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My Lab mix puppy growls at just about everyone.
I have a Lab/ Newfoundland 10 month old puppy. In the past two months
or so, he has been growling at other dogs and people.He wasn't this way before. He has never been mistreated, in fact my wife and i tend to spoil him. I take him out almost every day for a two mile run and to socialize with people. The vet seems to think it is because he is maturing and demonstrating his "manliness". He was recently neutered. I thought this might change his behavior. He's a great dog, but i want to cure him of the growling.I don't know if this matters, but we have another male dog. Any suggetstions? |
#3
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My Lab mix puppy growls at just about everyone.
Hi Janet-Thanks for your replies. He has not been to obedience class
yet. This is something we want to do. Our other dog is a 4 year old male terrier mix, also neutered. They get along fine except when they play with toys.The small one growls when the Lab tries to take a toy from him. Maybe this is one of the reasons for the Labs growling.The Lab also barks at almost every sound. I would rather train him to only bark at the sign of a threat, not just to bark at any foreign sound. |
#4
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My Lab mix puppy growls at just about everyone.
wrote in message
oups.com... Hi Janet-Thanks for your replies. He has not been to obedience class yet. This is something we want to do. This will help you more than you think it will. You really do need to find the time and do a series of classes. It will help socialize your dog and it will teach you how to better handle him - and give you more of an idea of what other dogs and other handlers consider good manners. I know SO many people who say they intend to go but they just never find the time in their busy lives. A beginning class is just a few weeks and it will pay off for the dog's whole life. Really. Even if you've had dogs before. My SIL found the time for a round of classes when they got their golden. She and my brother have the ultimate busy lives. Both have extremely busy careers and their two boys were involved in hockey - both in travel leagues, twelve months out of the year. They had no free time. If *she* could find the time, anyone can. Our other dog is a 4 year old male terrier mix, also neutered. They get along fine except when they play with toys.The small one growls when the Lab tries to take a toy from him. Maybe this is one of the reasons for the Labs growling. Growling in play is not growling at everything. If he is growling at a person when there is no reason for alarm then you need to tell him to stop it. It is not cute and it's getting less cute each day. Start with a quiet "uh-uh" and escalate from there to an outright "no growling" if necessary. His puppy license has expired and growling at people is not acceptable behavior. Grab his muzzle, look him in the eye and tell him "no". If he's out on a leash, back him off, make him sit, make him down. Anything of that sort will remind him that you make the rules, not him. Lab also barks at almost every sound. I would rather train him to only bark at the sign of a threat, not just to bark at any foreign sound. Some dogs are more high alert than others. It sounds like yours thinks he needs to raise an alarm in the household for every foreign sound. If it's a common sound - the mailman, perhaps - then you can progress quickly quieting him. If it's a different sort of thing - say a squirrel in the yard or a banging noise coming from the next apartment - then my reaction is to thank the dogs for pointing it out to me (Yes, I see the squirrel right outside the window. I'll take care of it now.) and then to make them quiet down. I allow them to alarm bark at "foreign sounds" because until it's identified, it *may* be a threat. (The neighbor pounding on the wall with a hammer might not just be hanging a picture.) But after they have alerted me, then I'm in charge of determining the threat level, not them. So no further barking is needed. He's still young and I would expect him to settle down and learn that many of the things that he's alerting on can be ignored by dog and human alike. Some of this will probably happen naturally but I would be taking steps to move it along (and just in case he's one of those that *doesn't*). And definitely do those puppy classes. ~~Judy |
#5
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My Lab mix puppy growls at just about everyone.
on 2005-12-05 at 12:32 wrote:
Start with a quiet "uh-uh" and escalate from there to an outright "no growling" if necessary. His puppy license has expired and growling at people is not acceptable behavior. Grab his muzzle, look him in the eye and tell him "no". If he's out on a leash, back him off, make him sit, make him down. i think that's a really bad idea, given that we do not know anything about this dog's temperament or socialization. the potential for making the problem worse is just too great. the best advice is seek out a good trainer or behaviorist ASAP, as this requires in-person help. Anything of that sort will remind him that you make the rules, not him. that can be done without forcing a confrontation. i will second the advice to get the dog into obedience training, though. if the dog is lacking in confidence--and the growling could certainly be a symptom of that--then obedience training should help improve his confidence level. -- shelly http://www.cat-sidh.net http://cat-sidh.blogspot.com/ |
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