A dog growling is a particularly important display of body language in which we should not punish. This is a dog’s way of saying “I’m really not happy with this situation, please back off!” A dog that is constantly told off for growling will soon learn that so instead will skip the growl and go straight for a snap!
But even before a dog growls, they will show signs of fear and by learning these signs we can pre-empt the growl or snap and stop situations from escalating.
The escalation pyramid is shown in a diagram below and shows the warning signs to look out for.
Yawning, nose licking and blinking
As a vet nurse I often hear clients say to their dog whilst waiting for their appointment in the vet or nurse “oh is someone tired” or “oh is someone hungry?”. This is one of the first signs the dog displays when they are worried.
Turning their head away
If a dog is wanting space, they will turn their head away. This is often seen when owners try to take a selfie with their dog, and they will not look at the camera.
Sitting, pawing, turning body away
As the pyramid suggests, the next step from turning their head is turning the whole body away.
Ears back, crouched and walks away
The dog’s whole body will be very close to the floor and almost army crawling along. Ears flat to their head and shuffling away.
Tail tucked and crouched
The dog will have their tail tucked underneath them as much as possible.
Lie down or leg up
This is where they sit and hold their front paw up and not to be mistaken for when they “give paw”.
Stiffening up
A dog will “freeze” and whole body becomes rigid.
And then we finally come to the last two stages.
The growl
A clear warning that the dog is fearful. Usually quite a deep growl.
A snap
The last resort a dog will display when in total fear and all the previous warning signs have been ignored by either a human or another dog.
So now you know the signs, what should you do to prevent the situation from reaching the top of the pyramid?
The simple and easy answer is to remove the dog from the situation. For example, you are out on a walk with your dog, and you meet another dog who is off lead. Watch the dogs body language when they first see the other dog. Are they showing any signs at the bottom of the pyramid? You may see a bouncy, confident dog standing over a fearful dog that is lying down, tail tucked underneath, licking their lips. All signs that a dog is unhappy with the situation. In an ideal world the dog stood up will leave the other dog alone (and their owner should be calling them back!) but this may of course not happen. So, then you as the owner will need to step in and separate the dogs. This can be hard for the owner of the bouncy confident dog as they may see it as them “just wanting to play”.
Please remember when I talk about a dog growling this is usually a low short growl, being given as a warning. When dogs or puppies are playing together and both dogs are happily playing then you may hear them growl in a playful way.
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