The Dog Site

It’s usual for a puppy or dog to growl when you play tug of war with him. However, it’s also a sign of aggression and can be a sign the dog may bite – so be careful!

You should know if the growling is appropriate or inappropriate. If your puppy or dog is eating or chewing on a favorite toy and growls as you get near, that isn’t permissible behavior. Your dog is being aggressive.

If the growling starts with no obvious reason, it’s time for a visit to the vet to make sure there isn’t a medical problem.

Growling can be a signal that your dog is trying to position himself as the alpha dog or pack leader. So, the next thing you check is that you position yourself as the pack leader in your household. This is the foundation of solving many dog behavior problems.

To position yourself as the alpha dog or pack leader, you should adopt the approach of NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free). This means that before you give your dog anything, he must obey a command. This includes that you must not allow your dog to demand your attention. If you permit him to demand attention, you have just lost your position in the hierarchy. Just ignore him if he tries to demand attention. You should choose when to give him attention. He may try harder but you must not give in or all is lost.

With NILIF everyone in the home needs to be consistent.

So, for example, you should ask your dog to sit quietly before you set his meal down or before you let it out of the house. It doesn’t count if your dog offers a behavior before you give the command.

Walk through the door before your dog when leaving the house. You can let your dog see you eating a small snack like a biscuit before you put down his food since the alpha dog eats first. You are only required to repeat this for two weeks to position  yourself as the pack leader.

Everyone in the family needs to engage in this process to set them higher up in the hierarchy than your puppy or dog.

The leader of the pack makes his bed on higher ground, so do not permit your dog to rest on your bed if you want to be higher in the hierarchy.

You should do regular training sessions with your puppy or dog. Every training session should be short and fun. This will start you on the path to a better behaved dog.

Read more about how to stop your puppy growling and other aggression in dogs.