Growling Dogs Need TRAINING not Excuses - Robert Cabral Dog Training
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2022
- The Gift of a Growl is a meme that is going around. Basically a remake of a previous one in which we were led to believe that if dogs growl, we should NOT correct the behavior. The term that is used here is "Don't Punish a DOG that is Growling."
Those of you who know me, know that I am against punishment in dog training. Usually it becomes a case of semantics where people interchangeably use the word correction and punishment to mean the same thing. BUT it DOESN'T
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I think the message is the growl is communication that something is wrong, which gives you the opportunity to "correct".. If there is no growl just a bite your up shits creek. Punish and correct are totally different. Love all you do and I also support that message.
Regarding the "Positive only dog trainers", i can speak from my experience i had with one of this type of trainers:
- German Shepherd - 9 months old.
- Issue: Lunging at other dogs and people to play. Not aggressive.
- After 1 month of "positive only training" still no results. Depending if she was tired and/or the other dog/person was not paying attention to her she would move along, but otherwise lunging/jumping would instantly start.
- Ended the collaboration with this trainer and moved to another one that used prong collar, corrections (mostly verbal but used the collar when needed) and rewarding the dog ONLY when the lunging/jumping on/at dogs or people was not occurring WITHOUT previous corrections/mentions (Like "No! Don't!") to raise awareness for the dog that is not allowed.
In 1 week and 2 days of daily intensive training, now i can even walk off-leash with her and she dont even look at dogs that are barking at her....
Thank you!!!!!
Brilliant
But with growling, the problem is that it happens when my dog is unleashed. He start growling when i walk in a room. What can i do?
@@k.f.9875 You don't match your dog's energy and it senses something in you that bothers it. You need to take your dog to be trained. Trainers don't just train the dog, they train you too...
Positive only is for people that want to coexist with their dog. Corrections are for those that want to live life with their dogs.
Thanks for this lesson. I’m a new dog owner. My friend passed away and I inherited his 9 year old dog. Im researching so much about his growls.
Thanks for making since of this subject. We live in an ever growing world where bad behavior is allowed to go uncorrected. We see it in dogs as well as children.
Such a wise statement, God bless.
Uncorrected or unpunished? Prior generations were more into punishment than correction hence the parents who are now fearful of correcting their children. I get tired of hearing that past generations did it better. Past generations were highly abusive and narcissistic. Eventually society will balance out but I think your seeing a fear of it due familial abuse.
SO true
This is so true. People that refuse to tell their children “no” doesn’t work, it’s the same with dogs. Dogs simply need to be taught boundaries, and rewarded for their good behavior. That training can very from dog to dog, but showing them what TO do, is just as important as showing them what not do.🐾
My brother’s Malinois walked towards and passed me growling with my brother’s Ohio State work glove in his mouth. I ignored him and he laid down with the glove between his front paws. I left it for my brother to take the glove away when he walked out of the house. He never made any attempt to come towards me or bite me. He is always sniffing my brother’s things when he is not around. We got in the car and I rode in the back with his dog. His dog was partially sitting on me and partially on the seat but he was never aggressive towards me. The first time I watched his Akita he growled softly at me. I did not know what he wanted since I was not around him until he was an adult dog. He was not socialized to people. My brother was helping me bond with him so I could watch him sometimes. I thought when he growled maybe he needed to go outside. I walked over, put the leash on him, took him outside to do his business and he was fine the rest of the night. He never growled at me again. He sometimes woke me up in the morning by trying to climb on the bed but he never growled at me again.
Robert, you have a gift for teaching,. Thank you.
