# My puppy growls



## Katiesmommy

Katie growled at me also today. I had her outside going potty and she was yanking really hard at my pant leg and growling. Quite scary..I know what your going through. I reccomend keep telling him/her...no. Goldens I hear are smart and they learn fast


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## LauraEyes2

I would start to correct this behavior NOW while he is only 13 weeks old. You may want to start puppy kindergarten classes and start with some basic obedience training to start.

It sounds like your dog is trying to protect his boundaries (his bed, his food, etc). You need to enforce that you are the boss and not him. Firmly yell NO at the start of any growling and do not back off as though you are intimidated by him.

As for food and toys. Practice picking up his food bowl mid-dinner and then give it back to him a few minutes later. The same with toys, treats, etc. He'll soon learn that if you take things from him, he'll eventually get them back, and that you're not competition for his dinner. But most importantly, he'll learn that you are the alpha dog in the pack.

If you've ever seen wolves (in the zoo, television, etc), the alpha dog in the pack always gets to eat the caught dinner first. Any other pack members who come near the alpha dog while he/she eats will get growled/snapped at or furthermore attacked. Essentially that's how food-aggressive dogs see it. You're not allowed to have their food/treat until they say so.

This should be taken seriously, since if your dog is truly showing signs of aggressive behavior at 13 weeks of age, it could potentially escalate into further problems down the road. Especially considering you have kids.

Steps to take to help dominance issues with a dog:
1. Start obedience training and ensure they learn to listen to you (this can mean getting a few good dog training books/videos or enrolling in training lessons professionally)
2. Make your dog "earn" everything they get. Make them sit before their food bowl goes down. Make them do a trick before giving them a treat/bone. Make them heel when you go for a walk. Etc. They eventually learn that nothing in life is free and they need to work to earn the fun things.
3. Don't let him sit on the couch/bed with you. As cuddly as they are, if you're trying to establish dominance, you need to make sure they know where they stand in the pack. Letting them stay in "your den" can sometimes loosen the dominance boundaries. (definitely not the cause of it because i know many people, including myself, who share the bed with their goldens with no problems--but if the problem already exists, it might be a precaution to take).
4. If the dog is showing aggressive behavior towards your kids, beyond playful growling or play biting, ensure that your kids aren't doing any teasing or roughhousing that might provoke aggressive behavior. 

Good luck, keep us posted with how things go!


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## LauraEyes2

By the way, welcome to the forum. Where in PA are you from?


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## LaurJen

kcassidy said:


> Hi everyone, I am a new golden retriever owner and a first time dog owner as well.
> My puppy is 13 weeks old now and Im a little worried that he is going to be a bit grumpy.
> He growls at my kids if they pet him when he is sleeping, growls at anyone who comes near him when he has a pigs ear, growls at my husband when he corrects him.
> I thought goldens were good natured dogs, why is he doing this?
> Has anyone else's puppy exhibited these behaviors? What should I do about it? Will it ever leave?
> Any info would be greatly appreciated.


Hi and welcome to the forum 

I agree with everything LauraEyes said. It's not going to go away on it's own--you have to nip this in the bud right now or you are going to have a real problem on your hands. Goldens are good natured, but some are more dominant/aggressive than others, so you might have to do more work with your puppy than someone else would have to. Do a search on this issue here on the forum (it's a common problem) and stick around so we can help you


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## LaurJen

Katiesmommy said:


> Katie growled at me also today. I had her outside going potty and she was yanking really hard at my pant leg and growling. Quite scary..I know what your going through. I reccomend keep telling him/her...no. Goldens I hear are smart and they learn fast


I think in your case that's just play growling  Of course she should be discouraged from yanking on your pants leg, but it's not in the same category as a dog who growls at you because you approached him while he was eating.


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## Brandy's Mom

For some reason, pig's ears are extremely problematic and will cause many otherwise gentle dogs to become possessive and aggressive. They aren't allowed in my house.


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## Katiesmommy

LaurJen said:


> I think in your case that's just play growling  Of course she should be discouraged from yanking on your pants leg, but it's not in the same category as a dog who growls at you because you approached him while he was eating.


I always say no and tap her lightly on the nose.


