What does it mean when a dog growls?
Just because a dog growls, it doesn't necessarily mean that he's aggressive. All dogs growl on occasion, because it’s part of the way they communicate.
In canine ethology - the science that studies the natural behaviour of dogs - growling is considered to be a natural form of vocal expression, one that forms a part of dog language, and that can be associated with different emotional states: pleasure, fear, excitement etc.
In the context of a threat, growling is a warning sign. Dogs use it to let their rival know that they should move away, and to warn that the dog’s ready to fight to defend himself, or to defend something that he considers to be his.
Why do dogs growl?
‘My dog growls at me’: The fact that your dog growls at you is not necessarily a sign of aggressivity. In fact a dog might growl in any of the following situations:
- In the context of a game: some dogs growl when they’re playing. This happens because one of the functions of play is to hone the dog’s ability to fight and hunt. So when they’re playing, very often dogs growl as a playful (rather than a real) threat.
- In the context of pleasure: some dogs make sounds that are very similar to growls when they’re feeling very happy. For example when they’re relaxed and you're scratching them in their favourite place.
- As a threat: as we all know, dogs growl as a warning sign, to indicate that they’re ready to bite or attack.
If you’re reading this article, ‘My dog growls at me, what can I do?’ it’s no doubt because your case falls into one of the three categories mentioned above.
What to do if your dog growls at you
Obviously there’s no problem if your dog growls at you when you're scratching his tummy and he’s loving it. But growling in play, or in competitive situations could be a sign that there's a problem.
‘My dog growls when I play with him, what should I do?’
If your dog growls when you're playing together, in principle there’s no need to worry. As we’ve already said, games are a sort of simulated struggle. It’s very common for dogs to growl, for example when they’re pulling on their teether, or on a knotted rope.
However, if you notice that your dog starts growling when he’s getting really over excited, rin a similar way to small children when they just don’t know when to stop, this is when you need to intervene. The best thing to do is to interrupt the game, and look for an alternative activity that’s calmer, and more relaxed:
- If you’re in the street, take advantage of the fact, and start walking..
- If you're playing at home, maybe you can get your dog to lie down first of all, and then encourage him to stay calm for a while by using edible treats. In this way you’re calming him down, and then offering him a scent game that doesn’t involve any physical activity.
In the case of dogs who are every excitable, our experts recommend introducing a set of daily games that will train him to control himself. One simple example of this kind of exercise would be to ask your dog to sit quietly while you put his food in his bowl.
‘My dog growls at me in a threatening way. What should I do?
Does your dog growl at you:
- When you try to pick up one of his toys?
- When you approach his food bowl?
- When you want to tell him off about something?
- When you want him to get down from the sofa?
In these cases, and other similar ones, growling is a warning sign: ‘if you don’t stop doing whatever it is you’re doing that I don't like, I’ll bite you’.
First and foremost you need to know that:
You shouldn’t punish your dog when he growls at you, because if you do, you’ll be teaching him to eliminate a warning sign that’s a fundamental part of his way of communicating. In the future he may choose not to warn you by growling, but go straight in and bite.
If it’s not a good idea to tell him off, then what’s the alternative?
1. Take note of the precise circumstances that have caused your dog to growl at you. You need to focus on three important points:
a. Who was he growling at?
b. In what context was he growling? What was happening at the exact moment when your dog growled? (where was he, who was he with, what was around him, was he playing with something, where was the person he was growing at?).
c. What was your dog's body posture like? Was he leaning back with his tail between his legs to show that he was afraid, or was his posture an offensive and competitive one? For more information on how to identify each posture, take a look at this article on canine body language.
2. Draw up an action plan, so that your dog will then understand that the situation that he’s interpreted as a threat, is no such thing. To give a quick example of what we mean here: if your dog growled when you came close to his favourite toy because he thought that you were going to take it away from him, you’ll need to make him understand that you’re not a competitor.
3. Don't put your dog in the same conflictive situation again until you’re sure that he’s understood that there's no need for him to feel threatened. Continuing with the example of the situation with the toy: you'll need to keep at it for a while each day and show him that every time you get close to his toy, something good happens: you give him an edible treat, for example. But do remember that these approaches will need to be very gradual and progressive. You must give your dog time to change the way he sees the situation.
Following the three steps previously mentioned is the best plan of action to make sure that you never never have to say ‘My dog growls at me, and I don’t know what to do’.
Whatever the case, the main thing to remember is that the growl is just a symptom of a problem that needs to be solved. Punishing the symptom won't solve the problem. The answer is to discover the reason for his behaviour, and to tackle the root cause, with professional help if necessary.