# growling



## miller123 (Aug 13, 2011)

Hey everybody, miller is doing great but if he finds a little peice of paper or somthing that he cant chew i will try and take it from him, but he makes the really loud growl that dosent sound like a play growl i think its and aggresave growl. how do i fix this and how do i tell the diffreance between an aggresive growl and a play growl


thanks


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## narci (Sep 6, 2011)

I remember watching Cesar Milan on this. What he did was stand infont of him and the item and not let him thinks he owns it. Also do this with his food dish. Let him eat a little and then take the dish away. Just keep doing that. 

I have no issue with Oreo with taking stuff away from him. He's also good with me verbally telling him no. He stops and looks at me.

Oreo has been the best behaved puppy I have ever had. Learned his name responding 90% of the time and can sit on demand 50% of the time. Have only had him for 3 days.

only 2 issues I have I'd trying to figure out his poop schedule and he needs to learn some independence when in his expen.


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## inlovewithhav (Feb 18, 2011)

I always told kipper "ah ah no growl!" in a stern voice and that worked 98% of the time. I can now take anything I want away from kipper at anytime and he will just look at me and let me do it. These little guys want to please you more then they want to do anything else, that being said they LOVE shredding paper. I give kipper paper Towels or toilet paper holders to tear up once they are empty, when he sees you get out a new roll he perks up and can barely contain his wiggles.


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## miller123 (Aug 13, 2011)

Lastweek i let him chew on some card board but a little after he came inside, he caughed up a little peice of cardboard!


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

You know dogs just growl. Watch two puppies playing and they growl and chew and get pretty rough. I think everyone is so afraid that their dog will bite someone that they take the growling and yes "nipping" to seriously. Ever had a ktten. Now try to get the kitten not to scratch, hss etc. I watched Animal Planet over the weekend and they were bathing a persian kitten. He was pretty good through the bath and blow dry, but when it came time to comb him out, he hissed and tried to scratch. Eventually the kitten will get used to the grooming, but in the mean time, his owner might get scratched. I am for the C Milan method, just take things away from him and never be hesitant or act as if you are afraid to be bitten. Stand over him and move toward him with your feet, He will move back and then you pick up whatever.


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## DonnaC (Jul 31, 2011)

When I ask my husband if the puppies are fighting "for real" or "for play," he always asks, "is there a difference?" I see his point -- but there does seem a point at which one or the other of them really means it. I try not to interfere with stuff like growling or territorial issues too much, but, if I think it's going to get disruptive or one of the puppies can't "walk himself back," I'll just do a little time out, in the ex pen or the crate. Or, distract them with a toy. We have not had growling at people, except when I'm combing Baxter's mats! In that case, I stop for a second, pat him, and go back to it. He's never done more than a little growl -- I am not sure a growl always means the dog will/may bite.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

odi growls, and it is almost always in play. He sounds downright vicious when you play tug with him, but the minute you stop tugging and say "drop it", he lets go, backs off, tail wagging and waits for you to throw the toy. 

Of course, in the beginning, he didn't always let go willingly... we did a LOT of "trading" the toy for a treat until he got the message. Now he understands that the game can't continue if he doesn't let go. ...But he still growls when he plays, and we don't mind.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

miller123 said:


> Hey everybody, miller is doing great but if he finds a little peice of paper or somthing that he cant chew i will try and take it from him, but he makes the really loud growl that dosent sound like a play growl i think its and aggresave growl. how do i fix this and how do i tell the diffreance between an aggresive growl and a play growl
> 
> thanks


 The no. one rule with growling, is do not punish. That includes trying to stop it in ANY way. I have three articles on this . But if you google "punish growl " I believe nearly everyone of the first dozen articles will tell you basically the same thing. Here are my three

http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/why-growl-good

http://books.google.ca/books?id=FNy...CBkQ6AEwADgU#v=onepage&q=punish growl&f=false

http://www.4pawsu.com/k9myths.html see Myth no. 9


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

miller123 said:


> Hey everybody, miller is doing great but if he finds a little peice of paper or somthing that he cant chew i will try and take it from him, but he makes the really loud growl that dosent sound like a play growl i think its and aggresave growl. how do i fix this and how do i tell the diffreance between an aggresive growl and a play growl
> 
> thanks


What you have here is resource guarding. The best method to prevent this is to do what Karen is talking about. Teach Miller to give up things voluntarily. I will come back with a good article on this. The only time that I believe you should forcibly take something out of your dog's mouth is in event it is dangerous to swallow. By forcing a dog to give something up you are encouraging his need to guard it. Resource Guarding Jean Donaldson http://www.4pawsu.com/Donaldson.pdf

Details on desensitizing. http://canineconcepts.co.za/articles/its-mine-a-k-a-resource-guarding/


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

DonnaC said:


> When I ask my husband if the puppies are fighting "for real" or "for play," he always asks, "is there a difference?" I see his point -- but there does seem a point at which one or the other of them really means it. I try not to interfere with stuff like growling or territorial issues too much, but, if I think it's going to get disruptive or one of the puppies can't "walk himself back," I'll just do a little time out, in the ex pen or the crate. Or, distract them with a toy. We have not had growling at people, except when I'm combing Baxter's mats! In that case, I stop for a second, pat him, and go back to it. He's never done more than a little growl -- I am not sure a growl always means the dog will/may bite.


 you're right Donna. let them growl their heads off. They are warning each other. If they were really fighting you would see blood or heavy yelping.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

krandall said:


> odi growls, and it is almost always in play. He sounds downright vicious when you play tug with him, but the minute you stop tugging and say "drop it", he lets go, backs off, tail wagging and waits for you to throw the toy.
> 
> Of course, in the beginning, he didn't always let go willingly... we did a LOT of "trading" the toy for a treat until he got the message. Now he understands that the game can't continue if he doesn't let go. ...But he still growls when he plays, and we don't mind.


