Intermittent Growling

I have had my SBT, Alfie, for about 8 or 9 months. I got him at about a year/year and a half old from a friend of a relative who was wanting to rehome him due to being unable to look after him and her young child.

Anyway, overall he has been superb. He's very affectionate, good with other dogs and people and just generally very laid back. I've contacted a dog behaviourist recently for help with one or two other things; nothing major - just for tips on how to get him used to our cat and to try and calm him down when he sees other dogs out on walks.

However, over the last few days he's been growling intermittently for no obvious reason. For example, he's just been sitting on the couch with me just now and then he sat up and started growling and I have no idea why. I try and tell him nicely to settle down and then he'll growl a little bit again and then he'll stop. He doesn't show any signs of aggression. He just growls and this occasionally develops into a few barks. He doesn't even seem to be looking at anything. At first I thought it was maybe because he'd thought he'd heard the door, or seen the cat at the window but it's happening sporadically without any obvious trigger. This has happened a few times as I say including in the middle of the night last night.

I take him out for about 20 minutes in the morning before work and about 45 minutes in the evening. During the day while I'm at work he has a dog walker take him out for an hour. I try to take him on different routes just to keep him mentally stimulated and has plenty of toys to play with in the house but I'm wondering if he should be taken out more and if he's just bored?

Ultimately I have no idea why he's growling these days. Up until it started I could count on one hand the amount of times I had heard him growl or bark but now he's doing it daily even when I'm here. Anybody any ideas?

Tough one. It sounds like he's hearing something he doesn't like, but what it is, I've no idea!

I can't help with the cat, either - I've never had one.

Is it only when he's at home?

Yeah, only at home.

He had a bark at a guy a few doors along from me a couple of months ago but it was dark and the guy was dressed head to toe in black so I put it down to him getting a little fright.

When he's out he doesn't do it. He doesn't even bark or growl at other dogs, just that high pitched squeal which I'm told a lot of Staffies do when excited.

I'll send another email to the dog behaviourist but I just thought I'd ask on here first. I'm not sure if it's a big deal or not as, like I said, he doesn't seem to be aggressive with it.

Dempsey does the same thing sometimes, but we just put it down to him hearing something that we can't.

There must be something in or near the house making a noise only he can hear, is my guess...

That's what I was thinking Caryll but it has just come on all of a sudden. For 8 months previous I had hardly heard a growl or a bark out of him.

Nothing has changed really that I can think of and we have two other dogs who don't appear to react when he does.

It certainly has me flummoxed.

If you are telling him nicely then you are probably unknowingly praising him and he has clicked on that these noises get him attention.

Next time he does it say NO and if he does it again remove him from the room and let him back in a few mins later and if he starts it again remove again etc etc

If he becomes aggressive then you will need to seek professional help.

Good point Hayley, I had never even considered that maybe being the case.

I'll give it a go.

Tommy will just jump up in the middle of the night sometimes and go berserk with the growling and barking , he must hear something but I don't know what , remember their sense of hearing is far far better than ours

Cheers Dave, it has only confused me because it's not normal for him. Also, because the other two dogs fail to react to whatever it is he is reacting too I was just wondering if it was specifically something to do with him.

I'll keep an eye on it and try telling him a bit more sternly in future. We'll see how it goes and if it keeps happening I'll get back in touch with the behaviourist.

Thanks for all your comments guys, much appreciated!

maybe dreaming? lol
buck often barks in his sleep with his mouth closed (cutest sound ever)
then he'll wake up and quietly half bark/growl a little at nothing in particular then settle back down.

Haha, he does it in his sleep as well mate so he must be replaying the day's events in his dreams.

Nah, he's doing it every so often for no reason during the day. Another thing I was reading said that it could be attention seeking and the best thing to do is ignore it. I'll maybe just do that unless it gets worse or if he starts showing aggression.

Lola does this occasionally, grumble and then a couple of little cough barks, usually with no obvious trigger. as said, i just put it down to things she can hear that i can't