren’t sure if we should of had her get down. Though it’s too late now we reassured and pat her. She was fine after this. 

[BatterseaBrindl]

Congrats on adopting Dottie!

Many Greyhounds have 'sleep startle'  and you need to not go near her when she is resting on her bed or other designated resting/sleeping space.   

The expression  "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie"  is not an 'old wives tale'.   

All dogs   -  not just Greyhounds  -  need to have their very own space, where they are not bothered by people, just as you do.  Its great that you have given Dottie a few places that are her own, including her blanket on the couch.  

As you have noted, she can sleep with her eyes open, so you need to make absolutely sure that she is wide awake when you approach her in her designated resting spaces.    

Of course she's going to react if you step on/bump into her in the dark!  I'd growl at you too  !

She is a very good girl to only growl.  That is her only way of warning you to back off!   If you don't heed that warning, the next one may be a snap or actual bite.

 

 

[dottiesmum]

Thank you for your response. I do feel like she is doing very well and it’s our job to learn as much as we can to help her transition into pet life. I told my husband that as well. That you stepped on her bed coming towards her at night it would of rattled her. That I think we should all announce ourselves when she is lying down whether awake or not. As we may not realise or know she may be awake asleep or half awake. Not expecting sudden movements and people just suddenly coming and plopping right next to her on couch or her resting place. 
 

I feel she gave them the warning that she was uncomfortable with them in her space suddenly and we need to give her a lot of time to outgrow this (and realise she may not completely). Also to respect her space and call out when coming towards her. 
 

greys are so different to other dogs so we are learning as we go how best to be her doggie parents!

[MerseyGrey]

After 2 1/2 years we still approach our sleeping dog with caution. His sleep startle incidents have decreased with time, but we found he was worse when he was tired or if there were strangers in the house. If she is just growling, she is warning you the only way she can. The first time it happened with us, neither of us remember there being a growl beforehand, but it all happened so quickly, and all of a sudden, we had a snarling dog with ears back and back arched within a few centimetres of my husbands face. It was scary so if she’s growling it’s a fair warning. You’re already too close.

While it’s always a very good idea to keep away from a sleeping dog, the air snapping you talked about could be playful. Buddy does this, accompanied by a deep rumbling growl and pawing his own face when he’s being playful. But as a new owner it’s best to observe from a distance until you can interpret what she is trying to communicate better

[Zero]

16 hours ago, dottiesmum said:

I have asked him to call out to her at all times before approaching her when lying down whether asleep or awake.

 

13 hours ago, dottiesmum said:

I think we should all announce ourselves when she is lying down whether awake or not. As we may not realise or know she may be awake asleep or half awake.

Your instincts are on target. 

Some otherwise truly wonderful dogs startle or exhibit sleep aggression. 

If our dogs are sleeping, it is our engrained habit to speak to them (to insure they are awake) before touching them.  I think of it as a courtesy or kindness to the dog.

[greysmom]

Couple things in addition to what's been said above.....

One - growling isn't aggression.  It's only humans that label it as such.  But it's really just a form of communication - one of very few humans readily recognize out of all the signals dogs send.  They are way better at reading us than we are at reading them.  So your girl is beginning to feel comfortable enough to tell you how she feels about actions in her house and in her immediate area.  This is a good thing!  You (and the rst of the humans in the house) need to acknowledge the growl and not punish her for it.  If the dog feels they aren't being heard they can escalate through a behavioral system that ulitmately ends with biting.  Again, to a dog, this isn't aggression, it's communication.  

Two - most dogs do not like being loomed over while they are laying in bed.  That *is* a very aggressive behavior in dog language!  And when it's done by large, loud, male humans it can make a dog defensive, and then you get a growl.  In addition, many greyhound kennel staff and trainers are female, and the dogs aren't exposed to a lot of men sometimes, so they may feel more anxious around them at times.  

So what can you do?  In general, always announce yourself when you approach your dog for attention and they are not on their feet.  In the case of your husband and son, have a small treat to give to her will help move the process along and help her see them as givers of good things, and not just large male people.  If they are walking by her bed or spot on the couch, toss her a random treat.  If they need to walk by her in the night, call her name, make sure she's awake, and toss a small treat.  Basically, treats help a lot of things!  Keep a small bowl of them, out of reach, near where the incidents occurred, and just use them whenever someone is in the area.  She'll get the idea!

