![]() ![]() The stressor may be related to pain, fear, intrusion, threats to resources, past association, or anticipation of any of these things. What many people don’t realize is that aggression is caused by stress. If that doesn’t succeed in convincing you to leave, the dog may feel compelled to bite hard enough to break skin in his efforts to protect self, territory, members of his social group, or other valuable resources. “Please,” he says, “don’t make me bite you.” If those are ignored, he may become more insistent, with an air snap, a bump of the nose, or even open mouth contact that closes gently on an arm but doesn’t break skin. ![]() “I mean it,” he says more firmly, “I want you to leave.” If you continue to invade his comfort zone, his threats may intensify, with more tension, a hard stare, and a low growl. “Please,” he says gently, “I don’t want you to be here.” He may begin with subtle signs of discomfort that are often overlooked by many humans – tension in body movements, a stiffly wagging tail. The dog who doesn’t want to bite or fight tries his hardest to make you go away. The behaviors that signal pending aggression are intended first and foremost to warn away a threat. ![]() And it's their individual variability and differences in the varying situations in which they're studied that's often responsible for differences in the results from experiments that focus on similar questions.Most dogs don’t want to bite or fight. One of the most exciting aspects of studying dogs centers on their marked differences in behavior, personalities, and how they adjust to living in a human-dominated world. It is also crucial that we view each and every dog as the individual they are no two dogs are the same, and there is no being called "the dog." (See " Let's Give Dogs a Break by Distinguishing Myths From Facts" and links therein.) Dogs, even young siblings, show incredible individual variation, and explanations of behavior patterns that might work for one, two, or even 10 dogs might not work for many others. It's essential so that dog-dog and dog-human encounters will be as amiable as they can be. I've heard numerous similar stories from many people about the situations in which their otherwise friendly dog would occasionally growl, and there was no problem at all.ĭecoding what dogs are saying and feeling - accurately reading their moods - is necessary if we're to live harmoniously together. There never was a problem, even if he growled to show how he felt about it. Another dog I rescued didn't like people to touch his front feet, so, once again, I honored that and told other people not to try to touch his front feet. We did not have a failed relationship, but rather a very deep and enduring friendship for many years. That worked very well - there never was any aggression, and all he did was growl a few times and then stop - and other dogs also learned very rapidly to leave him alone when he was around his food. I also came to realize that - most likely because of how he was treated (or mistreated) when he was young and on his own and had to find and defend food before he went to the local humane society, and I brought him home - growling was his way of saying, "Please leave me alone," or "This is my food, and I need it." He never did anything more than growl, and I would tell other people to leave him alone when he was around food. ![]() I was able to teach him not to growl on most occasions, especially when I was the human intruding on "his food," and his growls became less intense and, on occasion, almost inaudible. One of the dogs I rescued years ago growled when another dog or a person, including myself, came near him when he was eating or playing with food. (See " Get Down and Dirty With Your Dog: Bow, Hug, and Tug.") Getting down and dirty with a dog is an incredibly special time filled with frivolity and unbounded joy, as long as it's on the dog's terms. It's all “part of the game,” and if the dog's other behaviors are appropriate, “let him growl his heart out!” I agree, and I also feel the same when a person engages in rough-and-tumble play with a dog, and the human is sure that the dog enjoys it, and that it remains a playful interaction. Concerning tug-of-war, in her book called Play with Your Dog, dog trainer Pat Miller wrote, “Tug to your hearts’ content,” and don't worry if your dog growls. (See " What's Happening When Dogs Play Tug-of-War? Dog Park Chatter.") They can just be having fun. For example, when growling takes place during playful tug-of-war and a dog is vocalizing and expressing other behavior patterns, it's not necessarily because two dogs or a dog and a human are competing with one another. When growling is part of a composite signal, it can be more difficult to assess what a dog is trying to communicate. ![]()
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