My Puppy's Started Growling....

amadison

I recently got a 5-month old pure bred Cairn Terrier. He is a beautiful dog and verrry friendly. There are only a couple people he doesn't like, and usually they're strangers...

Today, he's been acting very "grumpy." He growls at anyone who tries to touch him, unless it's me - even people he knows! He doesn't try to bite anyone, and he'll stop growling if you hand him over to someone. But he has a VERY mean growl!!

Is this going to be a problem? How should I discipline him? I tell him "no" when he growls and he stops for awhile, but he's still visibly pissed... I don't know what to do... =/

Reina

Is he feeling okay? If this just really started up today, it might be a health issue. I know the few times my dog has been grumpy and growly (he even went as far as snapping at the cats, which he has only done once in his six years at our house!) he had a bad stomach ache and was in pain. If he's not growling at you, I suggest checking him for anything abnormal like bumps, swelling, cuts, etc or abnormal behaviour other than his growling, like excessive grass eating or chewing.

Of course, it might not be a health issue. He may have just learned "oh, people leave me alone when I growl!" Sometimes just one hand jerking away when they growl can teach them the horrible habit. It does sound like he might be acting possessive over you...

I cannot really give you many tips on how to get rid of this, but hopefully someone else can.

TooneyDogs

Sounds like a normal socialization issue. That socialization with strangers is often a life-long process. In the meantime, there are no corrections. You teach him to associate good things happening with strangers not bad.

ckiggins

As a follow-up to this question - I am experiencing something somewhat similar with our 10-week old beagle.

Over the last week or so she has started growling if we try to pick her up to go outside or go somewhere if she has been sleeping or just generally is disinterested in moving her little butt.

This does not happen all the time, just usually if she wants to stay laying down or if she was just woken up. She does not growl if you try to take a toy away from her or anything else.

I want to nip this in the bud QUICKLY, as I don't want my dog growling at me, or even worse, trying to bite me when she doesn't want to do something.

She is very gregarious and happy otherwise - it's just when she doesn't want to move she makes her displeasure known!

Cracker

Growling is a form of communication and can mean several different things..the most common is "leave me alone" as I'm not awake yet, or I'm in pain, or I'm frightened but it can also mean I'm excited, play with me, I want to kill my stuffy toy etc.
A lot depends on the situation and the individual dog. Growling is, therefore, not a BAD thing, it a sign for you, the human to interpret and find a way to work it out with the dog.
If the beagle puppy, for example, only growls when it's just woken up, I would give it some time to wake up before attempting moving it etc (there is a reason for the adage "let sleeping dogs lie"). Think about human babies for a moment..when they first wake up from a nap are the all sweetness and light? NOPE. Takes a while for them to get their bearings. Puppies are undergoing a lot of physical changes and sleep is very important for them.
As for the Cairn...This is a sudden thing so I would also think first that he's uncomfortable for some reason, physically. Second, many pups go through a fear stage at about six months where things that normally don't bother them are a bit discomfitting. If handling is an issue, then use food to condition handling to be a good thing, don't force interaction with other people and let the dog approach on his own time. If he doesn't like being picked up (many dogs don't) condition him gradually so that the learns to LIKE it. Feed a goodie and touch, feed a goodie and touch his stomach, feed a goodie and lift him a fraction off the floor etc, gradually building up.

I still think a physical check over is where to start. Check his ears, belly, lower back and feet for pain.