I LOVE that you describe the growling can mean many different things and you have to consider the WHOLE dog.. [and the context]. and you give it descriptors that are not attaching 'emotional' states as perceived by a human to it.. such as 'scared'.. but otherwise dog is growling out of vigor/passion when playing and growling or vocalizing.. I cannot tell you how many people think their tail wagging out-of-its-mind dog is 'happy' and 'just wants to play' ... but is actually just near red-zone excited and confused and should not be let loose with that energy and no control by the owner. My boxer dog is a 'talker' ... He makes low-level growly sounds like chewbacca sort of.. to get people to notice him to play or pet him.. some people understand this.. as his body language is clearly not aggressive nor is his energy level heightened or jumping on anyone nothing.. he just looks up and curls his body around and starts to rarrrarra rarrara... some people hear this and immediately are frightened as if he might attack them.. people are not good at human body language half the time. why would we expect the bulk of society to be good at reading animal body language? it's an art in itself. it's great to hear dog trainers talk about it more.. I have to regularly show people... He's not upset.. he is just a talker.. see he's asking if you want to pet him.. and then I have to show them that he is not in any funky state of confusion or aggression. this is the best 'happy-go-lucky' he can muster being a boxer type.. he's not a golden retriever. hahahah
Thank you for addressing this - it seems like common sense has left the planet. This concept has been applied to children now as well “you can’t say no”.
I got kicked out the first night night of a reward only class because my 6 month old male Aussie puppy was going to lift his leg on a spot that another dog had peed on and I said firmly “no don’t you even think about it” He look at me as if to say, I thought I’d give it a try. He carried on as if nothing had happened. They had sprayed something on it and mopped it up but obviously not enough. They pulled us out of class and told me that kind of abuse would not be tolerated, I suggested they take him home and let him pee all over their walls. They told me I was supposed to distract him with a treat. We parted ways that night. They also knew I was training him for scent hurdles and nose work competition and it is an immediate disqualification for peeing.
Besides Robert’s videos, I like to train with other dogs and handlers and I have found maybe the only balanced trainers left in my province. I wish I could afford to go to California.
Agreed! These growling ticktocks make me sick to my stomach. I hate people encouraging growling so backwards 😒
Punishment is a technical term that describes the effect of an intervention. If your correction stops a behaviour, that behaviour has been punished. You are redefining already defined terms. Technically corrections are always punishment - ie. I pop the leash and the dog stops barking - the barking has been punished by the leash pop.
He’s clarifying the misuse of these terms by positive only wackos.
Thank you so much for your posts and videos. Access to your guidance, knowledge, and experience helped us immensely in understanding, responding, training and teaching Smaffles. While we've previously had dogs, this was our first rescue ...complete with aggression, fear, anxiety, biting, reactivity,snarling at humans and dogs, resource guarding and leash issues. Your patient, calm,clear, and determined approach gave me confidence to learn, be patient and believe in the bond we finally created...and the possible transformation Smaffles underwent.
So agree with this and thank you for bringing this topic up! I have been around dogs that growl for all kinds of reasons. If it's inappropriate for the situation they get corrected. Period. Also, I don't let dogs growl at each other to a point of escalation. It's not necessary for them to work it out. I'll be the judge of that! Love your channel, Robert, thank you.
See I'm listening to what your saying. And I can tell as a matter of fact any day of the week I would prefer to here a growl or some sort of warning in a proper context then a quite aggressive because someone corrected or punished the growl out of a dog. I own one that is a rescue at some point he was either over corrected or over punished and now snaps then growls and barks their is zero warnings unless you can see his eyes.
Thank goodness you spell things out and are very clear in explaining what is needed to be done. Also being clear how much of a responsibility it is to own a dog. People in general don't take this on board. Robert should have
Sorry.did not finish. Robert should have a TV series ! 😊
Agree with the general message, if you have an aggressive dog, the last thing you want to teach him is that aggression works. What I don’t agree with is the part at 13:33. I try everything to avoid it, but if SHTF and a dog is coming after me, I’d do all of that and more until I can make him stop.
Thank you so much for sharing your expertise on this subject. This is such a valuable lesson! I had a dominant, dangerous dog, who growled (resource guarding) but am currently dealing with a young, shelter rescue whose growls stem from fear and insecurity. I have been correcting her and so happy to see this video this morning. I appreciate you sharing this information, and taking time to explain the many reasons for growling and to consider the bigger picture, who the dog is, why he is growling. Thank you so much.