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## Lucky's mom

The advice above is excellent. Lucky had his growly days starting at about 13 weeks. We kept this issue top of mind, dealt with it head-on and found every opportunity to establish our leadership.

He is such a great dog with my kids now. This is a pretty common issue, just needs training and strong guidence.


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## kcassidy

I am approximately 45 minutes east of Pittsburgh, close to Greensburg, Delmont, Murrysville, etc.

We vacation in Stone Harbor NJ every year so I am somewhat familar with Philly.

Thanks for all of your good advice. I have become very stern with him and I am teaching my children how to be stern with him also. I hope that he starts to learn his role in our family shortly. He is a good dog otherwise.

I will keep you posted. Thanks again


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## RickGibbs

LaurJen said:


> I think in your case that's just play growling  Of course she should be discouraged from yanking on your pants leg, but it's not in the same category as a dog who growls at you because you approached him while he was eating.


I was thinking the same thing....sounds playful to me..


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## FlyingQuizini

Be very careful about correcting for growling. Yes, you need to change the behavior, but think of it this way: Growling is a form of communication. It's the dog's way of saying, "I'm unfomfortable with, or don't like what you're doing. Please stop." Growling also predicts biting. When the growling works, the dog has no need to bite. Growling works b/c we usually back off when a dog growls. Suddenly, we stop backing off and look to "correct" the dog. Now he has to escalate his communication to the next level, which involves his teeth.

I've seen many cases where well-meaning owners try to punish the growling out of their dog and in the end, they just end up with a dog that bites, but now w/o the benefit of the growl as a warning.

If I were you, I'd hook up with a reward based trainer. He can be systematically desensitized to handling and being startled by the kids; pigs ears should be removed anyway, etc.

Find someone to help you fix it now, before this dog bites your kids.

Try the Association of Pet Dog Trainers if you need a referral for a positive trainer. Please don't use a choke chain, shock collar, etc. It will make it worse.

-Stephanie


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## Lucky's mom

There is a couple of schools of thought on the growling. I myself will not let the dog growl at me or the kids because he's guarding a bone or food and I won't back off. I believe Lucky understands that its the guarding that is the issue...not the growl. 

But once when Lucky wasn't feeling well or maybe he was tired, a kid irritated him...messing with his nose ...being obnoxious...and Lucky growled at him. NOt a vicious growl...just a rumble of irritation. I guess I saw that as communication. I would have growled to. And I felt it warrented. I didn't scold Lucky but the kid got a scolding.


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## Breezy

I'm new here - Hi everyone 

My puppy is 15 weeks and was the dominant dog in his litter of 3 males. An effective way of letting him know where he stands in our pack (the bottom) has been to turn him upside down on the ground on his back and hold him there saying "settle" until he relaxed. I also try to make eye contact with him while he is upside down to ensure he gets it that he's not in control. 

He also has to sit wait a couple seconds to eat after I put his bowl down and I'll also briefly take the bowl away from him and ask him to wait. He gets fed after our older golden. When coming in from the outside, I come in first, then the older dog then he comes in last. 

Good luck


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## PeggyK

I think Laura's advice was right on target. And I would NEVER stand for a dog of mine growling at anyone. They need to be taught immediately that they are low man on the totem pole. They need to learn nothing in life is free. I would remove all treats like pig ears until you are satisfied that they will not cause this behavior. Obedience classes should be started and I would not allow him to be unsupervised with young children until you can correct this behavior. I'm sure you'll be able to correct this problem before it escalates. Good luck.


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## LibertyME

How old are your children? 

In addition to the above suggestions, I would remove anything of 'high value' to the dog...pigs ears, favorite toys etc....Perhaps even going as far as taking up all the toys -so you can manage his access to the things he likes...

CLOSELY supervise play between the kids and the pup...high pitched noisey play form children and fast movement can reallly stimulate a pup...

Dogs do what works - if growling works to keep his toy or food to himself- he will continue to growl. 

A 13 week old pup is getting to be a bit 'full of himself' finding his place in his world ususally with assertiveness.... playgrowling can be loud and quite assertive (as in playing with other pups or tugging (as in pantlegs)), but when there is a favorite object or food involved....IMO its time to come up with a behavior plan.

