Growling

[shedaisy]

Hi, I'm fairly new at this sight and just love it. I just read Mick the trainer stuff of dominanc and thought it was excellent! I have a question about a new problem me and my husband are having with our new male rott Hogan. I do apologize if this to long but think you need to know what is all going on. We got Hogan from Homeward Bound of Mn. 4 monthes ago. He is about 1 1/2 years old. We also have another female rot named Daisy whom we rescued about 2 yrs ago. Both very good dogs. And I feel like we have done a pretty good job with teaching them how to behave. Hogan was as far a we know was found wandering this spring and was only 35 lbs. they figured he had been beat also . Hogan is now up to about 110lbs and is getting over his shyness or we think he is gettiing over not having to worry if we are going to hit him as when we come to him now he doesn't cower anymore. I walk both dogs daily for an hour with their backpacks on carrying water for me so that they get plenty of exercise and this is their job they do for me. We also have a very large fenced yard they they play in too. But they are in the house dogs and only go out when they want to. We take them riding in the car and Hogan will growl at Daisy if she gets to close to him in the back seat. We also socialize them. They both love people and small children and other dogs that come to our house. Never any problems there. What has been happening lately is Hogan will all of a sudden start growling such as if she gets to close to his bone or if I give them a treat or now he even growled at my son (he's 25) on Sunday when he was petting him. I hope I am doing the right thing but I do not allow him to do this ever. When he does I will tell him a firm no and he will stop. My husband thinks it's that he is taking over alpha dog from Daisy. He is 1st out the door when they go out, but they don't have any eating issues on who eats 1st or anything. So I was just wondering if we are doing the right thing and not allowing his growling episodes. He has never acted like he would bite but I want to get control over this now. I,m pretty sure I am the alpa dog in the house as he does listen well to my commands and just now he was chewing his bone and I took it away from him and he just looked at me and waited until I gave it back to him. Sorry this is so long, does anyone have any thoughts on if we are doing the right stuff to help Hogan. He seems very happy here and him and Daisy get along really good. They love to wrestle outside, but neither ever hurts the other one. Thanks for your help. A Rotty lover!!

[winniecnm]

I would:

do a search on NILIF, live it with both dogs
crate the dog when he or she has high value items
limit the free time the dogs spend together right now
and get into an obedience class

The proverbial "honeymoon" period is over now and he is starting to get cozy in his new envornment. Many of our members who participate in rescue can give you a bit of info about that..I can't seem to find the post I am looking for.

[John64]

I never allow Athena a treat, unless she does something for me. I guess that is NILIF?
She seems to appreciate the treat, and is willing to do just about any command I signal her to do.
I also learned when I am entering the house, I make her sit, and I go through the door first, before allowing her to go in. Then I invite her in behind me.
If she gets carried away with her bull rope, I make her sit, and tell her to let go, and take it off of her. She started the growing with me, when I was playing with her, she learned to stop that real fast. May have been a play growl, but not sure, so I stopped it before she started to excalate it.

[hokisteph5]

I think sometimes dogs just test the boundaries to make sure they're still in effect. For example, Gretchen and Samson are both great about letting me take away their bone, toy, etc.

A couple of months ago, though, Gretchen decided to try growling as I approached her while she was chewing on her bone. I immediately went into a mini training session and worked with her on the "give" and "take" commands.

I didn't want to condone her growling by allowing her to continue having her bone, but I also didn't want to take her bone away. The give and take approach seems to have paid off because she hasn't growled at me since.

[MaddoxsMom]

1. avoid allowing them too close quarters, where an argument may ensue, i.e. backseat. Is there a way for you to keep them seperated in the car?

2. play "trade" when you take something from him, always have something better to give him in exchange, this was something taught to me by Ann Felske Jackman (the owner of my dogs sire) and this will help any possessive issues, eventually he will learn to give it up easy, because hes anticipating the object you are asking him to trade for. He will get to the point that when he has something of high value, he will want to bring it to you and show you, excited that you may have something better for him.

