Why is my dog growling at me?

You drop something. 

You reach down to pick it up - only to find it already in the jaws of your dog.

And - your dog is lifting his lip and growling at you!

What is going on?!

What is going on is that your dog has claimed something that looks interesting to him. It could be anything, though it’s commonly food.

And when you go to snatch it off him, he objects! In the only way he knows how. And that’s by saying “Mine!” by growling.

Now the first thing to know is that if you persist in trying to take this thing from him, you are likely to get bitten.

It’s not that your dog is nasty, he’s just saying “I don’t think so.” And you haven’t heeded his warning.

So the first thing to do if this happens to you, is to BACK OFF!

No, you’re not “giving in”. You’re not “letting the dog win”. None of that. You’re just being practical. Far better to defuse the situation and go from there. Why “lead with your chin” as my father used to say?

Do you actually need to get the object back?

Very often the item itself is not worth bothering about. You can wait till your dog has found it boring - and that you clearly don’t want to fight him for it - and pick it up when he’s moved on.

But sometimes you do need to get it back.

1. Is the item dangerous to the dog?

2. Is it valuable to you, and breakable?  

In either of those cases, you do need to have the dog relinquish it.

And the quickest way, as any parent of a toddler knows, is to organise a diversion! Scatter some treats on the floor a little away from the dog. You can scoop up the item as he goes for the treats. Or throw his beloved ball through an open door and close it behind him so you can clear up.

If it’s the Sunday roast and he’s not letting go - then you may have to sacrifice it. You could try getting the lead and heading excitedly for the door. Or you may just have to know that you have some training to do! 

In fact, we all have training to do.

This is a totally natural reaction from the dog - it doesn’t mean he’s bad or nasty. Just not yet trained.

From an early age you need to teach your dog to swap. Doing this with two similar objects is a great way to start: exchange is no robbery.

What you want to remember is ALWAYS to reward your dog for giving something up. Sometimes you can check the item and give it back to him, plus a treat. If you need to remove the item, be sure to offer something of equal or greater value!

“He always growls!”

If your dog is in a well-established pattern of stealing, grabbing, lowering his head over the item, showing the whites of his eyes while he glares up at you, stiff and frozen, then I suggest you contact me direct so that I can help you personally.

And be sure to check out the Brilliant Family Dog Academy, where we take you step by careful step through teaching how to avoid this, and have a biddable dog who is happy to share his finds with you.

And the best way to learn about this amazing program is through this free Workshop with all its lessons.

Doggy expectations!

You’re getting a dog!

All those cries of, “Mummy WHEN can we have a dog?” have been heeded.

It’s going to be your first dog!

Maybe you caved in under pressure. Maybe you’ve always wanted a dog and the time is now right.

But don’t go into this new venture without a hand on your shoulder. You need a roadmap!

First off, are you starting from the right place?

You need to be sure the dog you’re getting is the right one for your family. This article has a lot of advice for the first-time purchaser.

You can follow that article with the first in a series of HOW NOT TO MAKE A GHASTLY MISTAKE with your first dog!

Chosen the right dog?

Great! Now, how realistic are your expectations for your new dog?

Are you expecting your new puppy to slip into the household almost unseen?

Are you expecting the children to know exactly how to behave round a dog?

Are you assuming your rescue dog (who was presumably in the shelter because his previous owners gave up on him) will be the perfect trained, well-mannered, easygoing, dog?  

I find that there are two camps of new dog-owners

1. There are those who expect the very best and are totally unrealistic, expecting the puppy to “train” himself, with never a hair out of place.

2. And there are those who assume it will all be awful.

So some will give their puppy total freedom of the house, then say, “Why do I keep finding puddles? I put him out in the garden every few hours …”

And some will say, “I expected my puppy to bite, but my hands and clothes are shredded by my 5-month-old pup.”

Both of them have got the wrong end of the stick.

Both of them have had faulty expectations.

And neither of them has actually taught their new dog what they’d like of him!

They talk of puddles everywhere, and bitten hands. But you see, neither is inevitable!

Some pups housetrain fast, even without thorough teaching. And many puppies never bite anyone at all.

But you do need to be armed for every eventuality. And the Brilliant Family Dog Academy is the best place for you to learn everything you need to know to make this new relationship a success.

Whether your dog is a puppy or a seasoned campaigner, you’ll need to have some understanding of WHY she’s doing what she does - and ways to kindly divert her into something you find more acceptable.

 You’ll need to understand how to reach your new dog’s mind

And this doesn’t mean shouting SIT ever more loudly in the hope that she’s been swotting up on the English language and knows what you mean!

Did you know you can teach your dog everything she needs to learn without ever putting a hand on her? (Except for cuddles when she wants them, of course! That’s different.)

I love it when people write to tell me how following my guidance has helped make their new dog the Brilliant Family Dog they wanted, as Charlie said about her Busta: “Busta is 10 months now and is a Brilliant Family Dog!”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all new dogs had owners like that?

Here’s where you can start:

 For more about the Brilliant Family Dog Academy I mentioned above, watch our free Workshop and learn all about how you can transform your Li’l Nipper into your Brilliant Family Dog!

