growelling black lab

[hw100sniper 2]

Hi guys ,looking for a bit of advice if possible.Ive a 2 yr old black lab bitch that in the past 2 months has started to growl at my youngest son if there is food about or he moves about in his seat in the back of the car when she is in the boot (estate car bso plenty room)

while she is groweling however she always bows her head and if i open the boot lid she cowers into the corner shaking like a leaf.In the last few weeks she has also started to do this in the car to 1 of the young guys that goes rough shooting with us if he turns to talk to her(hes 25).Shes back at the vet on monday but not holding up much hope as they havent found anything wrong so far.

 

 

Any ideas would be greatfully received.

 

Atb Billy

[ratattack 111]

The dog is trying to dominate your son, he is weaker than the dog so is lower down in the pack. You should be coming down quite hard on the dog when you catch it doing this as it could escalate and become risky for your son around the dog.

[Steve McHardy 2]

The dog is trying to dominate your son, he is weaker than the dog so is lower down in the pack. You should be coming down quite hard on the dog when you catch it doing this as it could escalate and become risky for your son around the dog.

i agree the dog must know its place, in dog world the weaker is lower until it proves otherwise but you have to do this for the baby i wont have growling of any sort at people.

[Back Stabbath 1]

Yep, she is seeing herself as equal or higher than your son. You need to correct this behaviour whenever you catch her at it. But also, your son should not play rough and tumble type games or lie on the floor with the dog, in fact dont even let him sit on the floor with her at this stage. Avoid tug games also, unless you have a strong 'let go' command and your son "wins" every game. That is, he decides when the game is over and takes the toy, rather than letting go of the toy when he gets bored so and leaving it with the dog. Its easy you taking charge and dominating her, but really your son needs to try and become more dominat too, it will speed up the process and will be more effective (Assuming of course that he's capable, like 8 or 10 yrs old at least). When she does growl at your son, I would recommend that he say in a stern voice (it will be harder for a young lad not having a very deep voice) something like 'no', but not a sharp 'no', like a 'noooo Daisyyy' or whatever the dogs name is, in a loudish stern voice. Never have him hit her for growling though, that could be dangerous. I would not recommnend him correcting her at this stage, just asserting his position. You should give a sharp correction like 'NO!' when you catch her growling at your son or the other lad. A physical correction if necessary, but if she cowers like you say, then a strong voice correction could be enough. I recommend that you don't let her on your sons bed, or even on the couch at this time. You can find excellent detailed information on pack structure and dominant dogs etc. on leerburg.com. Highly recommended.

 

Good luck!

[hw100sniper 2]

Cheers for the replies guys ,will let you know how I get on.

[bullmastiff 615]

It sounds more like fear/nervousness than a dominance issue? You need to speak to a decent trainer not a vet.

There's several things it could be down to.

Usually when a dog is growling through dominance it will stay still, raising it's chin or turning it's head sideways watching through the corner of it's eye. it should of shown several warning signs before it has to resort to growling to reinforce it's dominance.

 

Averting it's eye's (bowing it's head), nervous movements, shaking, are all signs of fear/anxiety NOT dominance.

 

Is she ok in the car? travelling etc.? could be she feels anxious or cornered in the car and is aiming at the nearest imagined cause/threat (Your son/young lad on the back seat)

 

Has anyone hit her or shouted/acted aggressively to her? If she was timid by nature then it wouldn't take much to break her confidence. So she's just trying to defend herself from what she thinks are aggresive movements from a smaller threat (younger or smaller people)

 

Like I said, your best phoning a few differant trainers (pet and Working) explain the situation and see what they advise.

 

Whatever it is, you would be better keeping her away from kids/youngsters until it's sorted. Dog's usually have two options when threatened (imaginary or not) fight or flight, hopefully she'll choose the latter if pushed? but in a boot of a car even this option has been removed)

 

All the best with her and don't forget to keep us updated

Edited November 16, 2009 by bullmastiff

[Dawn B 212]

Has she been in season recently?

[hw100sniper 2]

Today she sat all day with him with her head in his lap (hes of school not well),anytime he moved to go to toilet etc. she followed , yet tonight about 9pm when he went to go up stairs to bed (she lying at top of stairs) she started groweling.Any day of the week at any given time if any of us ask for a paw she will give 1 if my youngest boy asks she will roll over to get her belly rubbed .Although now he wont do it ,but on the other side wont let me get rid of her.

[upperlane2 4]

Today she sat all day with him with her head in his lap (hes of school not well),anytime he moved to go to toilet etc. she followed , yet tonight about 9pm when he went to go up stairs to bed (she lying at top of stairs) she started groweling.Any day of the week at any given time if any of us ask for a paw she will give 1 if my youngest boy asks she will roll over to get her belly rubbed .Although now he wont do it ,but on the other side wont let me get rid of her.

i think ur dogs trying to mother ur son. try getting ur son to give her some commands like sit. Get him to hold a ball make a her sit and get a retrieve or 2 make him use his hands when giving them if dog listens every time if it starts to growl make him lift his hand and tell her to sit. shell soon catch on he is not there to mother atb

[waidmann 105]

i would suggest that the dog shaking like a leaf is her response to YOUR body language( as pack leader/alpha).

how old is the bitch?

as said in the previous posts try to get your son (under supervision) to help with training.work on his dominance ( he goes out of the door first,refusal to play with the bitch when she wants to, etc etc.)

good luck,don't take any chances bud.

would like to hear how you get on.