As far as him growling at your son, I think it would be difficult for anyone here to advise you on this since none of us saw what exactly the scenario was.

[Yogi'smom]

As I'm reading about growling on these posts, a lot of members say that they 'put a stop to the growling or bad behaviour right away' , or 'don't allow them to growl, etc'. My question is: What exactly do you do to make them stop????
I have a 7 month old male who was just neutered 2 days ago. From the time he was a little 8 week old puppy, he could be a puke and would growl. He even snapped at me a couple times so off we went to an assessment with our trainer. I also got feedback from the breeder who suggested the NILIF approach, and we follow that. Next we went to obedience classes, and he has improved leaps and bounds. Our trainer doesn't believe in hitting the dogs, or encouraging their aggression in anyway. (don't pick a fight). She suggested alternatives in a situation where you knew he would growl...ie) instead of moving him, lure him away with a treat. He has come a long way and is much better. Our vet even comments on what a nice dog he turned into...BUT, he still likes to growl from time to time,especially when he's really tired and you're doing something he doesn't like such as wiping off his feet when they're muddy. My husband will pick him right up and put him in his crate for a time out, but since he is already 70 lbs, that just isn't an option for me. So what exactly does everyone do to stop the behaviour???? Any suggestions would appreciated. Thanks!!!

[MaddoxsMom]

Originally Posted by Yogi'smom

As I'm reading about growling on these posts, a lot of members say that they 'put a stop to the growling or bad behaviour right away' , or 'don't allow them to growl, etc'. My question is: What exactly do you do to make them stop????
I have a 7 month old male who was just neutered 2 days ago. From the time he was a little 8 week old puppy, he could be a puke and would growl. He even snapped at me a couple times so off we went to an assessment with our trainer. I also got feedback from the breeder who suggested the NILIF approach, and we follow that. Next we went to obedience classes, and he has improved leaps and bounds. Our trainer doesn't believe in hitting the dogs, or encouraging their aggression in anyway. (don't pick a fight). She suggested alternatives in a situation where you knew he would growl...ie) instead of moving him, lure him away with a treat. He has come a long way and is much better. Our vet even comments on what a nice dog he turned into...BUT, he still likes to growl from time to time,especially when he's really tired and you're doing something he doesn't like such as wiping off his feet when they're muddy. My husband will pick him right up and put him in his crate for a time out, but since he is already 70 lbs, that just isn't an option for me. So what exactly does everyone do to stop the behaviour???? Any suggestions would appreciated. Thanks!!!

You should seek a assessment with a professional trainer, ASAP. Any person here probably cannot successfully diagnose the issues you are having and prescribe a solution because without seeing the dogs behavior first hand, it is hard to say where the behavior is stemming from, (i.e. fear, aggression, dominance, etc.) For someone to suggest doing NILF, may be a bit premature.

With an issue such as this, your best bet would be to not go solely by advice given here, but to see a professional immediately, your certainly do not want your dogs aggression escalating and ending with your having to euthanize him, .

[winniecnm]

Originally Posted by Yogi'smom

As I'm reading about growling on these posts, a lot of members say that they 'put a stop to the growling or bad behaviour right away' , or 'don't allow them to growl, etc'. My question is: What exactly do you do to make them stop????

In your case I would stress getting to a trainer ASAP, as well. Try to find one that is well versed in the rottweiler breed. Please tell DH to stop picking him up and moving him to the crate as at this time it very well might lead to him getting bitten. Picking up a dog is a form of asserting alpha status, in this case I don't recommend you do it because it is kind of a challenging move towards the dog, he might decide to protest midway off the ground...

Use a collar and lead to get him back to the crate. I used to keep a training collar on the dog with a 1' leather lead so if I had to go issue a correction it could be done swiftly. (Only when dog was out of crate and in my view tho.)

Maybe you can start another thread in the forum looking for trainer references?