Growling or "Purring"????

[AngelaHarper]

We recently adopted a 6yr old female Rottweiler when we got her the lady who has owned her since she was 4 months old told us that she growls when you pet her and it throws people off, she's really enjoying it and as long as she doesn't show her teeth she's loving it" We have now had her about 3 months and she has shown no signs of aggression and is very well behaved so I'm not sure how to take this. When I pet her she does not growl as much as when my husband pets her She does seam to enjoy it by licking your hand and pushing you with her head slightly to get more but it is kind of frightning when you go to pet a 150lb bear and she growls at you. Has anyone else heard of anything like this and can I stop it?

[Troodie's Mom]

Those are happy rottie grumbles! They make the most gawdawful noises when they are playing, happy, and excited.

[AngelaHarper]

Thank You I wasn't sure how to take it

[brunie's mom]

Sounds like rottie grumbles to me too. If it makes you feel uncomfortable just stop petting her...don't let her be too pushy.

If your female weighs 150 lbs she is very overweight. Please get some weight off of her, so she can live a normal healthy life. Unless she is way oversized...most females are under 100 lbs.

Gina

[AngelaHarper]

We have had her on a "diet" since we got her the lady who owned her before said that the vet was calling her obese i believe she has probably lost about 10lbs in 3 months but she is a lot bigger than other rotts that I have seen she was born in Portugal I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it or not

[Lola B Marie]

Lola sounds like she has an out board motor attached to her. When she comes by for a petting, she turns on the growls. She has a range of growls from the soft ones with eyes closed to the very loud. She has several growls for tug as well. She also barks and speaks some strange dog language that is accompanied by soft woofs and grunts.

[moondog]

Originally Posted by AngelaHarper

We have had her on a "diet" since we got her the lady who owned her before said that the vet was calling her obese i believe she has probably lost about 10lbs in 3 months but she is a lot bigger than other rotts that I have seen she was born in Portugal I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it or not

It has to do with how much she's been fed, not where she was born. Keep up what you are doing, as her rate of weight loss is perfect. The guideline is loss of 2% of body weight per month, and you are right on. You may find you'll need to cut her food back more as the weight comes off because she'll need fewer calories to maintain a lesser weight. If she seems overly hungry, you can add frozen or low-sodium canned green beans for a low calorie filler and the dogs generally like green beans.

As for the growling, you really have to look at her entire demeanor when she does it. From what you describe, it sounds like happy growling, but you do need to watch she's not being pushy about petting. If she is, do what brunie's mom suggested and stop the petting and ignore her when she gets pushy.

Originally Posted by Lola B Marie

Lola sounds like she has an out board motor attached to her.

Chili doesn't vocalize for anything but playing tug. I call her a motor boat when we play tug - she sounds just like one!

[JaniceH]

Teazle is the most vocal dog I have ever had.

She too has such a range of growls from the soft purr with her eyes closed, to the happy growl when she is in the mood for loves, to the full blown excited growl when playing tug.

To someone who doesn't know her, then yes, she would sound quite intimidating, but if they knew her or doggy body language, there is nothing actually aggressive in her mannersisms. If she gets over stimulated then I simply stop the interaction.

[AngelaHarper]

that sounds exactly like her. I'm so glad that there is a web site like this one to come and ask questions because I wasn't sure on how to take it but it sounds as if other Rottie's do the same "purring"

[Cheshire]

That was something my sister had to really work on to get used to with my Aurora. If you're used to smaller dogs, you're probably familiar with whining and whimpering for attention and the other higher-pitched noises that are associated with begging for attention, petting, and the like.
Rotties are deep-voiced dogs! It's all in how they use their voice, as has been said already. Aurora usually isn't being intimidating until you feel the ground vibrate before you realize it's a growl. That's her serious growl. Most of the others start low and a trombone player couldn't keep up!

[Melsmom]

Mel started to "moan" while being petted in the last few years. He gets extremely vocal when having his ears rubbed!

[THANKUVETS]

Hello, I am new to this site but have owned Rotts for over 5 years now, I love the breed, and I have always wanted to have a rottie, as I was able to get one years ago, I know it was the right dog for me.

I have a Female and a Male, I did have only a male last year, but he died, one of the hardest times in my life, and he never "talked". However my female does a little, but my new male is very vocal. He can barely walk across the yard without yapping, growling, talking, and purring. Its the coolest thing to hear.

I can only say that if she is not showing teeth, and enjoys it, then she is just talking to you, rotts are good at that. I also agree about the weight, you need to get her down to at least 100, if she is a rather large female that is fine to have her a bit bigger, but 100 pounds is rather big for a female also.

My male comes from a very large female, she was not fat, but she still ran closer to 110 pounds, some of that was her just her being a nursing mother, and some of it was from her being on the big side also.

[Gunsey'sMom]

I agree with whoever said you have to look at the whole demeaner. I havent personally experience Rottie purrs, but Gunner does alot of play growling and such during games of tug. It is something I worried about maybe 4-5 months back, but now I can definately not mistake it for anything else. I have trained myself to look at things like: his eyes, ear posture, body posture, and mouth. I am sure their are others I have left off the list of their body language repitoire, but these are the things I look at first to "take in" his demeaner.

A book that helped me out a little to sum up things a little for me was Stanley Coren's "How to Speak Dog". If they have it at your local library- it actually has a little picture glossary in the back, and a little word guide of just basic canine body language. I believe their are other books on the subject as well though.

The only flaw in this though, is that what is true for most dogs, might not be for yours- so you have to keep that in mind when reading or looking at stuff like that. Also you have to really look more at your dog than try to "diagnose" him/her with a book illistration. When I go to WebMD and finad out I am sick with everything in the world- because I have ALL The symptoms they are decribing from every list- Case in point your dog might make a face like one in the book, but what are his ears and body posture saying? Sorry to kind of go off a tandem sp?, but jsut thought that may be helpful as well in your quest for learning more about your girls little quirks.

I hope you continue to enjoy her, and good for you for taking such good care of her and getting that weight off her- she will thank you!

[styric]

Orion was noisy when she was really young. If you raked your fingers up and down her back from neck to tail, she'd arch against your fingers and give off these adorable little grunts and rumbles. Now she won't do it unless you get the exact right itchy spot or the right angle for her back rake, then she lets er rip with purrs, grumbles and grunts.

I know when she's truly happy with something I'm doing because she'll do a faint gruntly grumble under her breath.