Hopefully, you now recognize that you should never correct growling. It's either benign or a symptom of stress in your dog. If you punish your dog for growling, you will only inhibit growling. You won't have done anything to address the underlying issue.
You should never punish your dog for growling.
Growling is an essential part of a dog's language. When dogs growl, they are trying to communicate their stress about something happening in their environment. That could be them guarding a toy, seeing a stranger, or even just excited to see someone they know.
Threat or Fear
It is a warning growl that indicates their discomfort in a particular situation. For example, some dogs may suddenly growl when there are strangers or new people in your home because they may feel threatened and are being territorial.
Why Do Dogs Growl? Growling is one way your dog communicates with you. It growls to let you know that it's afraid, in pain, or needs for you to back away from its possessions or territory. Often your first instinct is to run from a growling dog or to punish it for growling.
Most dogs assume a neutral or submissive role toward people, but some dogs will challenge their owners for dominance. A dominant dog may stare, bark, growl, snap, or even bite when you give him a command or ask him to give up a toy, treat, or resting place.
Act like the alpha of the back and show him who is boss. Look him/her in the eye: When you give a command, look straight at your pet. Make sure he can see that you mean business and that it is not a command to be disobeyed. Always hold eye contact with your pet, no matter how big or small he or she is.
There are multiple reasons that a dog may exhibit aggression toward family members. The most common causes include conflict aggression, fear-based, defensive aggression, status related aggression, possessive aggression, food guarding aggression and redirected aggression.
Punishment of the growling behavior hinders your dog's ability to communicate how he's feeling and decreases his warning signals before a bite. Dogs that have been punished for growling or other aggressive warning signals may progress faster into a bite, and they may display fewer warning signs.
For a dog who is acting out of fear or frustration (for example, a dog who is barking and lunging on leash), using the word 'no' to stop the behavior without helping to alleviate their fear or frustration will often lead to an escalation in behavior, such as growling, air snapping, or biting.
Anxiety. In addition to vocalizing pain, dogs also growl as their means to scare away people or animals when they feel anxious or fearful. Your dog's tense demeanor every time you pick him up might stem from a traumatic event. For example, you or other members of the family might have lost grip while holding the dog.
If a dog that has never shown any sign of aggression suddenly begins growling, snapping, or biting, it may be caused by a disease or illness. Pain is an especially common cause of aggression in dogs. 1 Your suddenly aggressive dog may have an injury or an illness that's causing major discomfort and stress.
It simply means they're having a great time. Your dog might even growl during a particularly pleasing cuddle or patting session. Many dogs growl talk to communicate contentment or as a greeting. These types of growls simply indicate happiness.
The safest and most effective way to treat an aggression problem is to implement behavior modification under the guidance of a qualified professional. Modifying a dog's behavior involves rewarding her for good behavior—so you'll likely be more successful if your dog enjoys praise, treats and toys.
Building trust with your dog shouldn't be complicated or overwhelming. Take time to do enjoyable things for your dog each and every day, and quickly you will see their trust in you improve! And of course, whenever any trust is broken be sure to take the extra time and effort to build it back up.
Make the dog work.
From a dominant dog's perspective, it's the top dog in your home. Correct that point of view through obedience training. Teach them to follow your commands before receiving rewards, praise, or affectionate gestures like belly rubs, and be consistent with this approach.
Dogs emit two primary growls: one for play and one for all other times when dogs are angry, a study confirms.
Growling – Sometimes dogs will growl during play, but these growls are accompanied with loose, relaxed body language. When growling is followed by any of the above behaviors, or is a deep and low, it may be a sign of aggressive behavior that needs to be addressed.
The most common reasons dogs growl are fear, possession aggression, territoriality, and pain. Some dogs also growl when playing. Play growling is often seen when two dogs are having a safe, healthy play session. In this case, the growling does not necessarily indicate aggression.
For the dog, it is often a way of telling you to stay away, or you may get bit. Often, it will be a slight mumble that may escalate to baring teeth and biting if the warning is not taken seriously. In other cases, the growl is just a symptom of fear, a way for him to protect himself from a threat.