Additionally, if your *ever* have small children over, do NOT let them approach her when she is laying down.  Always make sure the dog's bed is considered her safe space and keep children well back.  If they want to give her attention, sit the kids down and call her over to them so she's awake and on her feet, and able to leave when she's done.

[dottiesmum]

Thank you for all the feedback. We will keep treats handy and I’m having the boys do this at home now ongoing. So we will keep working on this. They will need to retrain themselves and remember not to just suddenly go in for the pat when she is lying down! 

[dottiesmum]

Greysmom. Yes she does seem more comfortable overall with me. She seems to be stuck to me wherever I am she follows me room to room all day whereas she doesn’t seem to follow the boys like she does me. Even getting up to get a water or something a few metres away she gets up and follows me. Also when we visited my parents she followed my mum around. When she woke up she wanted to go visit granny and ran down wagging her tail to go say good morning. So I think she is more comfortable with the ladies so far!

[dottiesmum]

And yes it is her way to communicate and thanks for the tips on the right way to respond to a growl. We did reassure her though were a bit shocked so didn’t do much else just gave her pats etc. Though now will work on the treats toss in her lying spots and everyone announcing themselves and I think that will be really positive for her. Excited to see how she goes. 

She has had a bit of a rough start (history wise) so we can’t believe how amazingly she is going at home. 

Thank you 

[Feefee147]

Congratulations! She sounds lovely and is clearly settling well already.

It took our grey a good few months just to waggle his tail at us, and longer before we could pat him/stroke him without him panicking in fright - poor thing. So you're doing great! 

The velcro/following will ease off once she is more comfortable and less anxious. You will hopefully find in time that she won't instantly jump up and follow when you leave a room, but may give it a few minutes before coming to see where you are. And then gradually that time will increase until one day you're in the kitchen and realise you haven't seen her for a good 20 minutes (until you open the fridge ). I made sure I left my grey shut outside places such as the bathroom so he started to get used to me not being right beside him *all* the time, and then worked on going out the house and leaving him for small increments. He still likes to be nearby but doesn't get upset if I vanish for a bit now. 

It is very scary and quite unnerving when these big creatures growl. It's hard to be pragmatic about it, particularly in the early days when you don't really know their reactions and mannerisms. But as others have said - a growl is good. She's telling you she's uncomfortable rather than instantly snapping or biting. They can fall asleep surprisingly quickly with eyes wide open so it is possible to be mid-stroking and find they've dozed off without you realising. 

It's also worth nothing that my boy growls when he's grumpy or uncomfortable, but also growls if we're playing (eg fetch with the ball and I take too long to throw it again) - some are just quite vocal and find their speech quite early on. They are different to other breeds and it is quite difficult initially to work out their subtle signs and signals. I can now tell playful growl from grumpy growl but it took me a while - it's all a learning process. 

The key thing is - DON'T PANIC! For her it is a short, quick 'I'm uncomfortable' event and then it's forgotten. Difficult as it is, try to treat it the same way. 

 

[dottiesmum]

Thank you FeeFee. I feel a lot better now and we haven’t had any other incidents following all the above advice. She is chattering her teeth when getting pats and she does vocalise a lot more. To tell us things. For example she whines when it is time to go for walk and I’m still finishing my coffee. Then when back when wanting sardines. Then when getting her dinner ready. When ready for her afternoon/evening walk. She lets us know so her few growls would also be doing the same Ietting us know a bit of space right now please. 
She tries to fall asleep on us while we are on the couch. She crawls closer and closer until she can lay on you or be touching you. So I am giving her treats to get her down her part of couch so if and when she falls asleep and one of us moves it doesn’t startle her. 
She absolutely loved her beach walks. I don’t think we have seen her so excited! Also doing zoomies around the house and with her toys lol. 
So she is definitely settling in. we have noticed when she seems to want to really sleep she will sometimes go off the couch and onto her quiet bed. In corner out of way. Then she completely zonks out!

[dottiesmum]

Update on Dottie. No more growling since these posts. She seems to be very settled in now and comfortable! Some cute pics of her lounging around the place! She is quite the character - quirky and affectionate! The pic below in bed is what she does in the morning when I have the morning coffee! Jumps up nearly on top of me and within  seconds is sleeping sprawled out all over the place! 

[dottiesmum]

[BatterseaBrindl]

I'm so glad Dottie has settled in so well!