13Nice 5 Tips To Stop Dog Growling
To make the task of
stopping a dog from growling easier, we ought to understand why the dog growls
in the first place. Growling is considered to be an assertive behavior which is
triggered by any unfamiliar event, person or even another animal. Thus a dog would
growl when an unknown or sometimes known entity comes his way. This is his way
of saying that he wants to be left alone or he does not approve what he expects
would follow.
In other words, he feels
threatened. As soon as the approaching person or animal moves away, this would
be interpreted as showing respect to the dog and soon the animal should stop
growling. Anyone who has a pet dog at home should understand many such myriad
ways in which canines communicate so that there could be safe co-existence
between the dog and the rest of the family.
This is especially
important when the household has children, who are known to be particularly
affectionate towards any pet. What happens when someone ignores the growling
and continues to approach the dog casually? The dog treats the situation as
threatening and expects adverse events to follow. Therefore he may start
barking, or even snap and bite the approaching individual or animal as the case
may be. Having briefed you so far on the reason why a dog growls, let me
provide you with 5 sure-shot tips to stop the dog from growling:
1. It is recommended that
you should never punish a dog for growling. Your punishment or reprimand may
stop the dog from growling temporarily, but he would develop a latent behavior
where he bites or snaps at people, without any warning in future. So the best
solution under such circumstances is to respect the animal and let him be. He
would stop growling as soon as he realizes that there is nothing disturbing his
peace any more.
2. Explain to your
children why a dog growls and if the dog starts growling suddenly, they should
immediate stop doing whatever they were doing as it is obvious that the dog is
getting irritated with their activity. Ask them to simply move away gradually from
the dog's vicinity. Tell them to never run away from the growling dog as it
irritates him further. Such incidents must always be
Reported to the parents,
as then you could focus more on this area while training.
3. It must be understood
that dogs growl when intimidated by someone. Sometimes sheer size is perceived
as a threat and the dog starts growling. So when a huge man approaches a dog,
however kind his intention may be, the dog thinks him to be a threat. In such
cases the man should squat and bring himself at the same level as the dog. Then
approach him gently with extended hand - palm facing up. Then talk to the dog
in a calm and gentle voice.
4. If you find that the
dog is growling for no apparent reason and is snapping at everything, it might
be right for you to get a medical checkup done for the dog. Your vet could do
some tests to check hormonal balance, neurophysiologic functions and allergies,
if any. You never know, there could be underlying causes for his growling,
which when corrected could stop him from growling.
5. There are some dogs
which growl when he is eating and someone gets close. The reason for this is
that he is simply possessive about his food and scared that this person might
take his food away. To correct this behavior, choose an adult who the dog loves
most. Let this adult start feeding the dog and stay close to him while he is
eating.
To start with, simply stay
with the dog and talk to him with a reassuring and calm voice. Once the dog is
used to this, then let the adult approach the dog while he is eating, go on
reassuring him with his gentle voice.
Once the dog is used to
this habit also let the adult touch the dog with slow and gentle movements
while he is eating. Though this procedure to stop him from growling could take
a long time, but this happens to be one of the sure-shot ways to reassure a dog
and take away the threat element, which makes him growl in the first place.
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