I got into mushing because it looks like fun and I love dogs. Nobody mentions how to control a pack of dogs, mine being Siberian huskies. I had a younger male puppy abused by the pack, now he is the largest and he's Alpha male. I've had males up on their hind legs fighting. They would have seriously hurt each other, so I got in the middle of it and was severely bitten by this male. He growls at the other male and he growls at me when I move him. He has bitten me twice when I was grooming him. I had had enough of his cocky attitude and aggression after the second bite. I grabbed him by the neck, pulled out his front leg while yelling "down" and put him on his side. Then I sat on him and looked at him in the eyes and told him "bad dog". After a minute or two I made him get up and we did it all over again. I kept doing this until he got down on his own and rolled on his back exposing his belly to me. I learned to do this by watching my dogs and documentaries on wolves. Nobody on UA-cam including you addresses pack hierarchy and how to deal with an aggressive Alpha male. I've learned that I have to be the Alpha Male to control the pack and part of getting control is for them to fear me.
So important to understand the 'why' the dog is growling! So very important to understand the 'whole dog'. This is so true. Often when I play with my boy with the tug, he gets excited and growl, but it is playful - and I know it. On the other hand, if he growls when not appropriate, say at someone walking down the street, I need to let him know he needs to stop, relax, and not be aggressive. I realize that it stems from his fear. We have worked on this and he is now much more calm and confident. He now knows he does not need to fear strangers that are walking down the street. This meme is an overall brush stroke and too simplistic, especially for someone who might read it and not understand the 'complete picture'.
I agree with you. This kind of thing is also dependent on the dog itself and the situation. If a growl is in the middle of the night then something is not right to the dog and you need to check into it. If it is around a child playing then it certainly needs a quick correction .
Well said. Love how you advocate for the Dog in everything.
thank you again. I learn constantly from you. I am grateful for gifted people like yourself. May YHVH bless you and your family.
Thanks for your wisdom Robert Cabral. Every now and then, the gobbledygook from the PO crowd can seem rational.... until you break it down. Your logic and experience are second to none!
If the growl is related to fear, you have to find out how to change the dogs mind about what it is afraid of. My definition of punishment is a stimulus or event that decreases the likelihood of a behavior happening in the future. So using that definition I can certainly punish my dog for lunging after a person they are growling at but people don’t understand that is only half the problem. The hard part is changing the dogs mind to actually like people and not be afraid. Punishment or “corrections” will not resolve this mindset
Robert teaches counter conditioning and thats what you need.. Corrections do resolve a lot of those issues..
Mark, I'm with you, but I would add that your definition of punishment isn't just your definition - it's *the* definition of punishment as defined by BF Skinner, who described operant conditioning. Any other definitions aren't relevant to science-based training.
@@badgerbat9723 Agree! It seemed like Robert’s definition of punishment is abuse. I think he is trying to appeal to the average dog owner that isn’t going to take the time to understand operant conditioning.
Robert - what is so very important about your message really permeates so much more than just dog training. It applies to training all animals, and even children! Corrections are necessary in all walks of life in many situations, even applies to us...self-reflection... Thank you for sharing this wise advice!
I was taught this concept when I was studying animal care, my lecturers were vets and vet nurses, a lot of what they say these days is weird.
I was even told recently by the nurse at my local vet office that they don’t recommend a raw diet or even just giving them bones.
Apparently they are made to eat kibble 🤷🏻♀️
Really like your training techniques. So helpful. It makes a lot of sense.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the world so that we continue to ensure safety for our dogs, and the people that might be around them.
Thank you Robert! I was wondering how to approach my dog growling and this fills me with more confidence!
This is my first time seeing your work. I love that you do shelter work. The topic you did not include which is a major cause of dog behavior & aggression is the vaccines, flea/tick/heartworm & other drugs, &, the toxins in standard pet foods.
Sadly, BigPharma is the biggest "cause" of animal illness & behavior issues with all their drugs as well as their pet foods, &, other pet food manufacturers, especially the treats.
I'm stunned at what is for sale in the pet food industry & people don't bother to research on their own.
The best thing people can do is their own experiments if they have any hesitation believing this:
If they are about to give their pets vaccines, flea/tick/heartworm etc. treatments/drugs, pay attention to their pets behavior regularly.
Then, when they give this poison vaccines/drugs, then, pay attention to the pets health/behavior for the next few months - each time these things are given.
Sometimes reactions to these things will take awhile.
