Growling?

Well yesterday i was really shocked by Boss, i brought him home a bone from the store, and gave it to him, with dogs he can be toy aggressive, this time i didnt touch his toy but he began growling, not really loud but a low one, and was looking at me, while tail wagging abit. Could this be because I had gone to see 2 dogs before going home? One was a unaltered female, the other a unaltered male, could the smells on me have made him do this? I said a strict hey at him and he stopped and i took the toy away.

It could be the scent of the other dogs or perhaps he was initaiting play with you? You did the right thing IMHO. I still take bones and toys away from Suki everyday just so there are no agression issues.

You did the right thing .

yea u did the right thing it could of been a number of things or he is just very possesive over high value things, ie. treats and toys. x

Agree you did the right thing.

Did he growl over the bone?

Does not sound like play and no I very much doubt the other dog's scents would have made him react like that. I think after his scare the other day with the boxer his mind is a little bit addled and he is a bit unsure about where he stands, think he might be being a bit dominant and trying to test you. You were right to take it away. I would have done the same thing.

best call mate
you have to be boss

Ok thanks, Yeah Boss typically is a possessive dog, never plays with toys and is scared of large bones and other larger toys, but i give him a quick chew toy and leave him be with it, he has never looked at me and growled, usually just goes to his bed, my cat is the only one who is able to touch the toys hes chewing. He has been acting odd since the attack but I am not one to baby him over it, i cleaned the blood off but didnt change anything else, so i think if i had babied him he would have been acting worse. I knew it wasnt him playing because he doesn't play, not with people or other dogs, like he loves people but prefers to be pet, he ignores people if they try to get him to play fetch etc.

Caryll wrote:Did he growl over the bone?

he had it sitting beside him when he growled, he was laying on his bed.

I'd say it was possessiveness, made worse by feeling out of sorts.

If it were me, I'd be doing some training now, giving a toy or a chew, saying "leave" & taking it & then loads of praise & give it straight back.

I know lots of others disagree with that.

I guess I can't advise you on that, because Mambo is actually growling when he wants to play (he's weird...) and he does exactly what you described when he wats us to take his toys and play fetch with him...

I didn't read the forum this week, been busy like hell, what happened to Boss, you mentioned there was a fight?

I agree with Caryll - some training might be in order. Gummi has a play growl and it's nothing like an angry growl, so I think you should be able to tell the two apart fairly easily.

Also - even if this wasn't possessiveness training is only a good thing

I've just learned a new and improved (IMO) possessiveness-training at PuppyPeaks, but haven't tested it yet. I've done like Caryll says - asking the dog to drop it and then giving it back after praise and/or a treat. Susan Garrett had a very good idea, though, she gives back something even better. For instance when teaching her puppy she gave him a chicken neck, then when he gave it back to her he got chicken neck pieces covered in salmon oil (his favorite), then got the neck back and so on. I like the idea that giving up what you've got can mean getting something even yummier and I'm pretty sure it'll work even better.

spuker1 wrote:I guess I can't advise you on that, because Mambo is actually growling when he wants to play (he's weird...) and he does exactly what you described when he wats us to take his toys and play fetch with him...

A play growl is very different to an aggressive or warning growl. So is the body language.

caryll is spot on i do this with buster with toys and i take food away some time so he does not learn bad habits

Caryll wrote:

spuker1 wrote:I guess I can't advise you on that, because Mambo is actually growling when he wants to play (he's weird...) and he does exactly what you described when he wats us to take his toys and play fetch with him...

A play growl is very different to an aggressive or warning growl. So is the body language.

Yea, I agree, but we can't even compare play growl with aggressive one because we've never heard him growling with the aggression - even when he's close to a fight with some other dog he doesn't make a sound!

PoaBoss wrote:Well yesterday i was really shocked by Boss, i brought him home a bone from the store, and gave it to him, with dogs he can be toy aggressive, this time i didnt touch his toy but he began growling, not really loud but a low one, and was looking at me, while tail wagging abit. Could this be because I had gone to see 2 dogs before going home? One was a unaltered female, the other a unaltered male, could the smells on me have made him do this? I said a strict hey at him and he stopped and i took the toy away.

For me, I would say that it is more an extension of the behaviour which I have put in bold.

All forms of aggression should be checked, because they inevitably lead to an extension of it.

I personally think you did the right thing to remove the toy, and end the game.

