Beth Bradley - PDF document

Beth Bradley Dog Trainer/Behaviorist (201) 247 - 8472 What To Do When Your D og Growls A growl can mean different things: “ I’m scared, ” “Don’t take that, ” or “L eave me alone .” These are just a few of the messages a dog communicates with his growl. But the common denominator of all growls is that they are warnings . The growler doesn’t want to bite , but will bite if pushed any further. Two Philosophies There are two different philosophies regarding how to address growling. One approach is to correct the dog for growling and teach him that it is unacceptable . After all, you are the leader in your home ; he has no right to growl. The second school of thought is that correcting the growl may inhibit it . In other words, the dog will skip the warning and go straight to the bite. My Recommendation Based on my experience and observations , I concur with the second school of thought. C orrecting the grow l will make the warning extinct, but will not eliminate the cause of the tension. You should not allow the behavior to continue , but you must determine what causes the growl. If your dog is growling over food, a bone , or a seat on the couch, the cause of the growl is dominance behavior. There are many ways to demonstrate your Alpha position without putting yourself in jeopardy of receiving a bite. If your dog is g rowling because he is afraid, socialization is your answer. When you address the cause of the growl, rather than correcting to eliminate the growl, you cure the problem rather than masking the symptom. Growling not an easy problem to train. For your safety, you should consult a reputable and experienced trainer. The trainer can evaluate why your dog is growling and recommend a training plan that minimizes the chances of a bite. Don’t Reinforc e the Behavior Many owners unknowingly reinforce the dog’s growl in the way they respond to it. For instance, suppose y our young pup py meets someone new and growls. Is your first reaction to reassure him by speaking soothingly and petting him? If so, you are implying that his behavior is good, because you are re warding him with attention and affection. Another way people reinforce aggressive behavior in puppies is by laughing at them . T oo often , when young pups growl or bare their teeth, everyone laughs because it is ridiculous and cute. The positive response is a reward that encourages the pup to repeat the behavior . By the time the behavior is no longer cute, the dog has already formed the habit and will need retraining. Another common reinforcement is “the bribe.” A guest comes to your home, and your dog gr owls. You have your guest give your dog a treat. You think your guest is making friends with the dog. Your dog thinks he is getting a treat because he growled. You Can’t Change Temperament For some dogs the root cause of the growl is temperament. Although effective training can change your dog’s behavior, it cannot change his temperament. A trainer can advise you on whether your dog’s temperament is contributing to the issues you are experiencing. If that is the case, a trainer should be able to come up with a program to minimize your chances of being growled at or worse — being bitten by your dog. I am in no way suggesting that you will need to handle your dog with ‘”kid gloves.” Rather, a trainer should be able to develop a plan for safely establishin g your authority and managing your dog’s behavior. What Would I Do? When I meet a dog that growls, I tailor my approach to the specific circumstances. There is no “one size fits all” training, especially for growling. However, there are three keys that are a part of all successful training related to bad habits .  Always be in a position to correct or control your dog. This means the training collar and leash should remain on your dog until you are confident your dog will respond obediently to y our commands.  Re - create the trigger for training purposes . Recreate the situations in which your dog growls so that you can address them properly and calmly in a training session.  Reward positive behavior, not the end of negative behavior . In other words, don’t give a treat immediately after your dog stops growling. That is rewarding the growl. Instead, i ntroduce another command, such as sit or down, and reward the obedience. If I train a dog who growls because he is fearful of strangers, I don’t correct t he dog for being afraid . Instead, I give him a command, such as sit, because I can correct the dog for not obeying a command. Sit does not mean sit and growl. Sit means sit and b e quiet. So, in the dog’s head, I am correcting the sit , not the warning. This is telling the dog he must wait for my cue to react. It is also telling the dog that he is safe at my side and I won’t allow him to get hurt. If a dog growls when someone tries to take a bone, I tell him to drop it and then come . When he obeys the come command , I praise exuberantly and reward him with a special treat. If I want to pick up the bone, I place him in a sit/stay and approach the bone (keeping an eye on the dog). If I don’t want to take the bone, I just walk away an d r elease the dog, allowing him to return to the bone . In the “dog world,” the subordinates leave the food when the Alpha is approaching. So whether I take the bone or not, my actions teach the dog that he is a subordinate and I am Alpha. If your dog has no t yet had sufficient training to understand sit, drop , and come, more basic training is required before the possessive growling behavior can be fully addressed. A growling dog should never be trained with children present . If you have a child in your house, give your dog a bone only when he is in his crate. Do not ever allow children to be in the area when you are recreating the growling trigger for training purposes. Because the growl is the precursor to a potential bi te, you will need to exercise extreme caution at all times until the problem is resolved. Conclusion Developing a good training program for the growl is as complex and difficult as it is important . In some cases, it simply isn’t safe to keep the dog in yo ur home. In many other cases, it is possible to address the issue by dealing with the root cause of the growl. It is vital that you enlist the help of an experienced professional who can tell you whether the problem is one of temperament, triggers, or training and advise you on the most effective plan for safely training your dog. Because the potential consequences of unsuccessful training in this case are so severe, you owe it to yourself and your dog to give yourselves the best possible chance to suc ceed.