You freeze up, and your heart goes numb.
Your sweet, beloved dog is growling at you, your kid, or your other dog – and you fear the worst.
You fear that a devastating attack is underway. Your fear that your dog is vicious. When that growl rumbles in her throat, you can no longer recognize the loving, doting animal you brought into your home.
As human beings, fear of a growl is in our primal instincts.
When a bear growls, we run. When our very own dog growls… it’s somehow even scarier.
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That’s why we react so poorly.
We never want to hear that horrible sound again, so we scold the dog.
Some misled individuals react by confronting the dog and rolling her onto her back to “put her in her place.”
These reactions come from the gut. Sometimes, they “feel” right, because they do work to make the growling stop.
But scolding or punishing a dog for growling can lead to escalated aggression. This kind of reaction causes vicious attacks, broken families, and it means good dogs get put to sleep. This is a huge problem for dog owners everywhere.
What you must understand when your dog growls
Before you can learn to react properly to a growling dog, you first need to understand why your dog has chosen to communicate this way, and what she’s trying to say when she goes, “GRRR!”
Dogs growl for many reasons.
Some growls are harmless. Your dog might growl while you’re playing tug-o-war with her. Some dogs use a variety of rumbles and grumbles to “talk” to you. Talkative dog breeds like the Siberian husky, beagle, and Shetland Shepherd are known for their playful growls and happy noises. You know your dog better than anyone, so you can probably recognize a playful growl when you hear one.
Your dog might growl when you try to take away her food or toy, especially if it’s a particularly tasty, forbidden object. This is a sign of resource guarding.
She might also growl when your cousin’s baby is hugging her too hard.
She might growl when you’re trimming her nails, or giving her a bath.
She might growl at friendly visitors who dare approach your doorstep, or at people you meet when you’re out for a walk.
In all of these cases, the growling dog is feeling fear. She’s not angry. She’s not mean. She’s still the sweet dog you know and love. She’s just trying to communicate to change a situation that makes her uncomfortable.
Never punish your dog for growling
Growling is her polite way of saying, “Please stop. Please go away. Please.”
So many of us mistakenly ignore this polite but desperate cry for help. When we punish a dog for growling, we take away her only way to communicate. She’ll stop growling, but she won’t stop feeling scared.
If she’s not permitted to warn you with a growl, she’s unable to communicate how she feels. Her fear and tension builds. She will change the situation in the only way she can: by biting whoever is near.
The correct way to react when your dog growls is stop the situation.
Give her space. Allow her to cool down.
That’s the only way to remove the fear that is causing your dog to growl.
Counter-conditioning to prevent growling
Forget about trying to make your dog stop growling.
Instead, work on the underlying problem: the fear or discomfort that makes your dog growl.
The best way to do this is to create a positive association with whatever is scaring your dog.
This needs to be done slowly, or you might make her fear stronger.
Let’s say your dog growls at your tall, bearded brother-in-law, Jack.
When your dog first sees Jack, her body may stiffen. The fur on her back may spike up, and she might stare at him. As he gets closer, she may start to growl.
You’ll want to make your dog really, really happy in that split second before she starts to stiffen up.
The very moment she lays eyes on Jack, give her something rare and delicious. Meat, of course. Some unseasoned cooked chicken will do. Praise her, and make her tail wag.
Timing is everything. You want to prevent the fear so it doesn’t happen.
You don’t want to get to a point where you over-expose your dog to Jack too soon. He may only be able to approach her from 15 feet away when she begins to stiffen up. At that point, he shouldn’t get any closer. You’ll need to end the session if your dog is getting scared. Another sign that you’re doing too much, too soon: when your dog won’t accept even the yummiest of treats.
As your dog learns to associate Jack with something yummy, you can have him get closer and closer, even tossing chicken from a distance until she’s able to eat it out of his hand without a hint of fear.
When you should use this technique
You can use the same technique as in the example with Jack as you would with anything that makes your dog fearful: the vacuum cleaner, the nail trimmer – you can even use this technique to treat and prevent resource guarding.
You should not use this technique to force your dog into uncomfortable situations.
If your dog growls when your annoying niece hugs her too hard, you need to teach your niece to be gentle.
Dogs shouldn’t have to tolerate affection they don’t want. Teach every member of your family to look for signs that your dog wants to be petted, and signs that they need space.
Lastly, don’t bite off more than you can chew. It’s easy to mess up counterconditioning if you’re not fluent in your dog’s body language. If you’re ever in even the slightest doubt about whether you can safely handle the situation, contact a professional dog trainer. It’s worth keeping you, your dog and your family safe.
She also uses her pet copywriting business to make sure the best pet products and services get found online through catchy copy and fun, informative blog posts. She also provides product description writing services for ecommerce companies.
As a dog mom to Matilda and Cow, she spends most of her days taking long walks and practicing new tricks, and most nights trying to make the best of a very modest portion of her bed.
You'll also find her baking bread and making homemade pizza, laughing, painting and shopping.
Great post! This is such an important topic and I’m glad you touched on it. So many people punish the growl out of their dog and then wonder why the dog bites out of nowhere. It’s so sad and completely preventable!
Thanks Lauren! <3
This post is chuck full of really great and helpful information! I love the tip to help prevent growling – and it works!
Thanks so much Mattie!
