Thanks for responding and happy that you were led to positive training and counter conditioning! I personally would leave well enough alone. It sounds like you’ve made good progress with your canine kid and I wouldn’t want to teach a dog to growl (unless it was to be used as a trick and with a dog how had no former behavior issues and no punishment associated with a growl). Perhaps teach your dog to “bark” on cue, train it positively, make it fun, put the “bark” on a very subtle body language cue (finger scratch to chin) and then cue your dog to bark when you’re uncertain of the stranger. Thanks for having your dog’s best interest at heart.

But I really wish I knew how to restore her healthy growl — what a help it would be in bad situations that still come up if strangers could hear her growl and back off the way they used to. I would reward her for growling but I can barely even induce a play growl during tug anymore. Do you have any advice for retraining her to growl?

Hi Ree, No mat­ter what the clas­si­fi­ca­tion of aggres­sion, the under­ly­ing cause is stress. Even before address­ing an individual issue with a dog who is growling/biting, I always rec­om­mend a vet visit with a full med­ical work up, which includes a full thyroid panel (even borderline low thyroid can cause behavior issues. Rul­ing out any med­ical issue is impor­tant before address­ing a spe­cific issue with a dog. I have a multi-pronged approach to mod­i­fy­ing behav­ior which is man­ag­ing the envi­ron­ment so the dog is unable to prac­tice the unwanted behav­ior (supervise, supervise, and supervise some more when children are involved), remov­ing stres­sors, behav­ior mod­i­fi­ca­tion to help a dog become more com­fort­able with the par­tic­u­lar stressor/trigger and pos­i­tive train­ing. Qual­ity food is cer­tainly impor­tant, just as it is with us humans. I don’t know exactly what you mean by “turning it into a game.” If Ozzie is uncomfortable and likes to protect his space, it’s important to help hem change his feeling about that and there’s a systematic way to go about that. I certainly do distance consults, though I would imagine I could refer you to a trainer skilled in behavior who could assist you to help Ozzie. Let me know your zip code and I’ll take look at who I might know in your area. You should buy the book “Living With Kids and Dogs Without Losing Your Mind, by Colleen Pelar. Thanks for seeking help for Ozzie. Here’s another blog post you’ll find helpful: /blog/training-tips/strategies-to-prevent-dog-bites

Hi Darlene,

You certainly have several situations which should be addressed to help the dogs in your care become comfortable with one another. Keeping them separated until you can get some professional assistance is a smart move. No matter what the classification of aggression, the underlying cause is stress. Even before addressing the individual issues with each dog, I always recommend a vet visit with a full medical work up. Ruling out any medical issue is important before addressing a specific issue with a dog. I have a multi-pronged approach to modifying behavior which is managing the environment so the dog is unable to practice the unwanted behavior, removing stressors, behavior modification to help a dog become more comfortable with the particular stressor/trigger and positive training. Quality food is certainly important, just as it is with us humans. Muzzling w/o desensitizing the dog to the muzzle only adds an additional layer of stress. You could certainly use the help of a skilled trainer who is also schooled in behavior modification and one who does private sessions. There’s no quick fix or magic button, though with the right behavior modification program and the slow and consistent application of that program, most all dogs can make progress. If you’re East of Franklin, are you closer to Asheville than us? If so, then I can certainly recommend someone in Asheville who you could travel to see who could help.

You’re welcome, Katherine. It’s so important to learn to ready dog body language and stress signals, so that you for being a good observer. Learning dog body language and stress signals helps us keep our dogs more comfortable and will also help us know to when to intervene and redirect.

My sister has an Akita who plays with my Bostons. The first time she heard the Akita talking to the littler of the Bostons, she thought he was in danger. She wondered why I was just sitting there smiling, as she raced over to break things up. The Akita has such a deep rumbling voice, that her play voice sounds menacing. The body language and the tone of voice all said relaxed play, but all she heard was the deep voice. Her business growl (which is rare to be heard) makes my hair stand on end. So glad I’m part of her pack.

Hi Rosemary, I know how unsettling it is when there’s discourse between dogs in the home. In your situation, because you’re only now experiencing some aggression with Tasha who is 15 years old, I would make an appointment with your veterinarian. I recommend that a senior dog who has a sudden change in behavior, especially aggression, see a vet as soon as possible to have a thorough checkup, a full blood panel and a full thyroid panel. There could be a variety of medical reasons for the sudden displays. However, in the interim, I would also ask you to seek the counsel of a positive trainer who has behavior experience who can help you implement some sound management techniques so the dogs are prevented from getting into scuffles and who can help you with some training strategies. Let me know your zip code and I’ll try to find a trainer near you I can refer.

Alice, Whether the growl is directed at you or someone else the steps to take are the same. In this case it seems that even the word bath brings on an negative response so the first step is just don’t use the word. After that it’s a process of counter conditioning to help her learn to tolerate, even enjoy bath time. The process isn’t fast but with consistency and time you can get there. If you are not in our immediate area let us know and we’ll be happy to refer you to a qualified positive reinforcement trainer skilled in behavior modification who can work with you to make bath time less stressful.

Yes play growling is very common and by some often confused. Our own dogs tend to do some growling during play. The key is in the context, what else is going, on and what is the rest of the dog’s body language telling us.

Hi Joanne, indeed many people confuse “play growling” with an aggression. We also have one dog who is quite vocal when he plays. And as you point out, it’s always important to ready the body language of both dogs to make sure they’re both comfortable. Even if one dog is “play growling” the other could perceive it as threatening. If that were the case, then a more suitable playmate might be a better idea. Sounds like you’re having some fun with your dog!

Sounds like you’re on a lovely path to helping Foster. Click and Treat to you! We hope you can join us sometime for some fun learning! http://www.coldnosecollege.com/education Keep up the great work.