# Growling and snapping



## Popps

We got Poppy when she was about 12 weeks old and she settled in amazingly.  She was so good with the kids, settled in her crate well and ate well also. She then went through a stage where she went off her breeders dry food and had sloppy poos for a couple of weeks. We then went away for ten days and Poppy stayed with my mother in law, who she saw regularly beforehand and visited often. We were worried that when we got back she would have forgotten us or would punish us  but she settled back in like a dream, plus by now her poos were solid. All was bliss, we had missed ger so much . Then a few days later she started to growl when touched or in her bed. She then had a nasty fall, jumping out of our arms onto some bags filled with old plastic toys, and she yelped badly. But she was seemingly unhurt when we checked her over and then played and ran as normal. Then the growling suddenly got a lot worse. If you walked by her bed she might even growl at you and now if you touch her when she is alseep or in her bed she can growl, snap and even bite (nip). This has all become very upsetting, it's like a different animal. I don't know whether to try and push through and keep on trying to pet her (she does yield and let me rub her tummy after a growl) or leave her alone when she is on her bed. I don't want to get to the stage where we lose all intimacy though - and my wife is now scared to touch her - not what we had hoped at all - please can anyone give us some sound advice?


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## mairi1

Hi Jon,
Noticed you hadn't had any replies so thought i'd bring our thread back to the top.. It must have slipped away somehow 
There are so many exceptionally experienced dog owners on here, much more so than myself, who will give you lots of advice on this subject But I'm sure youll also be reassured yourself when you read the large number of threads with people experiencing similar issues with their pups. 
I would just check firstly that she wasn't in any pain and protecting herself by way of growling, especially after her fall. Hopefully she'll be ok... They're resilient little things . 
If all is well and she isnt suffering in any way, it's just consistency with training and always rewarding good behaviours. 
I'm sure she'll grow out of it with time and you'll have a happy, well balanced pup


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## RuthMill

She sounds a bit insecure.. They tend to do this if they are insecure or they don't know what's happening next. Lots of reassurance and positive reinforcement and treats when she is being good whilst being petted. Keep talking to her telling her what your doing in a reassuring way. I think this will pass, I am no expert however. There will be many replies for you I'm sure with great advice. I think you just need to keep reassuring her, lots of play and games are good for building a relationship. Tug is excellent in fact... You are both sharing a toy then try swapping toys and treating so she doesn't get possessive over any one particular thing.


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## TraceyT33

Millie growls and snaps lately and i really don't like it... but i find it is more to do with the fact that she wants to play. I have to be very careful especially with the kids because she does have silly moments when she sort of jumps up and bites. She has started growling too but I just think its a playful thing at the moment... hoping it will pass with age. (Millie is 9 weeks old) 


Tx


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## caradunne

I support the encouraging, praising and treating approach. Don't force her, keep coaxing from a slight distance. If this really makes no difference and you are sure she is unhurt you could consult a behaviourist - your vet practice should be able to advise you. Good luck, hopefully it is just a phase and you will win her over. The age on your header says 0.4, not sure what that means - could she be coming into season?


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## wellerfeller

Her fall may have scared her and she has associated the being held by a human with the fear of the fall. Puppies do go through phases where they become fearful of things they previously accepted as ok. This usually rights itself with continuing socialisation and by not making too much of an issue about things.
I would say though to not make an overly quiet approach to her bed and never touch her before she is awake and has realised you are there. Surprising a sleeping dog is never a good idea. Talk, call her name, walk normally, whistle, hum, just make enough noise to make her aware that someone is close. If she growls don't push it, she is growling because she is uncomfortable. She is talking to you, telling you her feelings about the situation.
I personally would make sure that I walk past the bed, confidently, calmly, as if she is not there, ignoring her but making sure I pass very close to her bed. If I want to interact with her I would use treats and an excited voice and call her from her bed to me. That way she has left her safe place and come to you of her own choice and is happy to do so.

I by no means am a trainer but this is just what I would do. Other people may have better ideas but I hope this is helpful.


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## Popps

Thanks so much for all the great advice. Poppy has been getting much better in recent days. She still growls a little when approached on her bed / makeshift bed but she's also such a fan of a tummy tickle that she is torn between saying back off and come on in and give me a good rub! I'm sure we will work through this until it stops but we are also respecting her wishes and her space!

Thanks again,

Jon and Poppy x


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## TraceyT33

Millie is now nearly 11 weeks and her growling and snapping is getting worse.... but it is mostly when she is playing... will this calm down?