My sweet dog has always been on the timid side. About a year ago she had an injury jumping for her ball. Since then she’s been extremely afraid of the slightest pain, screaming out even if she bumps into something. Lately she will growl on occasion if I go to lightly hug her, could this be because she afraid of being hurt or because she’s still having pain.? Her injury is permanent and she’s on medication, extremely low activity level and she’s not even 3 year’s old yet. I worry as she ages will it get worse? Should I just not hug her anymore ? She used to always love to be hugged and cuddled. We just want her to enjoy life to her fullest with her limited capabilities and not feel shes left out of things. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Great information, I’m sharing this with some people I know!
Thanks Beth! <3
This was a fantastic post! I have 3 Siberian Huskies, and you’re right, they are incredibly talkative and pretty much growl on a daily basis! But years ago, when I adopted my first husky, I didn’t realize just how talkative they were. When I first heard the growl, I acted exactly how you explained not to! Luckily I learned pretty quickly, but this information is ESSENTIAL for any dog owner or potential fog owner!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Great Post! My cattle dog sometimes growls and now i understand why.
Very interesting article. Our woofie cousin, Bandit, growls all the time when he’s playing.
My rescue Kilo the Pug has a lot of fears- strangers, dogs, the postman, theft of his treasures, invasion of his space. I am a big believe in CBT or counter conditioning. We have been working with trainers, but it is a very very slow process. It is not easy to get distance and timing right. It is very time-consuming and draining/depressing and you often don’t see results. We try to minimize triggers and listen for his warning signals.
Great article! I have a chihuahua/minpin mix named Jackalope, who is usually very friendly… Except when people try to approach my bedroom. Now, his crate is in here as well as his food and water. I’m fairly sure the underlying problem here is resource guarding, as he always moves to protect his bowls when people come into the room. And when they don’t leave, he moves on to the next step — ankle biting. I’ve tried everything you’ve mentioned in this article (i.e. making him extremely happy as they are approaching), but it doesn’t seem to be working. I’ve been doing it for months, and I can’t see any signs that he is lightening up. Do you (or anyone) have any suggestions before it gets worse? He’s a year old now, and I don’t want anyone to get seriously hurt just for visiting me in my bedroom. Also, he seems to be completely fine as long as everyone (and their feet) are on my bed, and not on the floor, if that helps any.
Hi Kelsey, thanks for sharing, Matilda’s the same kind of mix!
Have you ever tried moving Jackalope’s stuff out of your room, just temporarily until his behavior changes?
I would move his bowls to the kitchen, and give visitors permission to toss dog-appropriate goodies in there from a safe distance.
He may also be protective of his crate, or even you. Changing up his environment may help break the habits and fears he’s developed over people visiting your room.
This week I’ve got a post coming about resource guarding, though it’s pretty much the same thing – rewarding the dog as he’s triggered so he has positive associations.
This is a really wonderful post! I am very dog savvy and have worked with dogs for many years, but my sister’s dog has been troublesome when it comes to growling and recognizing aggression vs. simple communication. I am going to try giving her space because our thought was just exposing her to whatever the catalyst was all at once to condition her. I hope we didn’t make her worse! Thanks!
Hey Heather! Thanks so much.
I have another post coming this week about resource guarding, if that’s her trigger.
You’re right, overexposure could just flood her, making her more scared and causing her to bite.
Slow, slow progress with lots of yums – I hope she starts trusting you guys soon!
Great tips. I needed to read this. Sometimes Chuy will growl and I know I need to work on correcting this behavior.
Great article!!!
This is a terrific post! Thanks for sharing it.
This is great information. The only time my dog growls is when my son is bullying him.
I was so happy while reading this article!! In my opinion, this is one of the most valuable pieces of information you can give to dog owners! Majority of people who own dogs, even experienced dog owners, still punish their dogs for growling. It is so, so important to not do this. This blog is extremely informative and very well written. Awesome job!
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Any tips for a dog who growls almost constantly at everything and nothing at all? He growls at birds he hears outside, dogs far in the distance, growls and barks at the TV, when everyone is completely still and the only sound is music playing, barks when someone sets their phone down on the table, etc., etc.
My 3 yr old Jack Russell growls when tired, he didn’t appear sleepy this AM after he ate and when I picked him up off the couch to take him outside to go to the bathroom, he gave a small growl and stiffened up. I should have been paying more attention to his signals, but to calm him down, I leaned in to kiss him on the cheek and he nipped me. Didn’t break the skin, but I am absolutely devastated. If I didn’t go in for the kiss, this wouldn’t have happened.
When he growls like that, is it best to just walk away? I don’t want him to get the idea that he can get his way whenever he growls.
He doesn’t growl with his food, he does get mad when he has a toy that he doesn’t want to share with my other JRT, but this isn’t something that always happens. They play together often and sometimes share the same toy doing a tug of war. If we see signs of aggression, we take the toy away and all is fine.
Please help, I love my little guy & don’t want to be scared of him.
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that Gina, it’s awful to feel afraid of your own dog.
He could have been tired, he might have even been a little sore from playing too rough the day before, so when it comes down to it… you really do want your dog to be able to communicate when he doesn’t want to be picked up. That means you really do have to just walk away when he growls.
In the meantime, I’d really suggest seeking a trainer or behaviorist, once a dog does get close to biting, there’s always a chance of making it worse, unfortunately, without professional help. I’d suggest going through the APDT website to find someone reputable.
I just adopted a 2 yr old Chihuahua ,He is a little aggressive, I can’t put on his harness because he growls and barks, can’t pick him up either today I dropped a piece of chicken on the floor and when I went to pick it up he bit me on the thumb. if anyone can tell me how to get a harness on him I would really appreciate knowing. Thank You