Don’t Punish the Growl!

Dogs growl because something upsetting them is too close. If we punish a dog for informing us of this, they are still upset, but now they're not letting us know, thus allowing scary things to get closer to the dog. There may be a bite if that scary thing is a hand or a face, and we want to avoid that!

When we punish dogs for growling, they may need to escalate to a snarl, snap, or bite. In some cases, dogs will go straight to a bite. Now we have a dog who bites without warning. This is a serious matter!

When your dog growls, ask yourself what happened immediately before the growl.

• Were you petting them?

• Did you take a chew or toy away?

• Perhaps you walked close to their food bowl at mealtime.

• Watch the trend. Is growling increasing in frequency?

We can help a dog be more comfortable around what they're growling at so they're not motivated to make it go away in the first place. We can also practice prevention and avoid the situation in the future.

Try not to take growling personally! Our dogs experience a range of emotions communicated in the only ways they have. We can build mutual respect by learning our dog's signals and responding to them with love, patience, and science-based understanding.