That's what to do if there is a repeat.

Let us know how you go.

spuker1 wrote:

Caryll wrote:

spuker1 wrote:I guess I can't advise you on that, because Mambo is actually growling when he wants to play (he's weird...) and he does exactly what you described when he wats us to take his toys and play fetch with him...

A play growl is very different to an aggressive or warning growl. So is the body language.

Yea, I agree, but we can't even compare play growl with aggressive one because we've never heard him growling with the aggression - even when he's close to a fight with some other dog he doesn't make a sound!

One way of finding out is to give a high value toy/treat/bone & allow him to play/eat for a couple of seconds. Then tell him to leave it, and take it away. If he growls, then he gets a firm "No!" and he only gets it back when he is sitting calmly & not growling. If he doesn't, then give it straight back with loads of fuss!

Doesn't he growl when you're playing tug of war?

Caryll wrote:

spuker1 wrote:

Caryll wrote:

spuker1 wrote:I guess I can't advise you on that, because Mambo is actually growling when he wants to play (he's weird...) and he does exactly what you described when he wats us to take his toys and play fetch with him...

A play growl is very different to an aggressive or warning growl. So is the body language.

Yea, I agree, but we can't even compare play growl with aggressive one because we've never heard him growling with the aggression - even when he's close to a fight with some other dog he doesn't make a sound!

One way of finding out is to give a high value toy/treat/bone & allow him to play/eat for a couple of seconds. Then tell him to leave it, and take it away. If he growls, then he gets a firm "No!" and he only gets it back when he is sitting calmly & not growling. If he doesn't, then give it straight back with loads of fuss!

Doesn't he growl when you're playing tug of war?

This.

Good advice.

And do it on repeat, if need be.

But ideally, you would also nip this in the bud with other dogs, as well, as one can lead to the other, it seems.

I know it's normal for dogs to engage in a bit of sparring, but that is different from shows of aggression, in any form.

The thing with Boss he is very rarely around other dogs if there are toys around, and then he isnt a playful dog atall, we did play tug before but my old horrible roommate used to do it and i didnt know till i saw once and he was hitting his sides while he was and i kept Boss locked away till i moved out after that and from that it got him aggressive. And then with Boss, he was a bait dog(aka used to get tied in a pit and had fighting dogs sent at him cuz he didnt fight back) Which both makes him react bad after a attack, but also more aggressive for things he chews. He is typically scared of toys tho, cant take bones(he didnt touch the bone much when he got it or after he got it back, I think its from where he was a bait dog, would be hit with sticks, so will even hide from them), chew toys arnt interesting, so it really is hard to teach him not to do it if evertime hes handed a toy he ignores it. It was more of just a shock him doing it like that towards me.

Caryll wrote:
Doesn't he growl when you're playing tug of war?

yea, he does (waggling his tail at the same time) and it does sound bit different.
next time we will give him a fresh bone I will try your and use your advice, it would be interesting to see his reaction.still, he allows us to take his favourite toys from him if we want so I expect it should be not much different.

PoaBoss wrote:The thing with Boss he is very rarely around other dogs if there are toys around, and then he isnt a playful dog atall, we did play tug before but my old horrible roommate used to do it and i didnt know till i saw once and he was hitting his sides while he was and i kept Boss locked away till i moved out after that and from that it got him aggressive. And then with Boss, he was a bait dog(aka used to get tied in a pit and had fighting dogs sent at him cuz he didnt fight back) Which both makes him react bad after a attack, but also more aggressive for things he chews. He is typically scared of toys tho, cant take bones(he didnt touch the bone much when he got it or after he got it back, I think its from where he was a bait dog, would be hit with sticks, so will even hide from them), chew toys arnt interesting, so it really is hard to teach him not to do it if evertime hes handed a toy he ignores it. It was more of just a shock him doing it like that towards me.

Poo boy! You could try hand feeding him for a few days so that he trusts you with his food.

spuker1 wrote:

Caryll wrote:
Doesn't he growl when you're playing tug of war?

still, he allows us to take his favourite toys from him if we want so I expect it should be not much different.

Don't be too sure of that. A lot of dogs that will give up a toy won't let anyone touch a bone. An ex boyfriend of mine had a labrador that would allow anyone to take his toys (even by bf's baby) but would launch himself at anyone who came near his bone. He attacked me once & I swore then that I would never allow a dog of mine to do that!