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## wellerfeller

TraceyT33 said:


> Millie is now nearly 11 weeks and her growling and snapping is getting worse.... but it is mostly when she is playing... will this calm down?


Yes it will calm down. Just be consistent, she will grow out of it.


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## 2ndhandgal

If her growling got worse after her fall please get her checked over by a vet to make sure she did not do any damage. Only yesterday I heard of a dog who had fallen whilst getting in a car but had seemed unhurt and carried on mostly as normal until several days later when a vet check revealed the dog had actually broken his pelvis.
Dogs are remarkably good at just carrying on despite pain so always well worth getting checked over if there is a change in behaviour following an accident of some sort.


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## the wilsons

*growiling and snapping*

Hi there ,
Sorry this is not an answer , but we too desperatlety need help with our wee Nico.
Nico is a 9 month old male cockapoo , we picked him up on xmas eve in Great Yarmouth and brought him to Glasgow.He was approx 8weeks at that point.
He settled in great and is brilliant with our 2 girls Carra 9 and Charlotte 8.He is very intellgent and picked up tricks very quickly and on the whole is very obedient.
The problems started when he started to growl as we approached him particlaury the kids.We put this down to him being tired and tried to ignore him.However the growling has become more frequent and when my kids friends come into the house he growls at them ,when he was great with them before.He was very possesive of my wife and would growl at me when i appraoched her , now he growls at my wife if he is sitting with me and she approches me .
Basically he growels 70% of the day , a friend was tickling his tummy which he loves and he growled the whole time this was being done.
We took him to a trainer when this started and we were told to ingore him, all about insecurity, so we ignored his nonsense as directed.He is not a scared dog and when out an walks socialises well. I feel this has made him worse as I think he thinks he is getting away with it and appears to be king of the castle wombling about growling at everybody .Im sure he actually was growling one night at himself as he was falling asleep.
last week i was sleeping in bed and he was liying at foot of bed (not a common occurance as he sleeps in the kitchen)my wife entered the room and as normal he growled as she aproached the bed she edxtended her hand open to clap him as we have done in the past he bit her so bad breaking skin and nail of her small finger is now off.
when i got up to adress the situation he bit me .
the past week we are living in fear of him and are lost what to do about it .
we love him dearly but i feel this will only get worse and he might seriously hurt one of the kids one day.
This has been going on for 4months , he has been neutered ,the growling was going on before that though .We recently had his coat shaved really short due to the hot weather , I think he has got worse since then.
so confused so worried ,help ,help, help . 
Mark in Glasgow


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## RuthMill

I am no expert.. I would imagine this is some sort of guarding/protecting insecurities type of behaviour. I would get a trainer in to your home to assess the situation. I don't think ignoring this behaviour is the way. I would be thinking about a muzzle for the little guy until the behaviour breaks... Your children are obviously your priority here. I am sure good training will help your family.


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## Popps

*Dont give up*

Hi Mark,

I am sorry to hear about your problems - all I can say is that we have seen a vast improvement in Poppy of late and we have been through everything you describe in your post! We also had a trainer / behaviourist over and they too said we should ignore the growling and walk away. However, after living through it I am not sure that I agree with the advice. I am not an advocate of punishment but walking away and ignoring I think gave power to the animal's behaviour, and not the other way around. It got really bad and we were at our wits end but I tackled the problem head on in the end and decided to show no fear. If you start avoiding the animal and showing fear I think it will just get worse and worse, so I decided to confront it, passively. It is hard to describe how I did this but it took a while. Mostly through playing and perservering. If she growled I would back off a bit and then try again and always reading the situation. If she was really agitated I would back off for a bit and then try again after a while. I would pretend to be another dog and play passive and then we would reverse roles - eventually I got to the point where I could go through it (the growling) and she would relax and let me rub her tummy. We still have a few issues when she's on her bed but even in this case - more familiarity rather than less helped. My wife and kids now, through more access (than less), have a better relationship with her and there are virtually no problems now. I think the growling is a sign of fear and anxiety and the sense that they have to protect something ther see as theirs. I am no expert but I would definitely try and invest some time into more touching, playing, tig games and general tactile familiarisation, rather than doing less. Also reinforce with treats when you're happy with him. If he bites I would use a firm no and take away any fun activity for a while so he sees no reward from the behaviour.

Good luck! Jon.


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