Sleepy Dog

[Sherri]

My dog likes to growl also, but does not bite.. He is only 5 months old, but has done this behavior since we have had him at 9 weeks. He is a Beagle/Rat Terrier mix..
He will most often growl when he is sleeping and we pet him or move him. He makes a lot of noise but does not bite. He sometimes shows his teeth, but that is as far as it goes. I am afraid that even though we know it is just noise, what will friends and or family think if he displays this behavior when they are over? My husband I like to travel a lot and have had many volunteers for dog sitters, but will the offers still be there if he growls at our friends/family?
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to "break" him of this behavior? When he does not growl at us, we praise and treat him, but have not seen any consistancy with the growling stopping.. It seems to us that the more tired he is, the more he will growl...

[Daniela Jantzen]

Hello Sherri,

congrats, you have a completely normal dog! :o

He will most often growl when he is sleeping and we pet him or move him
Ok, now let us have a closer look at this senctence:
the dog is asleep, probably dreaming of some nice chicken legs or whatever else... and all of a sudden someone comes up and rudely wakes him up by petting him. Come one, now, be honest..... how would you react if you were in his position? Probably slap the hand away and yell "hey", wouldn't you?
I sure would......
It is perfectly ok for a dog to display its discomfort in such a situation.
Keep in mind that sleep or even just resting a bit is important to all living creatures on this planet. Our metabolism needs these phases of sleep to recover.
So please: provide your dog with as much possibilities to do so in peace as possible.
If he is asleep - fine, let him sleep. If, for whatever reason, you need him to wake up: call his name. Give him a chance to gather his senses before you ask him to move or even touch him.
Explain his needs to possible dog sitters and I am sure you will have no problem finding one at all. :wink:

Danny

[Renee Premaza]

Hi Sherri,

You stated that when your dog is really tired, you're more apt to get the growling behavior. I suspect that your dog is trying very hard to tell you, "hey I'm really tired, so please leave me alone!" Growling is a dog's way of giving a warning that he's trying not to bite, but if need be, he may decide to bite someday if you don't pay attention to his pleas.

Showing his teeth is also a warning, but it's a stronger warning than the growling! I would encourage you to begin training him in obedience, either by taking him to group classes or having an inhome trainer work with him and you in your house. You need to understand dog behavior a bit more than you do now, and he needs help in dealing with stressful situations.

One of the best recommendations I can make to you is to implement the Nothing in Life is Free program ASAP. The article is now available here on this forum within the articles pages. At the very least, have your dog sit for everything he wants in his life. At 5 months, he will be going into his adolescent stage of development, and that can be very trying. Obedience is absolutely necessary.

Hope this was helpful.




My dog likes to growl also, but does not bite.. He is only 5 months old, but has done this behavior since we have had him at 9 weeks. He is a Beagle/Rat Terrier mix..
He will most often growl when he is sleeping and we pet him or move him. He makes a lot of noise but does not bite. He sometimes shows his teeth, but that is as far as it goes. I am afraid that even though we know it is just noise, what will friends and or family think if he displays this behavior when they are over? My husband I like to travel a lot and have had many volunteers for dog sitters, but will the offers still be there if he growls at our friends/family?
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to "break" him of this behavior? When he does not growl at us, we praise and treat him, but have not seen any consistancy with the growling stopping.. It seems to us that the more tired he is, the more he will growl...

[Sherri]

Thanks Danny and Renee for the advice.

We do have Baxter in obedience training.. He has gone through and passed puppy school and has just started his basic class. We also do use the NILIF program for him.

What we have been told by our vet, our trainer and another forum is to continue doing what we are doing when he displays this behavior, we do not want him to think that he is getting what he wants when he displays this, but to also give him treats so he knows it is OK for us to touch and/or move him. We have also been told by another person with this mix (beagle/rat terrier) that their dog also displayed this behavior and out grew it by 9 months or so?

We have continued to touch him/move him when he sleeps and do not back off when he growls and he does seem to give up quicker.. We have just recently tried to make our moves not as much of a shock to him, by talking to him, making noises etc. to wake him up a little before we touch him, hoping to wake him up a bit first.

Hopefully we are moving in the right direction with him and he will be a happy sleepy dog?

Thanks again,
Sherri