Sometimes reactions are very quick.
I was volunteering at Mexico animal shelter this past year with over 100 dogs. I got to know many of them. These 3 in particular that were in large kennel together were good with each other.
Then, they gave them shots. That evening was the first time they all became aggressive with each other when I was coming in to visit & give them treats.
I instantly had to leave & not give them anything because they started fighting.
That was one example.
Also, switching to a vegan pet food can definitely help lessen aggression, especially if trying it for at least 6 months. When pets are eating the adrenaline of animals that were slaughtered, they are taking in that fear & pain of the animals who were terrified, fighting for their lives to not be slaughtered.
All the animals I had were adopted from shelters/rescued. Some may have showed some signs of aggression in the beginning but all of my dogs for over 30 years were vegan. Once they lived with me, &, were on this diet, none of them showed any signs of aggression.
Also, they never received vaccines once I adopted them. Sadly, one died from Frontline - caused brain cancer - I've since learned more about holistic prevention of fleas.
Our society has been so programmed by the billionaire corps to eat junk food & take drugs & they've done the same with pets. So, no wonder why pets are aggressive.
Excellent explanation! Thank you!
Amen, thank you so much. I have been saying this for 25 years of dog training. So true, all of it.
Thankyou Robert another informative video .
Very, very well explained Thank you for covering this topic
My border terrier sounds super aggressive when I play tug with him but the second I say thank you he sits, drops the tug toy and is one happy affectionate dog.
Great content thanks for sharing 👍
Excellent segment RC
Thank you!💝
So elegantly and well said Robert...all Dogs should be give a fair chance of structure, a fair chance of reward and fair chance at a good life! Do not ignore Growls! Thank you for such an important video. 👋👋👋
"PUNISHMENT" Regarding the disgusting video of Tina Frey abusing the Cane Corso. This was not any kind of sane "punishment" for the dog's behaviour, it was simply a sadistic torture of the poor dog. So sad to see him heeling with her out of the room like a good boy.
So true! My trainer helped me assess and create intervention immediately.
Agree 100%.
I got bit by my neighbors dog and he did not growl one time before biting my arm.
My husband and I adopted a 65lbs 2 year old Bluetick hound that we quickly realized had resource guarding issues. He would growl and lunge at us. Through the help of your videos, we corrected the behavior by providing structure and basic training and haven’t had another problem in the 3 years we’ve had him.
Ignoring behavior does not solve problems. Another great video. 👏
thank you for posting this... happy when people listen and solve these issues!
Wow that's amazing, what techniques did you use? My friends Golden Retriever is extremely food aggressive and guards it, she lunges and growls at their German Shepherd puppy if he gets near her while she's eating and tries to bite him.
@@bbycherub2420 I had a food aggressive dog, the same as you describe, who would snarl and growl at me when I came near her. That was NOT going to happen. I was told to hand feed her, essentially making the food mine and giving some to her. Later on I would just stand next to her while she ate so that she could get used to my presence while she ate. What followed that was occasionally picking her food bowl up in the middle of her eating, then giving it back to her. Over a month or two, we were able to eliminate the food aggression and she could eat right next to the other dog in our family.
All that being said, I urge you to monitor your dog during feeding time. Years later we were dog sitting another dog in our house. It was feeding time, and as I was about to set my dog’s bowl down, the new dog approached. My dog sprung into food aggression and attacked and harmed the other dog. It was really shocking and upsetting. I thought she was long, long over food aggression. I just say all this to you as a caution.
Thank you!!!
Robert is giving us GOLD here people.
Thanks for your analysis Bobby! :-)
Thank you 😊
My dog bit last year, and never ever growled. We were shocked.
This is great! my 3 month old Husky collie mix is growling/moaning at my two kids and I hear so many different arguments but this seems to make the most sense.
My Mali growls and smiles when she's happy and playing. That's just her thing. Tail up and curled. Tail down and doing the same....run!