A 13 week old can and should certainly be on the NILIF plan... it can calm an asserrive dog and create confidence in a shy dog...

Sure Goldens can be, and most are, great family pets, but ususally with lots of structure, guidance, exercise and training for at least the first couple of years....I have a Golden that I will never trust with kids under about 10 years old. Even then they have to be pretty dog savy 10 year olds. And one that I would trust with a screechy, hairpulling, two year old. Although I would never put my Girl in that situation....

Your pup should be able to attend puppy classes by 16 weeks - I would start interviewing trainers with puppy classes that have an interest in assertive dog managment. Video tape examples of problem moments for your trainer...it will help him/her assess the severity of the situation and see if your corrections are effective..

You may find that stern doesn't work as well as distraction and trading - I would be cautious teaching a child how to give a stern correction. As the pup may find the correction to be a challenge and decide to participate in one-ups-manship... i.e. - if you dont repsond to my growl, maybe you will to my bite...

This is not insurmountable, but it should be taken serioulsy..

Hang in there....and come up with your plan!


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## monomer

There is lots of good advice being given in this thread but there are somethings I'd like to emphasize or elaborate on and a couple points I don't actually agree with so...

Do not base your assertiveness on volume... yelling will get your pup's attention, initially, but you will keep having to up the volume to get the same reaction, and even that has its limits. Rather 'project' your dominance by your attitude and behavior.

Nothing In Life Is Free... is a wonderful concept use to establish pack order in a non-threatening manner... if you are not familiar with this concept then by all means do a search on this forum (as so much has already been discussed on this topic) and on the larger internet, it will be well worth your while.

Being consistent and persistant in your corrections will get you far better results than simply administering punishment at escalating levels in an attempt at speeding up the learning or behavior modification process. The latter method is how some really dangerous dogs are unintentionally created.

If you are having aggressive growling problems over food, toys, special treats... simply avoiding the situations (by removing these items, etc) is NOT how you solve anything. At best the showdown is merely postponded to another time, location, or object... and most assuredly with a much larger, more powerful dog. Think of these disputed items as providing you with the opportunities to deal with the problem and get it resolved now... face it head-on. Again, do a forum search on such things as food or resource guarding, food or toy aggression, etc ...there has been lots of good detailed advice on dealing with these not uncommon situations.

Never leave young children alone with any dog no matter how docile the dog. Its for the dog's protection as much as the child's. A short version of an incident that occurred several years ago (the long version can be found by searching the forum)... basically a wonderful Dalmation was put to 'sleep' because of an incident where he bit a 3-year old on the index finger and the bite drew some blood (no stitches, we're talking a few drops when squeezed)... it happened behind a couch with no other witnesses other than the 3-year old. Of course the dog could not tell his side of the story, ...who knows it could've went like this: maybe he was sleeping soundly and suddenly had a finger thrusted in his eye. Then when a vet was consulted, he said the dog should be put down (of course he would say that, really what else could he say, he's got a liability issue to worry about... a dead dog cannot possibly bite ever again and thus this 'professional opinion' is the only one that can assure he will never have a future law suit stemming from his recommendation). Bottomline is a dog was killed on a 3-year old's description of events.

The alpha roll is only acceptable if you really believe you can physically handle your dog in this manner... remember your face, neck and hands are awefully close to his teeth. Also if you ever find you fear your dog in these physical situations at all, he will sense it and may take advantage, in which case you will be worse off than before. In fact, if you can't 'feel' and radiate your dominance during tense challenges then you should really seek the advice and help of a professional rather than attempt to use 'strong-armed' physical solutions. I would highly recommend the non-confrontational NILIF method to establish your dominance.

Though obedience training sounds like a natural solution, I personally don't believe its necessary and with some types of obedience training even inppropriate given your puppy's young age. You can guide them in puppy play or lure them into a sit or to come or heeling but a structured class is not necessary to do this unless you are completely clueless. I think formal obedience should be put off until the puppy is closer to a year of age... but that might be another thread in itself.

Finally... I've not heard this one yet so I will have to say it... EXERCISE! Make sure your puppy is getting lots of free-play exercise sessions throughout the day... to the point where he quits. And at 13-weeks you should be 'heeling' him around the block or the park once a day.


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