Why does my dog growl at me?

[tippim1]

We have a 5yr old Golden R that we got about 8 months ago. She is a very good and mild dog, almost never barks even. If my wife goes to bed first and I follow later the dof lays in the bedroom or at the door and growls or even barks when I come in. Sometimes it seems like she might actualy try to bite me. This is the only time it happens, she is friendly to me otherwise. She occasionally will growl a very little at our 2 yr old if she is pestering the dog too much but she grows much more agressively with me. I started feeding her to see if this might change her attitude but no luck so far. Any thoughts or ideas?

[lil_fuzzy]

My dog will bark at my hubby when he comes in from the garage, even if my dog and I are at the other end of the house. As soon as she hears him step through the door, she barks and growls. She will instantly calm down once she realises who it is. So maybe your dog is just alerting your wife of a possible intruder? Does she calm down once she realises it's you?

[ThoseWordsAtBest]

It sounds to me like your dog is resource guarding the room. Does your wife ever go to bed after you do and notices the same behavior?

[JiveDadson]

I don't know about the bedroom, but you need to be extremely mindful of the two year old. Growling is a warning. Heed it.

[Independent George]

I wonder if she might have a vision problem - maybe she doesn't recognize you in the dark? Actually, is there a hall light on behind you when you enter the bedroom? If so, your dark silhouette might be scaring her.

[JiveDadson]

Do you step over the dog or cause it to get up from its comfy spot when you come in the room? Dogs don't like that. You could teach him the cue, "Excuse me."

[Cracker]

I agree with the others, in general there is not enough information. Dogs growl as a warning and it should be respected at all times...while you figure out the why and work out a way, through management and training to prevent the dog from feeling the NEED to growl.

It may be resource guarding of the room, it may be she is startled by your appearance (lighting, sound etc can make a dog uncomfortable).

If you can let us know:
Is this behaviour NEW or recent? If so, have there been any changes in the home environment? (people coming and going, renos, new pets etc that could be stressing her out).

What does she LOOK LIKE when you appear at the door. Do you see the whites of her eyes? What is her body language like (ears, eyes, body direction, tail)? Does this only happen when your wife is already in bed or does it occur at other times? How is the dog with you in general? Do you feed/walk/participate in training etc?

Regarding your two year old. No child under the age of at LEAST 7 years (older for boys) should ever be left unattended/unsupervised with a dog, any dog, regardless of age or breed. It is not safe, children can inadvertently injure the dog and trigger a bit. Kid pays, dog pays. Not a good idea.

[tippim1]

Thanks for all the responses. I dont know the answer to all your questions, I will have to observe more closely. Last night I took a treat up to her and that seemed to help but dont know if this is a good habit to get into.

[Cracker]

Thanks for all the responses. I dont know the answer to all your questions, I will have to observe more closely. Last night I took a treat up to her and that seemed to help but dont know if this is a good habit to get into.

This was a good instinct, so don't worry about it being a habit. IF she IS resource guarding (whether it's the room or your wife) conditioning her to know you are not a threat and she gets a reward for being calm and moving away from the "guardee" is a good thing. Resource guarding behaviour modification is BASED in rewarding the dog when someone approaches the thing they are worried about. Remember you are not 'rewarding' the behaviour, you are CONDITIONING the dog to accept your approach. Two totally different things. Eventually, you can put an "excuse me" (get out of the way, nicely) or "go to your bed" on cue and work on it that way, but for now, teaching her that you are not a threat is number one.