[jrijr]

I have three dogs (as seen in the signature). Mom Georgie is 5.5 years old, and her two pups (Grace and Beef) will be three this month.

All the dogs have been fixed (for more than a year). All three dogs are very loving to people - tails wagging, tongues flopping, etc. They are well behaved for me. Grace and Beef also love to play hard - rolling and tumbling on one another as they blast out of the house in the morning.

The doggy daycare I take them to, however, seems to have a different perspective on things. Yesterday I went to pick the dogs up and Beef was in a kennel by himself, and obviously wanting to be part of the group play. I asked why he was isolated, and was told he was growling at other male dogs. From what I was told, this isn't the first time for it... but it was the first time I have seen Beef segregated from the other dogs.

I have occasionally noticed Beef trying to "grab" me or others by placing a wrist or arm in his mouth. He's never bitten anyone, but it does appear that he could. There are a few other male dogs in our neighborhood, and there has never been an altercation. And, the dog facility where I take the dogs for boarding when I am out of town (different from the daycare) has never shared this issue as well. Last - I often take the dogs to a local dog park where they can run with other pups. I've never had an issue there.

Obviously I need to have a conversation with someone on the team at doggy daycare, and determine exactly what's going on. However, I have a few questions:

* Would training possibly help with this issue?
* Beyond the neutering, is there something else that would help tamp the concern?
* Should I discourage any rough playing with my dogs when we are at home?
* Any other thoughts/ideas/discussion?

Thank you (in advance) for any thoughts!

 

[FaithFurMom09]

My 2 males have lived together since we brought them home. They had no, ZERO issues until we moved into this house. Then all of a sudden they got into a nasty fight and we had to separate them. I called a rescue to ask what to do ( i trust this rescue and their opinion but i also asked the vet). Now in our case opie wasnt neutered and that would solve part of the problem. Done. They arent best friends, even still but they arent mortal enemies either. It is a training issue as well. Training Opie that he has a place in the house too but its not above anyone else and rewarding GOOD behavior and separating at the sign of bad. Crate at growling before it turns into something more. Treat at playing well together and tails wagging.

Im not an expert but thats worked for us.

 

[sassafras]

I think they really need to give you more information about the growling.

Does he play growl? When my three younger dogs all get going in a big game of chase/wrestle/keepaway they sound like they are leading a prison riot.

Is he resource guarding? - Probably not a good candidate for daycare w/toys
Did someone crash into him and he growled? - Fair IMO

You just need more information.

 

[hanksimon]

I agree with Sass that you need more info, but you might need to observe or get a video to get the entire picture. Beef may have played roughly, was misunderstood and 'threatened' another dog, who then growled, so Beef growled back.

Also, try to find out if any of the other dogs are intact.

 

[jrijr]

Thanks for all the comments, everyone. I will be having a talk with the team next week.

Yesterday I received pictures of Beef playing with other dogs, so I know he was "out and about" during the day. Hopefully we can get this resolved.

 

[sandgrubber]

Agree on needing more info. I used to have a Lab at the boarding kennel that growled at other dogs because for some reason many of them wanted to hump him, and he got fed up with it.
Wrist grabbing is part of being a mouthy breed. While it's teeth, it isn't really biting. It's more like a kid grabbing you with his hands . . . but the dog doesn't have hands. I've had a few Lab pups who did this . . . usually stopped at two or three years.

 

[seaboxador]

Just an FYI, neutering really doesn't mean anything. It doens't mean that a dog will be calm, better socialized, etc. It doesn't mean any behavior will change. You don't explicitly say this, but given your facination with spreading the word about it I thought I'd make sure you understood.

It's hard to say without knowing the dog and how it was socialized. A trainer can usually help with most things though the effectiveness with an adult dog isn't the same as with a puppy.

 

[FaithFurMom09]

Just an FYI, neutering really doesn't mean anything. It doens't mean that a dog will be calm, better socialized, etc. It doesn't mean any behavior will change. You don't explicitly say this, but given your facination with spreading the word about it I thought I'd make sure you understood.

It's hard to say without knowing the dog and how it was socialized. A trainer can usually help with most things though the effectiveness with an adult dog isn't the same as with a puppy.

Thats not true at all. Neutering CAN help in these type of situations, along with other measures.

and youre tune came across kind of rude!

 

[AllisonH17]

As someone who works at a doggy day care, it's really not a big deal for a dog to go in a crate. Like it means nothing. Unless they pulled you aside and say "hey your dog was a holy terror today" I would not worry about it.

He probably got tired and growled so they put him in a crate. It very well could have been for his benefit to be in a crate. Dogs go in and out of crates all day long. If I had to explain every time I put a dog in a crate why I did it, I'd probably quit.

 

[luv mi pets]

As someone who works at a doggy day care, it's really not a big deal for a dog to go in a crate. Like it means nothing. Unless they pulled you aside and say "hey your dog was a holy terror today" I would not worry about it.

He probably got tired and growled so they put him in a crate. It very well could have been for his benefit to be in a crate. Dogs go in and out of crates all day long. If I had to explain every time I put a dog in a crate why I did it, I'd probably quit.

I agree. It could be he was just having an off day and really did not want to play. A dog growling is just a way of communication. I have been known to 'growl' at some of my co-workers when I just do not feel good or am tired. He could of been sore. At least the employees put him in a safe place and did not wait for a fight to break out to solve the problem.