Growling
“What should I do if my dog growls at me?” is a question that trainers frequently hear. Even though it’s a common question, the “correct” answer is hotly debated among trainers. Here are some of the most popular answers, along with their pros and cons:
Option 1: Do nothing.
Remain perfectly still.
Pro: Not a
bad choice. Easy to execute.
Con: You run the risk of getting
bitten if the dog is growling to signal a desire for increased distance (i.e. “Go away!”).
Option 2: Redirect the dog. Offer a
bone, toy or food
treat to get his mind on something
else.
Pro: Amateur trainers safely escape injury all the time with this time honored maneuver.
Con: What you’re really doing is reinforcing, not redirecting. You are rewarding the behavior. Dog growls, he gets a treat or toy – that’s a positive reward. When you reward a behavior you increase the likelihood that it will happen again.
Option 3:
Correct the behavior immediately. For example,
frontally align yourself and make direct eye contact, scold in a low tone of voice and if necessary do a leash
correction. Teach the dog that it is never acceptable to growl at
you.
Pro: Looks great on TV shows (if the dog backs down).
Con #1: This response
has a good chance of actually triggering a bite.
Con #2: If it
does not trigger a bite, you will be shutting down your dog’s warning
system, making the dog much more dangerous. In the future when he feels
threatened, instead of giving you a warning (growl)
he will bite.
As you can see, this is not an easy question
to answer. The better question may be, “How can I avoid situations which make my dog growl?” By avoiding known triggers we can greatly reduce the need to
deal with a growling dog in the first place. A good handler knows his dog, reads his dog and understands
his dog’s temperament, drive and personality. A good handler knows
how to prevent situations that will cause a dog to growl.
Option 4: Ignoring, rewarding, or confronting a growl may have undesirable consequences. The best option is to shift the dog from a threatening mode to a cooperative mode by putting him into drive. Your attitude becomes, “I’m not interested in your growl. I’m doing this new activity instead.” When you put a previously growling dog into working drive, you shift him into a completely different frame of mind. For example, one might go get the dog’s leash and put him into a happy, “let’s go for a walk” frame of mind. Or call him to sit, down, and then reward with a treat.*
This is NOT the same thing as Option 2 above (“redirect”). Putting the dog into working mode operates on the principle that active submission is first obtained by evoking a new response, and then rewarding the new behavior.
The handler must do sufficient groundwork for this procedure to be effective. The dog must know and respond to obedience commands. That’s one reason why we always include basic obedience training (aka "foundational behaviors") as part of our aggression rehabilitation protocols.
If option 4 is done correctly, there is little chance of inadvertently reinforcing the aggressive behavior, because you are first evoking a new response to gain submission, and then offering the reward, rather than directly rewarding the undesirable behavior. It’s unlikely that the dog will “connect the dots” since dogs have a hard time with linear thinking. But even if he does, this is still a MUCH better option than confronting or punishing the dog. When you punish growling you risk shutting down the dog’s warning system. Remember, a dog who knows how to warn (growl) is much safer to work with than one who bites without warning.
Conclusion: Next time a dog growls at you, avoid the
temptation to use options 1, 2 or 3. Instead, diffuse the situation by shifting the dog into working
drive to bring him from an undesirable
state of mind into a safer one. *Note: Option 4 should not be used in situations involving resource guarding (e.g. food, toys, treats, stolen objects).
