im pretty horrified and dismayed by all the people who would be "shocked" and dumbfounded if their dogs growled, at anyone, for any reason. you are basically saying that you would be SHOCKED if your dog expressed an opinion, a desire, a thing that is not mindlessly accepting any and all treatment or situation thrown their way
do you want a dog, or do you want a robot? easygoing is one thing. saying you would be SHOCKED if your dog said "no thank you" to ANYTHING is, quite frankly, ****ing bullshit. its not a furry stuffed animal. its not a robot. your dog has every right to tell somebody, even you "not now please" or "id like it if you didnt do that". that doesnt mean you dont get the right to sometimes insist "i understand, and im very sorry but this must happen" but saying you would be shocked and floored that your dog dare to have a thought that wasnt complacent and accepting is grossly unfair, to your animal, and to its relationship to you
No, it’s not being shocked that the dog expressed an opinion, it’s having a dog who acts one way his/her entire life and then acts out of character, yes, it would take anyone off guard.
Bates is a rude, PITA, obnoxious dog who has NO issue expression his opinion
He muzzle punches me, has no problem raking a claw down my thigh to get me to get off the sofa and do something with him. He also has a lovely repertoire of growls and whines and even whine/bark to communicate with us that he wants something and he wants it now.
He can be iffy with other dogs, does not put up with rude or stupid at all, he regularly makes puppies widdle on themselves, he can be a big old jerk.
It would not shock me in the least if Bates ended up in a scuffle with another dog and poked some holes in the other dog. It would not shock me in the least if Bates had an issue with other dogs, small furries, hell, even large furries.
However, if he were to growl with displeasure at a human, yes, I would be shocked.
As obnoxious as he is, he is also ridiculously tolerant, has a huge pain threshold, and the patience of a saint. He’s had a visiting kid cartwheel across the room and fall on top of him
while he was eating, and his reaction was to grunt as they both crashed to the floor, then he pulled himself out from under said kid, licked the kid’s face, then returned to finishing his meal, completely unperturbed.
Another time on a therapy visit, a patient either seized or had a moment of delusion, and grabbed Bates' thigh hard enough to make him yelp. Again, he yelped and scooted away, but made no move to defend or aggress towards the human. He also recovered from that really quickly, no lasting effects.
We’ve washed out a hole in his side that showed his ribs, picked pieces of wood and dirt out of it, all unrestrained, un-sedated, no pain killers, he whimpered a little
() but made absolutely zero move to use teeth or even suggest the use of teeth.
It’s not that he doesn’t have the “right†to react negatively to those situations, it’s just that he never has. So were he to growl in a similar situation, yes it would shock me. Not because I expect robotic compliance from him (good LOL there for anyone who knows me and my dogs), not because I’m being grossly unfair and whatever else you’re accusing us of, but simply because it would be completely out of character for this dog and my experiences with him.
Just as some people seem to have the patience of saints and never get angry, some dogs are the same way. So yeah, if your Mother Teresa neighbor suddenly went off on a rant dropping f-bombs, no matter how “justified†the rant, you would be shocked. Same with those dogs who we’ve never known to have an angry or defensive moment in certain contexts.