Thanks for this Karen. This is an example where growling is in the form of play. Nothing wrong with it. Once again , we don't punish it. You obviously know the rules of tug and this is totally healthy play.


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## miller123 (Aug 13, 2011)

ok thank you !


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

I hesitate to say this, but Sir Winston growls when talking to me...I call it communication and it is always friendly.. he will "play", "Request a tummy rub" or just talk to me to get me off the computer...if I am holding him or talking to him, he will watch me and growl his responses...all very friendly though..


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Flynn Gentry-Taylor said:


> I hesitate to say this, but Sir Winston growls when talking to me...I call it communication and it is always friendly.. he will "play", "Request a tummy rub" or just talk to me to get me off the computer...if I am holding him or talking to him, he will watch me and growl his responses...all very friendly though..


That's something different. A lot of people mistake it for growling, but I don't think it really is. I agree with you, it's definitely a form of communication, but it is more like "talking" than growling.


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

krandall said:


> That's something different. A lot of people mistake it for growling, but I don't think it really is. I agree with you, it's definitely a form of communication, but it is more like "talking" than growling.


I think you are right, he does talk to me..very vocal..lol..NO DAVE...he was that way when I got him...it is not environmental..


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Flynn Gentry-Taylor said:


> I hesitate to say this, but Sir Winston growls when talking to me...I call it communication and it is always friendly.. he will "play", "Request a tummy rub" or just talk to me to get me off the computer...if I am holding him or talking to him, he will watch me and growl his responses...all very friendly though..


 LOL Flynn , not sure why you're hesitating to say this , but yeah this is common with some dogs. This is simply learned behavior on his part. Somewhere in the past you reinforced the growling and he has learned to use it to get what he wants. No different than unintentionally reinforcing barking . He's smart ehh ?ound:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> LOL Flynn , not sure why you're hesitating to say this , but yeah this is common with some dogs. This is simply learned behavior on his part. Somewhere in the past you reinforced the growling and he has learned to use it to get what he wants. No different than unintentionally reinforcing barking . He's smart ehh ?ound:


Seems to be more common in some breeds than others, too. I haven't met a Cairn that DOESN'T do it, and I know a number of Border Terriers that do it too.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

krandall said:


> Seems to be more common in some breeds than others, too. I haven't met a Cairn that DOESN'T do it, and I know a number of Border Terriers that do it too.


yeah Karen I wouldn't doubt it. Terriers were initially bred to talk. LOL


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

davetgabby said:


> LOL Flynn , not sure why you're hesitating to say this , but yeah this is common with some dogs. This is simply learned behavior on his part. Somewhere in the past you reinforced the growling and he has learned to use it to get what he wants. No different than unintentionally reinforcing barking . He's smart ehh ?ound:


Dave, I am not really sure, when I got him he was very socialized, but it seems to me he always growled when he played with his toys and I think he had the habit of looking me in the eye and "talking"...at any rate he does now, and I talk right back to him..he now uses his paw to get attention too. I ask him a question and he answers..but then again, I have no humans to talk with here...lol...but rest assured, the most intelligent of conversations...NO baby talk...ound: He is part Shih Tzu, but has long legs and was told he looks a lot like a Tibetan Terrier..so I don't know if these breeds talk or not..


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah Flynn , he keeps doing it if you answer in any way . He 's got you trained. Hey you're having fun with it. no problem, so long as he doesn't get carried away ehh. LOL


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

davetgabby said:


> yeah Flynn , he keeps doing it if you answer in any way . He 's got you trained. Hey you're having fun with it. no problem, so long as he doesn't get carried away ehh. LOL


Dave do you talk to Molly? I remember Lilian Jackson Braun's books about "The cat Who....." and how Qwill read to the cats...lol...Oh well, I do hope he does not become too talkative or demanding...I may have created a monster..


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

She's my therapist.


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

davetgabby said:


> She's my therapist.


She's got your attention then!!!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Flynn Gentry-Taylor said:


> She's got your attention then!!!


 Oh yeah.


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

miller123 said:


> Hey everybody, miller is doing great but if he finds a little peice of paper or somthing that he cant chew i will try and take it from him, but he makes the really loud growl that dosent sound like a play growl i think its and aggresave growl. how do i fix this and how do i tell the diffreance between an aggresive growl and a play growl
> 
> thanks


If you are still interested in the growling issue, you might want to review The Whole Dog Journal, October issue...."Mine...All Mine"...by Pat Miller, training director. She says rescource guarding is normal canine behavior...
This Journal is very interesting...no ads, just good stuff..


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Flynn Gentry-Taylor said:


> If you are still interested in the growling issue, you might want to review The Whole Dog Journal, October issue...."Mine...All Mine"...by Pat Miller, training director. She says rescource guarding is normal canine behavior...
> This Journal is very interesting...no ads, just good stuff..


good stuff Flynn. Glad you like it. It's a great resource. Pat Miller rocks; I once asked her for permission to use one of her quotes "Dogs Just Want To Have Fun" and I put it on a hundred t-shirts for IPDTA. |Hey Flynn would you like one, I still have three left. I'll even mail it for you.?


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