Growling/grumbling by my Staffie - please help!

Please help.... I have a four year old male staffy called Bo.... does anyone know why he has started growling/grumbling at me... any thoughts on this would be greatly received!

To let you understand, I left my ex who was the owner of this beautiful big softie since he was a pup. He was an recovering alcoholic who unfortunately fell off the wagon, hence why I left and took the dog.I had been in Bo's life since he was a year old and for the past eleven months he has resided with me.

A few months ago whilst he was sitting beside me on the sofa and we were going off to bed (he has slept at the bottom of my bed the whole time I have owned him without an issue) and I took hold of him to cuddle him as is practice before bed. He growled/grumbled and I gave him into trouble, told him to get off the sofa, he obyed and shook while crawling away from me. I walked up to bed and instructed him to go to his. This is the first time I have ever gave him into trouble, but as you can imagine I got a fright!

He now seems scared of me. He growls/grumbles first thing in the morning on my way out to work (my mum walks him for me during day and keeps him till I come home from work) and then about an hour after I come home at night. He really falls out with me except at weekends when I am with him all the time. He does this to no one else.

He seems to suddenly go in a "huff" - ears back, tail down, eyes focused and emits a low grumble/growl and runs away from me. no amount of playing in order to try to divert his attention, giving him into trouble (in fact this makes it worse) seems to work - he will crawl away from me and hide behind my mum or my dad - does any one have any ideas why this is or what I could do to stop it????

I have an appointment for the vet to check him over as this has become a daily occurance now and I am so worried about him.

Thanks all

Hi why don't you come and introduce your self here.
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f7-new-member-introductions
I haven't experienced this but are you at all anxious about anything, that he may be picking up on?
How much exercise does he get a day?  

Can you think of anything that has frightened him over the last couple of months?

and I took hold of him to cuddle him as is practice before bed. He growled/grumbled

he might have some physical pain or discomfort  ..
whereas a cuddle from a human might aggravate

told him to get off the sofa, he obyed and shook while crawling away from me.

he shook ? .. as in 'fearful' ..
did you shout at him ?? ..

dogs don't have 'logic' .. he probably does not understand why your angry ..
you reacted with 'fear' .. he picks up on that ..

maybe it's scent related ..

It could be that he is in pain somewhere on his body, see what the vet says. Please let us know how you get on.

Hey Inezmaria yeah I was anxious because itwas a really bad breakup between my ex and as for walks...at least 1.5 hours a day....Caryll, I think I frightened him when I told him off....Kosmos, I didn't shout I just told him off in a stern voice but he shook as I fear, well that's what the vet aaid that would be, how do you mean scent related? And Kathy,my vet also said tey have an incredible ability to mask pain so that's the first thing to rule out....I wonder if it's possible he thinks my mum is top dog and I'm down the pack now? Thank you all for your responses, I'm so worried as I would hate for someone outside family to see this and risk him being reported as aggressive! He's bad quite a bit of upheaval as you can imagine with my ex

This is one of those occasions when it would be so useful if the dog could speak! It seems that he's been spooked by something, but would his account be the same as yours? I think you're right to go to the vet to eliminate the possibility that he's in pain. But once that's ruled out, a dog behaviourist may be better placed to help - to try and see inside inside his head and to help figure out a plan of what to do. If some event has sparked a breakdown in trust with Bo, then my own opinion (humbly offered) is to never give him harsh words or discipline him in any kind of physical way. As you say yourself, that may make him yet more fearful, which in turn can make him defensive, which in turn can make him appear to be aggressive. When he growls, to ignore him may be punishment enough - not unkindly but just to turn the other way and let him calm down at his own speed. He may have an issue with the cuddling ritual - maybe he sees that differently as well? Instead of finding it reassuring, perhaps he perceives it as threatening. May be better to reduce strong physical contact while his message seems to be that he doesnt want it at the moment. Personally, i dont pay too much attention to the 'leader of the pack' school of thought - that has been largely debunked by more scientific approaches to dog psychology. John Bradshaw's book, 'In Defence of Dogs', (among others) gives the why for this being outdated.  The final thing I would say is to wish you all good luck with this and, from my own experience of having a staffie, if he has any fears - rational or irrational - I do believe it's possible to help him out, but it may take a long time: weeks or months.

^^^^^^

Excellent advice above.

