What If Your Dog’s Growling at Someone Outside Your Home? They can best advice you on the appropriate course of action when dealing with fear or aggression related issues.
LOUD BUT FRIENDLY GROWL PROFESSIONAL
Don’t be afraid to ask for help from a professional trainer or canine behaviorist that specializes in using positive reinforcement methods. Put together a game plan.After analyzing the situation, create a plan to help your dog overcome her issue. What To Do When Your Dog Growls at Someoneħ. Here are some tips if you’re ever in a situation where your dog’s growling at someone. I just wanted to give a real example of how Haley’s anxiety issue was treated because she was initially able to communicate her fearfulness to me by growling. For that reason, it’s best to consult with a professional trainer or canine behaviorist first. The concept of counterconditioning is simple to understand in theory, but it’s a slow process that requires you to be able to closely analyze your dog’s behavior and body language. I don’t mean to imply that everything you need to know about fixing an issue with a reactive dog is found in the paragraph above. It didn’t take long before she started associating good things with the sight and sounds of youngsters and eventually she was even relaxed enough to listen and take commands from them, in exchange for yummy treats of course. We slowly decreased the distance to the children and increased the level of interaction but only within Haley’s comfort zone and while ensuring the safety of the kids. When we would pass children on our walks, I would create more distance to keep her comfortable and again, she got lots of yummy treats and affection.
We first visited parks and watched children play at a distance where Haley was comfortable and relaxed and she got plenty of treats and praise for her cooperation. My first job was to protect her (and of course, the kids) while we began the counterconditioning process. Here’s what I did to help her overcome that fear. I wanted Haley to feel comfortable around children and I wanted to be able to take her anywhere without worrying about how she might react to people. It’s not a good feeling to have a dog that growls at kids. Not long after that incident, she would sometimes emit a low, quiet growl when kids would approach her. I think part of her fear came from an encounter we had with some very pushy and aggressive little girls that approached us in the park during her socialization period. When Haley was young, she had a fear of small children, especially little girls. If you know when your dog is fearful or uncomfortable before they resort to a bite, you’ve got the best chance to desensitize them through counterconditioning. It’s a vocal warning, a heads up so to speak, so the last thing you want to do is correct a dog for growling and possibly silence their early warning system. For a lot of dogs, a growl is the last warning sign before they could be provoked to bite or attack, especially if they feel cornered and can’t retreat. If a dog is fearful or aggressive, you’ll often see other body language signals before you hear a growl. Photo by Elizabeth Tersigni / CC BY 2.0The last two reasons, fear and possessiveness, are the ones that usually cause that knee-jerk reaction inside of us to issue a correction. I’m scared, stressed or uncomfortable in this situation.I’m worried that you might take my food or toy away from me.I’m defending my yard or my spot on the couch.I’m unsure of the person that I see walking up the driveway.I heard something outside, but I’m not sure if it’s anything to be worried about.I’m hurting or don’t feel good and would like to be left alone.I’m having fun trying to wrestle this rope toy away from you.I was guilty of doing that with Haley when she was younger because it’s a common human reaction, but when I stopped to think about why Haley was growling and what she was feeling, I realized that she was only trying to communicate her feelings. Nobody wants their dog to growl at an innocent child and our first instinct is usually to swiftly correct the dog in order to send a message that we don’t like that behavior. There are good growls, like when a dog’s having fun playing tug-of-war and there are bad growls like when a dog growls at a young child. I admit, that’s a pretty broad question to answer because dogs growl for a lot of different reasons.
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