Would you love to work with dogs?

Is this a dream of yours? That you’d love to work with dogs in some way?  

All day, every day, just working with dogs?

Many people harbour this secret dream in their heart. And the sad thing is that for most it remains a secret dream.

Why not get it out in the open and get going with it?!

Dogs, all day?

The first thing to know is that whatever area of working with dogs you choose, other things will always impinge. You won’t be “working with dogs, all day, every day”. There will always be reports to write, clients to interview, targets to meet …

At least when it’s your own business, you get to set those targets and decide where you want to focus!

And this is the stumbling-block for many.

“I’m no good at business …”

The thought of actually running a business is too much for them. They’re worried about all the red tape, the financial implications, the responsibility.

Seduced by the regular income of their current job, they’d prefer to stay warm and cosy rather than get out there and help our friend, the dog.

You see, if you’re following Brilliant Family Dog, you are exactly the sort of person who should be out there spreading the word about force-free training! Showing people how it’s done! And showing them how they can transform their lives by following our kind methods.

YOU are valuable! We need your expertise and personality in the mix.

There are far too many people from the Dark Side - browbeating people into thinking they have to do nasty things to their dog to make any progress.

WE know that’s not true.

And once we’ve discovered this harmonious way to live with our companion dogs, we have a duty to show a better way.

🐾 A way which excludes bullying, intimidation, and pain.

🐾 A way which fosters personal choice, freedom, and joy.

I’m working on a new project to get people started in the business they’ve dreamt about for years, and never quite had the opportunity or the belief to start.

It will cover everything you need to do to get your business started fast - so much faster than you can imagine! Business skills, personal skills, people skills, dog skills . . . it’ll all be there for you, along with all the templates you need to get going.

Why can I do this? Because I’ve done it. I had the same concerns you have. And I worked it out.

Want some help with building this unbreakable relationship? Watch our free Workshop on Getting your Dog to Listen, and you may be surprised how much this short video will teach you!

Children and pandemic puppies

So many people have turned to our friend the dog to help them through the troubled times of the last year and a half.  

And so many of them had NO idea what they were getting themselves into when they rushed out and bought the first puppy they saw! No research, no experience, no realisation of the murky underworld of money-grabbing, unprincipled, “puppy farmers”, just a desire for companionship.

And that desire is all well and good, but we’re talking about bringing a different species into our homes. Of course there will be teething problems!

Puppy socialisation

One of the things which we dog professionals work so hard to explain to our students is in how the dog’s brain works in regard to meeting new experiences, people, objects, children, animals, places.

That’s what socialisation is really about.

Many new dog-owners think they have to thrust their puppy or new rescue dog into the face of every passing dog. This is a hazardous plan, and frequently backfires!

But it’s not just about meeting other dogs.

And many, many of these Pandemic Puppies have been confined at home by lockdowns, and have missed some or ALL of their socialisation period.

For the dog is so designed that they will accept new things up to the age of about 15 weeks. After that, their “socialisation window” closes with a bang, and they will regard new things with a certain amount of suspicion.

If you’ve introduced them to noisy traffic early on, they may accept a noisy train even if seeing it after the shut-off age of 15 weeks.

But they may not.

Dogs are not great at generalising experiences. They tend to see everything as an individual occurrence.

Socialising to people

And this is particularly important with people.

We may see all people as much of a muchness - older, younger, bigger, smaller, brown, white - they’re all people.

But your dog sees them as quite separate entities!

The way an old man hobbles, leaning on a stick, is totally different from how a lithe teenager skims along, or a toddler wobbles unpredictably.

This is what the dog sees!

And the dog in this picture is showing extreme anxiety at being cornered by this well-meaning child. This warning, unheeded, could result in a snap or even a bite. A knowledge of Dog Body Language is essential for any would-be dog-owner.

So if your dog’s been kept at home for his first few weeks of life, and this has been compounded by being kept away from what we accept as normal life for many more months as he matures, then we are presenting our young dog with a challenge he is ill-equipped to deal with!

Suddenly there are children visiting the home - his safe fortress where no-one but his immediate family ever ventured. These new curious creatures are noisy, erratic, jumpy, armed with food and toys. They are quite unlike any other human he has encountered. He has no idea what to make of them.

And unless given a slow introduction and a safe haven away from the intruders, things could rapidly go pear-shaped.

How to make up for missed “socialisation”

You can’t.

What your puppy missed before 15 weeks cannot now be put back.

But this is not all gloom and doom!

There’s plenty you can do.

You need to give your dog new experiences, very gradually and without pressure. He needs to learn slowly but surely that these new things in his life are not dangerous.

So a visit to the park to watch children playing from a safe distance would be a good start. There’s no need for him to actually meet any until he’s comfortable at a distance.

And, of course, it takes two to tango - teaching the visiting children how to behave round a dog is a vital continuation!

There are some great pointers on how to do this in this post

And some very useful resources below to help you make dogs meeting children a safe and enjoyable experience all round.