I know this video is older but it popped up on my feed so I rewatched it. @10:00 Excellent example here,Robert. If that can’t make sense for people, I don’t know what will. I personally know someone with a very small dog that growls at the owner (even sometimes growls at people if they look at him) if he touches the dog when it doesn’t want touched, when (once) tried to trim the dog’s nails. The owner just moves away from his own dog when it growls which as you said, further reinforces the growling. His dog would definitely bite him if he didn’t move away. That dog was coddled and treated like a baby its whole life. NO structure whatsoever. Because “He’s a rescue” The dog was “rescued” from a shelter when it was less than 12 weeks old I believe, a young puppy regardless. It has the absolute worst temperament I’ve ever seen in a dog and you can’t say a thing to this guy about the dog without him getting very defensive so it’s pointless to try. Owner is completely clueless on being a responsible dog owner. Of all the dogs I’ve been around in my life, this hellish little thing is the most unstable, insecure dog with the worst temperament I’ve ever encountered. I’m around the animal often and I think a lot of it is poor genetics combined with the way he was raised is a total disaster. If this dog was a large breed and not weigh only about 4-5lbs. I would say he needs put down and that’s not something I say lightly. Thankfully the dog isn’t around very small children or he would bite a child. I hope people listen to what you’re saying in this video. It’s very true and it’s very important!!
You are so right on.
As in protective or aggressive
Thank you for the education. I was ignoring at first and then being firm with correcting after with stern tone of voice and standing up tall. I will never ignore again. I own a Portuguese Mastiff and a Rottweiler so I must do right by them and my family. Both dogs are showered with affection and never ever hit.
Excellent!
Well done Mr Cabral. Even though this video is about growling it covers your basic training methods.
You are 100% correct. Don't ignore the growl because it will escalate.
Very good video. Punishment and Correction are often used to mean the same thing. I do like to have a the definitions be clear. Growling is a complex behavior and occurs in Context. Play of course and protection. Two different context. I had a dog I took from the shelter that started to growl when I walked by his kennel. He learned it made me stop and address him. This dog, and I learned as well, was getting attention. He so played me. If you went up to his kennel after he growled he would start getting happy and wanted to go out. This dog figured it out. Of course, once I realized I was being played I did change that behavior. However, what a smart dog!!!
Agree 100% Robert.
Yay! A new video
When i play tug with my corso, people think he will kill me the way he sounds 😅
Hello! Do you have any videos about dominance growling and how to over come that? I have a dog that seems to be in a constant struggle with me for dominance and I do not understand it. He is the most loving sweetest boy, than he just switches.
Robert, thank you for covering this topic on growling. Our 3 yr old female Shephard growls often at our 2 yr old male Shephard; never at people. It appears to be a dominance reaction and territorial behavior. Verbal corrections alone have no results. One minute they could be playing, the next minute it's a full on attack over a toy. What is a method of correction I should try?
We've had a similar problem. Our trainer said: "You need to assert more dominance." And I got frustrated with that statement because I've corrected my dog multiple times for resource guarding (for example, a ball). I give my dog structure, training, and leadership. However, correcting certain over the top behaviors, just don't work. I've also corrected my dog not to growl, lunge, and bark at our neighbor's blind 10 year old dog. When they meet over the fence. None of the correction methods helped. None. For that particular dog he meets, he just loses his mind from level 1 all good - to level nutcase in 1 second.
i think something like making sure you get up to correct and then physically separate and crate for some chill time.
another thing you could do to correct is get up grab the collars and look them directly in the eyes, showing your calm strength and that if they don’t stop the behaviour then you are calmly ready for an actual fight.
i don’t really believe in the whole dominance thing, i think it’s just natural behaviour that’s somehow been reinforced. saying that dogs also understand that there are consequences and those can be physical. also just making sure all commands are non negotiable and can only be released on your command, dog gets out of a sit, you have to go back to the spot and put them in a sit, i know it’s frustrating and not fun for us but also it’s not fun for the dog, this will also carry over into when you’re not in the room.
if it’s working shepherds as well i’d go to a trainer who does bite work.
i had way better results once going and they offer good insight into the things i missed.
What a wise video my friend! Most of people who defend these ideas you are reading don't understand anything about dogs. Congrats for your mission Robert, this is very important to being teaching and said!
Thank you very much!
