# does anyone elses puppy growl when playing



## TraceyT33 (Jun 25, 2012)

Im getting a little concerned with Millie.... lately when she is playing fetch and i ask her to drop she growls viciously many times... its very scary and i am worried. is there anyone having the same problem and if so what have you done to stop it/calm your pup down.

Millie is 20 weeks old now, not sure if its just a phase.

any help/advice needed.
thank u x


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

is it only when she drops it, or is it when you play tug and stuff with her....some dogs are just vocal when they play.

when Lady gets going playing tug she gets loud.


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## lola24 (Aug 14, 2011)

Poo's can be quite vocal dogs when playing and i would guess at her age that the growling is all part of her play.

Try not to take anything away from her without rewarding/ swapping with other toys or treats. Do this frequently to reinforce the 'leave' and reward with something of equal or greater value each time. 

Avoid tug games for the time being and see if that helps the growling settle.

The likelyhood is that she is trying to entice you into a bit of a game- Lola will often grab a toy and run at maggie growling in the hope that she will chase her. When this doesn't work she bites her legs so watch it!


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

Neither of my two like playing tug...when ever they fetch they just give it back without asking....it makes it quite difficult at training classes.


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## KCsunshine (Apr 16, 2012)

Coco is the same age, and although she is not very growly, she still kind of launches and snaps and proper tries to bite us sometimes when playing. It looks like she is being very vicious and I get a little fright when she does it, but I think it is when she is playing and gets over excited, I normally walk away or pop her in her crate for a few moments to tellher I'm not happy. Does it work...who knows, lol! I hope it will.


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Dexter never drops anything he retrieves and will hang on to it for blue murder! My trainer suggested I always had something to swap with him so I always take 2 balls with me to the park. It works a treat and he and I never fall out over it!


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Lol Wilfs like Dexter, he knows which ball he wants so imagine .... I pretend I'm going to throw the one he wants,but throw a different one so he runs for it, he might bring it back and drop it when he sees the one he wants or might just nose it and leave it. This continues until he eventually gets the one he wants... If he gets the one he wants too early that's it no more running. It also helps that Mable is so much quicker than him so she usually gets there first. 
As for the growling Wilf brings you something to tug and then grrrs , he grrrs when he plays with Mable but she doesn't x 
,


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## BeckyP (Mar 21, 2012)

Yes kipper will sometimes have a little growl when he gets really into a game. Never thought of it as growling at me though, just growling in playing.... I'm probably making growly noises too when we play to be honest...


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## Von (Nov 1, 2012)

Jenna, who is 2 growls during play, Meadow doesn't. It's a very different sort of growl than the one she gives Meadow when she's REALLY pee-ed off with her. During play she and Meadow are open mouthed, and Jenna will turn her head away from Meadow on occasions, which is a doggy signal to say 'This is all play, I don't intend to hurt you'. Meadow of course just bounces back for more anyway!


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## loopyloo (Aug 18, 2012)

Raffy makes growly noises when he's playing both with us and with toys but I've never interpreted it as agressive growling. Our old Westie was the same and was never agressive. I think it's all just part of play and not a serious threat. I just ignore it. Raffy also sometimes answers back when you tell him 'NO' as well but this he does get told off for (sometimes turns into a bit of a match to see who gets last word but I always win ) If it gets too much he gets a time out for a few minutes.


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Dudley can get over excited and then get growly and snappy when playing, I always stop play the minute he does this, although he sometimes does what I would call a more gentle growl - almost showing enjoyment when playing - its hard to explain the difference! sometimes (although not so much recently) he has growled and snapped when I have taken a toy during a game - then I say very firmly in a growly voice 'DON'T YOU DARE'! he usually does a little grumbly growl then lays with his head on my feet - its quite funny and first time he did it it gave me a lot of confidence when I realised he would back down, as I remember initially feeling a little worried about it.


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## TraceyT33 (Jun 25, 2012)

Ahhh sorry I haven't been on here for a while due to a bereavement in the family.... thank you for your replies. Millie seems to be getting better, some days are better than others. She seems to be picking up when I am not happy too and so is developing that way. I am completely and utterly in love with my Millie and she is the best dog I have ever had and I know that with patience and training all will become even better (well I hope). She is my shadow... never leaves my side and has been such a strength to me over recent times. 

Thank you again for the replies. One thing I do need help with is training Millie to let me know she needs a wee/poo.... the other day I heard her scratch the back door and I was absolutely made up... hoping because she is getting older (5 mths old) she is going to start letting me know. Any tips or advice on this? 

Many thanks xxxxxx


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

So sorry for your loss and glad that Millie has been a comfort to you. Sometimes I feel that it would be very, very difficult to get through the day without the support and love of my dogs and they definitely pick up on how I am feeling...

Kiki learnt to hang on, before she started giving me a clear signal that she needed out... What I mean to say is that her bladder control was very good and so we didn't get accidents and she hung on until she was let out - then I guess one day the gap was too long and rather than pee on the floor she went to the back door and barked to be let out 'Guys come on, puppy needs a wee' bark - very clear!!!
I know some people use poochie bells, and I am absolutely sure Kiki would learn how to use them (she is a genius!!!), but her bark works very well and generally she doesn't bark much, so it is a good signal.


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## Peaches Candyland (Nov 20, 2012)

I've only had my cockapoo since Saturday, but she GROWLS a lot when we play. I bought her a bunny stuffed animal (it's supposed to have a bottle in it to crunch) and she loves to play tug of war with it. The first few times it was really scary, cause I wasn't sure if she was angry or just playing. She'll growl what seems like viciously at me, but when my 5 year old plays tug, she won't make a sound until she's ready to "win" and toss bunny across the room.


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## Laura(L)Izzie (Sep 9, 2011)

My two growl all the time, especially when playing with each other, they sound like thye're killing each other sometimes but somehow no one is ever hurt haha.
& my two are rubbish at fetch! Poppy goes and gets the ball and keeps it (but does let me take it off of her again) and Izzie will run after it, sometimes pick it up and sometimes leave it, but never brings it back just runs away with it! And they're always fighting over the same ball even though there's about 6!

I wouldn't think it was anything to worry about, i'm sure she's just playing.


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## billandt (Jan 4, 2013)

So glad you posted this question! Cooper is 6mo and very loving but occasionally when my husband plays chase w him and he runs through the house at top speed loving it, after 5 min or so, he seems to get over excited and will growl and snap. It upsets me bc he is normally so gentle and loving. I work out of the home and he normally sits beside me on the couch w my laptop and is so sweet! Scary how he can turn or seem aggressive. Is it the true wild animal in him coming out? I’m hoping it’s the puppy coming out in him. I played chase with him tonight and he snapped/growled at me...it hurt my feelings. Two minutes in his room (large gated utility room) then when he came out, he was my sweet Cooper again.


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## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

It could just be noisy play which is quite normal  Growling is not a bad thing as it is a dogs natural behaviour, it really does depend on the situation and the type of growl.


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