![]() Your dog growls because he has a negative association with something – say he growls when you touch his paw. This is where counter-conditioning comes in. Yes, your dog learned one tiny lesson about how to make you stop doing something he doesn’t like, but you’ll override that when you do lots of lessons about how that thing that made him uncomfortable makes really, really good stuff happen. If the growl was triggered by something you were doing, stop doing it. Don’t worry that removing him rewards his aggression your first responsibility is to keep others safe and prevent him from biting. If you act stressed you’ll only add to his stress and make a bite more, not less, likely. Your first response when you hear your dog growl should be to calmly move him away from the situation, while you make a mental note of what you think may have triggered the growl. It’s your dog’s way of telling you he can’t tolerate a situation – as if he’s saying, “I can’t handle this, please get me out of here!” When Dogs Cry for HelpĪ growl is a dog’s cry for help. You, the dog, and the child are all quite shaken by the incident. Fortunately, you’re able to restrain him with the leash so he doesn’t connect. Your dog is now super-stressed, trying to control his growl as the child gets nearer and nearer so you don’t lose control and punish him, but when the scary child reaches out for him he can’t hold back any longer – he lunges forward and snaps at the child’s face. In fact, your dog has simply learned not to growl, but children still make him very uncomfortable. “We dodged that bullet!”Ĭonvinced that your dog now accepts children because he no longer growls at them, the next time one approaches and asks if he can pat your dog, you say yes. You think he’s learned that it’s not okay to be aggressive to children, because the next time one passes by, there’s no growl. You, conscientious and responsible owner, are well aware of the stigma – and fate – of dogs who bite children, so you punish your dog with a yank on the leash and a loud “No! Bad dog!” Every time your dog growls at a child you do this, and quickly your dog’s fear of children is confirmed – children do make bad things happen! He likes children even less, but he learns not to growl at them to avoid making you turn mean. If a dog is frightened of children, he may growl when a child approaches. He has learned that it’s not safe to warn, so he doesn’t. ![]() Worst of all, and most significantly, if you succeed in suppressing the warning signs, you end up with a dog who bites without warning. In fact, you increase the stress, because now you, the dog’s owner, have become unpredictable and violent as well. When you punish a growl or other early warning signs, you may succeed in suppressing the growl, snarl, snap, or other warning behavior – but you don’t take away the stress that caused the growl in the first place. An injured dog lacerates the hand of his rescuer because he’s stressed by pain. A fearful dog bites because he’s stressed by the approach of a human. An assertive, aggressive dog attacks because he’s stressed by the intrusion of another dog or human into his territory. The stressor may be related to pain, fear, intrusion, threats to resources, past association, or anticipation of any of these things. ![]() What many people don’t realize is that aggression is caused by stress. If that doesn’t succeed in convincing you to leave, the dog may feel compelled to bite hard enough to break skin in his efforts to protect self, territory, members of his social group, or other valuable resources. “Please,” he says, “don’t make me bite you.” If those are ignored, he may become more insistent, with an air snap, a bump of the nose, or even open mouth contact that closes gently on an arm but doesn’t break skin. “I mean it,” he says more firmly, “I want you to leave.” If you continue to invade his comfort zone, his threats may intensify, with more tension, a hard stare, and a low growl. ![]() “Please,” he says gently, “I don’t want you to be here.” He may begin with subtle signs of discomfort that are often overlooked by many humans – tension in body movements, a stiffly wagging tail. The dog who doesn’t want to bite or fight tries his hardest to make you go away. The behaviors that signal pending aggression are intended first and foremost to warn away a threat.
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