A growl is not a foul - why growling can be a good thing.
If you’ve been around dogs during your life, you’ve probably heard one growl before. I grew up thinking that growling meant “watch out” and to proceed with caution around a dog who was doing so, but as I’ve expanded my knowledge, I’ve learned that a growl can mean so much more.
What’s in a growl?
While dogs largely communicate using body language, growling and other vocalizations are a critical part of their communication repertoire.
Growling does not always mean a dog is angry or aggressive. It can be used to communicate:
playfulness
frustration
fear
stress
a warning
aggression
It can be difficult to determine whether a growl is playful vs. aggressive just by the growl alone, which is why it’s important that we take the time to familiarize ourselves with the basics of canine body language, and analyze the entire picture.
Zooming out and ensuring we are looking at the entire dog (not getting hung up on the growl alone) will allow us to appreciate the more detailed picture that the dog is trying to paint.
For example, if the growl is accompanied by the dog dropping it’s elbows onto the ground, while it’s wiggling butt and wagging tail are flopping side to side in the air, this might indicate playfulness.
On the contrary, if the dogs growl is paired with a stiff, erect tail, forward ears, and snarling teeth, this might tell us that the dog is trying to give a warning.
Regardless of what your dog is trying to communicate, a growl is not a sign of disobedience. Which brings me to my next headline (stay with me here, this part is important.)
punishing growling is risky business.
Most of us hear our dog growl and immediately want to try and stop the behavior from happening. Growling makes us think of aggression, and aggression in dogs can provoke an entire wheelhouse of emotions in humans, including fear.
So, we try to make the growl stop, and if it does, we assume that the problem has gone away.
Remember how we talked about growling being our dog’s way of telling us something (see the cute little list above)?
Imagine for a second that you’re a child again. You’re telling your guardian that something in the environment is scaring you, let’s say the dentist. You don’t want the dentist to come near you, and you certainly don’t want their sharp tools poking around at your teeth. You vocalize this to your guardian, and they respond by telling you “No! Bad!”
Maybe you stop your complaints. Perhaps you sit quietly for the duration of the dentists examination.
But how do you feel?
Chances are, you are just as worried about the dentist as you were before. In fact, you might be more worried, as you’ve now effectively been stripped of your agency. You’ve been told that “this is happening, no matter what you say, feel, or do.”
You might also feel betrayed by your guardian; after all, this person is supposed to have your back, hear your worries, and be there to comfort you in a time of need. Yet, that isn’t what happened at all. You voiced your concerns, and they were dismissed.
You might start to feel queasy before your next dentist visit, or anxious while sitting in the lobby waiting for your turn.
Your behavior might continue to remain suppressed, or it might get bigger - instead of calmly voicing your fears, you might start to yell them. Screaming, crying, kicking, hitting. What we might call a “temper tantrum,” but really, a desperate plea to have your voice heard and your boundaries respected.
When you punish your dog for growling, either by a verbal interruption (“tsk!” “Shh!” “No!”) or by swatting their nose, grabbing their mouth, yelling at them, putting them in a time out (the list goes on), you might stop the growling in that moment, but you’re doing little to address the reason behind the growl.
When we focus on suppressing behavior, we are being inconsiderate to the emotions driving the animal to behave in that way. We are attempting to silence our dog’s communication without ever bothering to acknowledge or assist them with their concerns.
We’re essentially saying “I see that you’re upset, but don’t you dare tell me about it.” You are disabling your dog’s early warning system that is telling you “caution! This dog is not comfortable.” And folks, this is a great way to teach a dog to bite without any warning.
Just like the child who escalated to “tantrums” at the dentist, we can teach our dog that growling doesn’t work anymore, and they will need to speak louder (escalate their behavior) if they want to have any chance at reducing the perceived threat. For dogs, an escalation from growling might be snarling, snapping, or biting.
What should we do when our dog growls?
When in doubt, we’re going to assume the dog’s growling is trying to tell you that they are upset about something, therefore the first thing you should do is stop. Stop walking, stop reaching for them, stop petting them, stop approaching; whatever you are doing, stop immediately.
You primary goal here should be to diffuse the situation, which can be best achieved by reducing whatever threat your dog is perceiving. Back off, cease your actions, give the dog space, or help the dog move away from whatever might be triggering the growling (another dog in the environment, a stranger, etc.)
After you have safely removed yourself and/or your dog from the threatening situation, it’s time to put on our thinking caps and do some investigative work. In order to figure out what our dog is telling us by growling, we need to determine:
What triggered the growl? Was it the dog coming around the corner? The crawling baby that was headed directly for them? Your hand touching their hips? When the vet put the stethoscope on their chest?
What body language was accompanying the growl? We want as much detail in possible here, so look at the tail, ears, body stance/posture, mouth, and eyes. Check out this webinar if you’re looking for more information on reading and analyzing canine body language.
What made the growl stop? Was it the offending dog moving further away (distance)? The crawling baby being picked up/redirected elsewhere? Was it when you stopped touching their hips, or when you ceased petting completely? When the vet withdrew their stethoscope, or when they left the room?
Once we have an idea as to why our dog was growling and what they were trying to accomplish with this behavior, it’s up to us to think about how to prevent them feeling threatened like this in the future.
This will likely involve a medical investigation to ensure there is no pain or underlying health concerns influencing your dog’s behavior, management to better arrange the environment to reduce the threat, and training to help build our dog’s confidence so that they no longer feel threatened by the stimulus.
If we want our dog to stop growling when another dog enters the environment, we need to address those underlying emotions that are driving the dog to behave this way. If the dog is afraid of the other dog, we need to foster confidence and security.
If your dog is growling when you pet them over their hips, we need to figure out if this is simply a preference - “I don’t like being touched there,” - or if this is their way of telling us “ouch, that hurts! Please stop.”
All behavior happens for a reason, even the scary behavior.
i have no idea why my dog is growling, what then?
Deciphering dog communication is not a simple task, and one that can baffle even those who are well versed in dog body language. If you are struggling to figure out what is triggering your dog’s growling, or how to help them feel less threatened by a stimulus, now is the time to reach out to a qualified expert for help.
Many trainers have taken extra training in dog aggression so that they are better equipped to analyze behavior, such as growling, and come up with appropriate interventions for your dog to help them moving forward.
Growling can be troubling behavior to witness from your dog, and you might feel panicked or even pressured to stop the behavior anyway that you can.
Please remember, growling is our dog’s way of telling us “something is bothering me.” Our dogs are sentient beings who experience a wide array of emotions, including fear and anger. Silencing our dogs when they are trying to communicate to us does not make the problem go away; in fact, in can make things much worse.
Growling is important communication, and simply sweeping it under the rug is not the best way to address the issue. Listen to your dog when they are asking you for help. If you don’t understand them, ask for help from a professional.
And when it’s all said and done, stay awesome.
Vanessa
Follow me on Instagram for more dog training education, training, and other content!
Vanessa Charbonneau, is the author of Dog Care for Puppies: A guide to Feeding, Playing, Grooming and Behavior. She owns Sit Pretty Behavior & Training, employing force-free training techniques, and specializing in working with fearful, aggressive, and reactive dogs. Charbonneau lives in Prince George, BC with her husband, two daughters, and one dog.