When I play tug with my neo/bull mix puppy, he has been growling alot when he gets excited. Is this something I should be worried about? (I.E. should I take it as aggression.) Or is it just him saying he's having fun and to keep playing? He doesn't try to bite me after he drops his toy when I tell him to, he just growls when we've gotten into a good game of tug. If it is something I should be worried about, should I just use the "stop playing and ignore him" method to show him it's not okay to growl?
Playing Tug question
- Thread starter RivetLikeWhoa
- Start date
He's just having fun. The fact that he drops it when you tell him to is proof that he isn't taking it too serious.I'd think if he's not showing any other signs, growling can be done in good fun as well. Just like my dog hackles when we play. It's from excitement. There isn't one ounce of "dominance" or fear or anything involved, just excitement. Growling can be the same. If you otherwise have a good relationship with your dog I wouldn't worry about it at all.
I love to hear the happy sounds of play growling. I too growl back and Jose` can really get it going big time. He gets very fierce and shakes the tug toy until he kills it.... and then it goes into a talky-howly thing, which I'm trying to get him to do more and put it on a cue, "talk to me." It's hilarious.
Like it was said, as long as he learns, "give" or "drop it" when you say. If he doesn't know that first, he shouldn't get to play. Gotta learn the rules first before you play a game. Another rule of mine is that if teeth hit me, even by accident, the game ends abruptly. And I'll give him another try in a minute. No jumping up to grab the toy from my hand either. Some people say only the human instigates the game. I personally don't have that rule. If a dog brings me a toy and asks to play, if I feel like playing, I'll take him up on his offer. If I don't, I don't. LOL. Oh, and the rule I have for myself is that I almost always let the dog win because I believe that helps build confidence. If I ask him to "give," I give it back again right away or resume playing....except when it's time to put the toy away. Some trainers think that the tug toy should be reserved for only tug games and not left out for the dog to have whenever. It's probably a good idea. I just haven't really followed through with that one.
Like it was said, as long as he learns, "give" or "drop it" when you say. If he doesn't know that first, he shouldn't get to play. Gotta learn the rules first before you play a game. Another rule of mine is that if teeth hit me, even by accident, the game ends abruptly. And I'll give him another try in a minute. No jumping up to grab the toy from my hand either. Some people say only the human instigates the game. I personally don't have that rule. If a dog brings me a toy and asks to play, if I feel like playing, I'll take him up on his offer. If I don't, I don't. LOL. Oh, and the rule I have for myself is that I almost always let the dog win because I believe that helps build confidence. If I ask him to "give," I give it back again right away or resume playing....except when it's time to put the toy away. Some trainers think that the tug toy should be reserved for only tug games and not left out for the dog to have whenever. It's probably a good idea. I just haven't really followed through with that one.
I just re-read your post and this caught my eye especially. Ignoring would be okay, but in general..... if your pup ever growls and it's not in play, (I hope you can distinguish by his body language and facial expression. You should study up on that...lots of stuff online) it is bad idea to ever show him that it's not okay to growl, as with some kind of punishment. Some people scold or slap or yank or scruff to tell their dogs that it's not okay to growl. On the contrary: It IS okay to growl. That is how dogs communicate that something is bothering them, something is wrong. And we should listen.
My son's dog growled and snapped at the air when I clipped one of her nails which I didn't have a really good view of...not good enough. Big mistake. I cut her quick badly on a nail that was already split. It had to hurt her big time. If she had been punished for growling in the past, she may well have realized that growling doesn't work to make people back off and she may have taken my face off. I thanked her for telling me, said I was so sorry. And let it heal before trying again, at which time I had to re-condition her because she did develop a fear of that back foot being messed with. Now she's all fine again.
So, if you ever have a dog growl at you or anyone else, don't punish him. Find out what is going on and fix the problem. For example, some dogs growl when people try to take away their toy or food bowl. If they get punished, the next time, they won't warn and may well go right for your face with those big, canine teeth. So, instead of focusing on that growl, you need to condition the dog to enjoying having people around his food bowl or taking his toy.(preferable right away, while he's still a puppy, very important) There are ways to accomplish this (and most other normal dog behaviors that we humans don't like) which teach the dog our ways without disrespecting their ways and without causing more defensiveness or whatever problem you're having.
My son's dog growled and snapped at the air when I clipped one of her nails which I didn't have a really good view of...not good enough. Big mistake. I cut her quick badly on a nail that was already split. It had to hurt her big time. If she had been punished for growling in the past, she may well have realized that growling doesn't work to make people back off and she may have taken my face off. I thanked her for telling me, said I was so sorry. And let it heal before trying again, at which time I had to re-condition her because she did develop a fear of that back foot being messed with. Now she's all fine again.
So, if you ever have a dog growl at you or anyone else, don't punish him. Find out what is going on and fix the problem. For example, some dogs growl when people try to take away their toy or food bowl. If they get punished, the next time, they won't warn and may well go right for your face with those big, canine teeth. So, instead of focusing on that growl, you need to condition the dog to enjoying having people around his food bowl or taking his toy.(preferable right away, while he's still a puppy, very important) There are ways to accomplish this (and most other normal dog behaviors that we humans don't like) which teach the dog our ways without disrespecting their ways and without causing more defensiveness or whatever problem you're having.