Meanwhile, to find out more of how your dog’s brain works, and how you can get the best results with your new friend, watch our free Workshop here

RESOURCES

Blue Cross  

Family Paws

Doggone Safe

Children and dog bites

Summer Grooming for your dog!

Once you’ve done the thorough spring overhaul and got all the winter coat out, you may think you can take a break from brushing your dog for a while.

But NOOOOOO!

It’s especially important in summer!

This is when you can get all those ticks, cuts, matts, cleavers, twigs, grass seeds, and any other sticky passenger looking for a free ride.

The photo above shows Lacy after a dash through an innocent-looking field. She was completely coated, especially underneath. It took almost three hours to remove these sticky seeds - her trousers and her tail were completely knitted together!

And here’s the haul of several hundred cleavers I had to remove from Coco Poodle last week - one by one! - after a joyous rush along a hedgerow. I could see he’d picked up a few, but they lurk under his curls and I was amazed at how many I found.

I’m sure poodles were involved somewhere in the invention of Velcro!

All-over investigation

You have to take special care to feel all over the body - under the armpits, inside the ears, between the pads (a cleaver lodging here would lead to sores!).

You can see how important it is to keep the inter-pad hair trimmed on your hairy dog’s paws in this post

Grass seeds are particularly nasty - especially foxtails - which can enter the body and wreak havoc within.

And while you’re feeling for beasties and seeds, you may come across cuts or sore patches which will need tending - and you may also find lumps and bumps which may need vet attention.

Here’s a post that goes into much greater detail:

https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/the-weekly-once-over-can-save-you-a-lot-of-vets-bills

So, while you’re half-watching tv, you can be having some up-close and personal time with your dog - and save yourself some possible vets’ bills while making her much more comfortable.

Tell us in the comments - what have you had to remove from your enthusiastic dog’s coat in the summer? I can imagine tar from the beach comes quite high up the list of horrors!

Do you really want to change your Growly Dog?

Do you really want to change your Growly Dog?

You may think you do. And you may be on a hunt to find out how to improve life with your dog - whom you love dearly, but who is impossible on walks!

And this is a thoroughly laudable intent.

But you want to take care just what you change!

There are plenty of “dog trainers” who want to beat you and your dog into submission. They have no interest in anyone’s feelings. They just want to get results fast, regardless of the emotional cost.

They want you to hand your dog over to them for weeks. And you’ll have no idea what they’re actually doing.

Anyone who tells you they can fix your dog’s reactivity issues (they’ll call it ‘aggression’) in a matter of days or weeks is probably relying on punitive methods which may well work in the short term - by suppressing your dog’s natural responses and taking away his freedom of choice.

But they can have disastrous repercussions down the line!

You’ll find these residential training places online. You’ll find them in the local paper. It’s a cop-out which is very popular at the moment.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!

Do you want to give your dog a virtual lobotomy by using electric shock treatment to shut him down?

I’m sure you don’t. But unless you look very closely at what they’re doing with your dog, you won’t know till it’s too late.

This is one of the hazards of residential training: you have no idea what is happening to your dog!

The trainers may or may not make a difference to your anxious dog while he’s in their control.

But what happens when he gets home?

Thing is … it’s YOU who has to learn! Once you’ve learned what’s going on with your dog and why he’s doing what he does, then you can work with him to change this!

And change it while keeping all the wonderful aspects of his personality that make you care for him.

Scrap the idea of sending your dog to someone else to fix

So you’ve scrapped that idea! Now what?

🐕‍🦺 You’ve already hunted all over the internet

🐕‍🦺 You’ve read all the books

🐕‍🦺 You’ve watched the whole of Youtube

🐕‍🦺 You’ve learned ALL the things.

But have you done any of the things?

There is nothing wrong with you!

This is 100% normal. To think you just need to get the knowledge and it’ll all work for you.

You can gather information till the cows come home, but unless you have the support you need, you’re not going to get it working for you!

There’s a high likelihood that your brain is now scrambled. You are confused by so many conflicting methods and remedies - this person says this, that person says that, your next-door neighbour says the other …

So you need to find someone you can trust. Someone who understands what you’re going through, someone with experience, someone with your dog’s best interests at heart.

Try me!

You can check out what I do, what I stand for, and the results I’ve got. There are almost 250 articles here on www.brilliantfamilydog.com for you to read! There are my inexpensive books you can read or listen to, there are free email courses and guides - and there are free Masterclasses for you to “meet” me and see whether what I am saying makes sense to you, and whether I’m someone you can trust.

One person who listened to a Masterclass of mine (focussing on Growly - shy, anxious, reactive, ‘aggressive’ - Dogs) said to herself, “I think this woman can help me,” joined us and has never looked back! Her life and her dog’s life have been totally transformed.

If you’re still reading this post, and have read anything else of mine, there’s a high likelihood that what you are looking for for your dog can be found here.

Start with this Masterclass - The 3 Biggest Mistakes Growly Dog owners make - and what to do instead!

and tell us in the chat there what you think! You can ask any questions you like and I’ll be glad to answer them.