r/reactivedogs • u/Otherwise_Status6565 • 6h ago

Advice Needed Growling

I discovered a new thing that makes my dog growl.

I was holding her when my dad came up to give me hug or a kiss on the cheek goodbye before he left. Stella, who loves him, growled at him while in my arms. I don’t remember if she made a jerking motion to get closer to him or not. I was just kind of caught off guard and wondered if anyone else has experienced this?

3 Upvotes

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5

u/Sitters_4_Critters 6h ago

Put the dog down.

2

u/SudoSire 5h ago

I think you may want to re phrase that…

7

u/Sitters_4_Critters 5h ago

Put the dog on the floor. The dog could be resource guarding you. The dog could also be uncomfortable because it has no way to get away from having its space encroached upon.

2

u/OpalOnyxObsidian 5h ago

We knew what they meant.

4

u/Sitters_4_Critters 4h ago

When I read u/SudoSire’s comment and reread my comment, I laughed (and got a little sad too) because given the sub, they had a point. I’m glad I didn’t need to suggest BE for once … and yet … I still managed to suggest it (albeit inadvertently) 😬

Thanks for sticking up for me though. 🙏

I think OP has a good chance of managing this situation successfully. Yay!

1

u/SudoSire 3h ago

Yeah while I was a little tongue in cheek, I didn’t mean it as hostile, so sorry if it came off that way! Unfortunately my mind legitimately went there initially (but of course figured it out immediately  and was relieved!) 

1

u/Sitters_4_Critters 2h ago

I didn’t read it as hostile. I realized when I reread my comment that it totally could have come across the wrong way. I appreciate you pointing it out and allowing me to clarify.

We are all good. 👍 Thank you. 🙏

Please call me out on anything I say that may come across the wrong way. People are fragile when they post here (and sometimes I have compassion fatigue), I want to make sure I am contributing in a helpful, productive manner.

Feedback is welcome. 💖

3

u/SudoSire 5h ago

It may be a resource guarding thing, or like the other person said, a combo of looming and restraint. It’s something to be aware of and adjust accordingly ( avoiding the situation is fine, counter conditioning if you really feel this is an important tolerance for them to have for some reason).

3

u/Sitters_4_Critters 5h ago

The Bitey End of the Dog Podcast and aggressive dog.com has a lot of resource guarding info by behavior expert Michael Shikashio.

1

u/Otherwise_Status6565 4h ago

Thank you for the guidance!

2

u/kerfluffles_b 6h ago edited 5h ago

Were you sitting down when this happened? I wonder if it was just that they were looming over your dog and it made her uncomfortable. Or she just doesn’t like the lack of agency in the situation from being held.

Either way, growling is good because she’s telling you something. Some dogs skip growling and then it’s hard to know what to improve.

1

u/Mememememememememine Sasha - Stranger Danger/Resource Guarding 3h ago

Sounds like resource guarding you who are the resource. My dog guards me against my husband who she loves. But sometimes when her threshold is lower for whatever reason, she jumps up and puts her mouth on his hand if he walks towards me. I have no advice bc I’m just starting out on this journey. I’m going to meet with a behavior consultant from Pet Harmony. They do mostly zoom sessions.