Ways Of Stopping Your Dog From Growling

It is natural for a dog to growl; it is one of their means of communicating with other animals.

However, growling can be considered as a defensive or an aggressive behavior since the science to growling is that dogs are only growling when they feel uncomfortable or disturbed.

One of the things that pet owners should understand is that when your dog is growling, something may not be right.

There could be something that’s upsetting him, or there are potential threats around him which triggers his instinct to protect himself.

Although we don’t want our dog to growl at us, we do not want them to stop growling whenever he’s feeling uncomfortable. In fact, it might help in determining if there is something wrong with your canine companion.

Most dog owners would punish their dog just for a little growl and suppresses it. It is definitely bad for the dog as it would prevent your dog’s instincts to naturally growl whenever they feel something uncomfortable.

This might hinder your close connection with your dog, and he would just be quiet whenever he’s not feeling good instead of giving you signs about it.

If you encounter your dog growling, don’t punish and don’ suppress it. Be prepared to follow these following 5 steps into stopping your dog from growling.

1. Gauge your dog’s tolerance threshold

Usually, the first thing that you would like to do is to determine what makes your dog growl at the moment. However, not all dogs are very obvious with where their uncomfortable feelings are coming from.

It is frequently known that dogs will face the trigger first before growling, but if your dog isn’t, then it will be quite difficult to determine the trigger.

So, we will skip that part, and instead go to gauging your canine companion’s threshold. Consider stopping everything that you have been doing and observe instead.

If you are with your dog for a long time already, you might now if his growl threshold and bite threshold are quite near to each other.

If that’s the case, then you might want to observe a little bit farther from your dog, as it might bite out of instincts.

What can anyone do best is to observe and wait until their dog relaxes. You have to take note of the obvious signs of your dog’s tense behavior, so that you will be able to know if your dog is no longer growling for some reason.

You might want to reinforce the relaxed behavior rather than the growl by moving away only if your dog has stopped growling in front of you.

2. Determine why your dog is growling

As mentioned before, knowing what triggers your dog is essential to solving the current situation. Try to remember what happened before your dog started growling.

Did you groom him? Did you try to restrain him? Have you taken something away from him? If your dog is growling all of a sudden, try to remember all of the things that happened beforehand.

This will give you a clue on what your dog is feeling about certain things that could’ve been the trigger for his growling.

For mothers who has just birthed their puppies, it might be possible that you could have touched her puppies without her consent. For elder dogs, you might have produced a loud sound which most of them do not like.

It is particularly important to consider the age and the situation of your dog before you are absolutely certain what your dog’s trigger is.

3. Explore novel ways to communicate with your dog

This is where it gets tricky. Your goal is to make your dog behave without him eliciting a growl. One of the things that you can do is to encourage and lure him to get close to you rather than forcing him to.

Some dog parents would even physically push or pull him, but it will not help in the behavior training that your canine companion is supposed to have.

It is much better to feed him treats while you are petting him, in order for his mind to register that his current behavior is a positive one.

If the first plan didn’t work, think of other ways to communicate with your dog without him growling at you.

4. Evaluate your dog’s stressors and try to reduce them

At this point, you are now almost a hundred percent sure about your dog’s triggers. If your dog’s growling is triggered by strangers, then it might not be a good idea to invite your friends or any other visitors to your home.

If your canine companion hates loud noises, then it is definitely not a good idea to play loud music or to light fireworks. These stressors may cause aggression and could be cumulative in the long run.

This is why what you did today that caused him to growl might have been okay last week. Just take note of the stressors and reduce their interactions with them.

The more stressors that you remove, the more likely that he will be behaved the next time you do the same thing that triggered his growl.

This is why a wonderful environment for any canine companion is a must, since they can result to your dog’s good health, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally.

5. Establish a behavior training program

Any dog parent can establish counterconditioning and desensitization programs that can help convince your dog that the bad thing that he sees is actually a good one.

This can absolutely help with reducing your dog’s anxieties and perhaps could be helpful in his training in the long run.

There are various protocols available of the internet, but it is always recommended to look for a dog trainer who is already experienced with this kind of training.

A trainer can definitely give out the best training program that is suited for your canine companion.

Be sure to look out for trainers who have experience in behavior training programs, or you might as well ask for recommendations from fellow dog parents in your neighborhood.