I have moved your thread to Staffy Training & Behaviour, you may get some further advice here.

how do you mean scent related

was just a thought thrown in ..
in case it rang a bell .. .. change of perfume ? ..
do you drink ? ..
or have you been in contact with other animals ..

obviously Something is bothering him ..

strange he does it when your away for the day
i.e. you say he's ok when your about for the weekends

wondering if it's eyesight related .. i.e. vision
again just throwing the idea in ..
'cause i've had dogs spooked by wearing a different hat .. or coat ..

reason i mentioned it might be 'pain' of some sort .. is that ..
i've a long term back problem .. when g.f. used to hug me ..
it would cause me pain .. and was difficult to convey that to her ..
without it coming across as 'personal rejection' ..
so if by accident .. a hug/cuddle would cause a dog pain ..
aint much option for doggie except to growl/grumble to say
"leave me be" .. and avoid hugs/cuddles ..

i'd get a vet to give him a full health checkup ..
that .. plus seek the advise of a dog behaviour expert ..

Yeah I've head of that say like the smell of alcohol but never even thought of perfume! I don't drink so it can't be that but I defo think there is something in the fact it could be bad memory and I've recreated that for him by doing what my ex has done with the cuddle...I'm sorry to hear you have a back problem. .that can't be easy for you and I hope your girlfriend understood and come to think about it he hasn't wanted much cuddles lately. Yeah I thought it was weird doing it at week days and not weekends which made me think Separation Anxiety? Just hope the vet can shed some light, she's good and has had staffies herself all her life

Thanks Kathie....so new to this site and unsure still of how to work it!

Hi guys, been a wee while soooo much going on...turns out my Bo was trying to tell me he had pain in his back and eye (there was no visable ailment with his eye it was the vessel at the back) he has been on painkillers and eye drops and to my amazement my vet wqs spot on, he has stopped his grumbling! I'm so relieved...thank you all for your ideas. He is back at vet in a fortnight to assess the situation but I'm hopeful that will be the end of it. Next time(hopefully there won't be one!) At least I'll know he's trying to tell me

Aww Bo you clever boy you glad things are getting sorted out

wondering if adding some goji berries to his food might help ?

turns out my Bo was trying to tell me he had pain in his back

they have anti-inflammatory properties .. might help with back-pain
( they do with me )
they also have a calming effect on the nervous system

http://www.health-report.co.uk/goji_berry.html

they're also good for 'eyes'
"One of the most well-known traditional properties of Goji fruit is its ability to improve vision."

btw: i don't know if the above is the same for dogs

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they be fine to give dogs a.f.a.i.k.
( 'Lady' gets some with every meal .. mixed in )

http://naturalremedyvet.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/food-as-medicine-goji-berries.html

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It's such good news that your vet has pinpointed the problems. It is so helpful to know what you're dealing with - now to get Bo better!

Thank you for updating us, and do let us know how Bo gets on  

Ah I'm glad you found out what was causing it  

Thank goodness you got to the bottom of the problems, finding the cause is half the battle. 

Great to hear you've got to the bottom of it!

If only our babies could speak

Alfmacbo wrote:Hi guys, been a wee while soooo much going on...turns out my Bo was trying to tell  me he had pain in his back and eye (there was no visable ailment with his eye it was the vessel at the back) he has been on painkillers and eye drops and to my amazement my vet wqs spot on, he has stopped his grumbling!  I'm so relieved...thank you all for your ideas. He is back at vet in a fortnight to assess the situation but I'm hopeful that will be the end of it.  Next time(hopefully there won't be one!) At least I'll know he's trying to tell me

How did the diagnose he had back pain and eye issues?

I am going through something similar at the moment and it is getting me down.

That is excellent news...the vet has come through this time!!

He is a bewtiful boy!   

So glad everything is sorted clever boy Bo xx

Sorry it's taken so long to come back on.. initially I was getting email notification to tell me I had messages, I'm not getting that hence why I haven't responded to anyone...

Gee, the vet diagnosed the back pain by asking Bo to lie down and stand up, she could tell by the way in which he was moving himself to do both actions.... the eye was by looking into it with a scope

Kosmos, that sounds interesting and I am going to look into it

Everyone, thanks once again for all your interest and ideas, much appreciated!! :-)

And Peachy ... what an adorable pic of your baby!!

Kosmos... I checked out the Goji Berry and it's save for dogs as long as they don't eat seeds (same for humans of course)

http://candogseat.net/can-dogs-eat-goji-berries.html