For my job I use applied behavior analysis to help change behavior in kids and adults with autism, adhd, social emotional attachment disorders, and other developmental disabilities. When we talk about reinforcement and punishment it’s a bit different. We use reinforcement to increase behavior and punishment to decrease behavior. Of course we do not hit our clients. Punishment has a lot of negative connotations so I like to use consequences when I talk about punishment.
That's because that IS the definition of punishment vs. behavior. I'm not sure where this guy gets off bashing science, when he clearly doesn't understand even the basic terminology.
And Robert uses praise/reinforcement i.e. verbal praise and treats) to increase positive behaviors. Robert then uses corrections to decrease negative behaviors.
If you listen he delineates the difference between correction and punishment. He states several times punishment is not the answer.
It’s really quite simple.
If an e-collar buzz (vibration non shock), or a collar pop is not the proper correction, what is? Positive association with other dogs using treats doesn't work for my dog bc she resource guards. What's the recommended correction for resource guarding? Most of what I see in training videos is an e collator collar pops...
Robert, how do you correct an off leash 55lb pet dog who might growl randomly inside a home? What exactly does a correction look like?
Hi Robert. I work with Caucasian Shepherd Dogs, and that breed does not respond well to physical corrections. I tell owners I am working with not to correct the growl, not because the growling doesn't need addressed, but because a CSD that is growling inappropriately for the breed (i.e. at the humans it lives with) is very likely to bite in response to a physical correction. We give these owners managment strategies to implement while they work with a trainer/behaviorist and vet to address the growling. That said, with this breed those dogs growling inappropriately generally are on behavior modifing medications for their entire life, or humanely euthanized if medication and training is not helping. Unfortunately dogs are being produced with poor nerve and threshold, yet all the aggressive drive of the breed.
Personally, I feel any growling dog needs to be working with a qualified trainer, so for owner safety I tell them not to correct the growl, but to remove the dog from the situation until they have a plan devised by a trainer that has personally evaluated the dog.
I personally correct growls as appropriate, but I do not feel safe advising non-trainers to do so.
Spot on! 👏
Dogs who growl will if not sorted bite . They do need correction at the time and dogs are very bright they will realise if they have done wrong if you fix it at the time. My dog 🐕 wished to growl at my kids if he was laying on my bed . Possive ... This I corrected by getting them to tell him no and tell him down from the bed . If he didn't get down I would tell him down . He has soon learned that the kids are allowed on the bed just like he is.
Thanks🍀🌼🍀🌼🍀🌼
Bravo!! You make clear the difference between correction and punishment which I think many people do not understand. I was taught that punishment is abuse since it is delivered after the fact, while correction is simply redirecting the dog from an inappropriate behavior to a more appropriate behavior. This reinforces your role as pack leader, not some enemy. The pack leader's job is to provide food, protection, guidance and love, pretty much in that order. Dogs respect and follow good pack leaders. I try to do this with the dogs at the shelter that I volunteer at. It really seems to work.
I am interested in understanding what the different definitions for punishment and corrections? @robertcabral
The important question still remains:
What's the right kind of "correction", if you don't call it punishment? Any suggestions?
Love your content and glad you’re clarifying topics like this, BUT it’s hard to imagine how people can be so stupid and misinformed. Seems like common sense.
I first found this concept around 18-20 yrs ago. And somehow it made sense.
Then I saw so many dogs becoming out of control due to lack of direction from their owners. You’d have thought trainers would have realized this wasn’t working. Yet it has only gotten worse.
Thank you- so necessary these days 🎉
Absolutely!
I have a half chihuahua and half toy poodle. It's a very calm relaxed dog well trained. He does have 1 annoying habit that is frustrating. How do I get him to stop crying and screaming when some knocks on the door or rings the door bell. He even does it when he sees me doing it. Love the help if you have the time.
Years ago I had a Jack Russell, who would "resource" guard dirty marks on my white lino. He would growl ferociously, lunge and snap. always missing. Until I picked up a floor cloth and wiped it up, right under his snapping jaws, always missing. He also would suddenly growl and attack trouser hems and shoelaces. As soon as you said "enough" He'd trot off and go to his bed.
Hello I got a 5months puppy pitred nose.i haven't trouble making him stop biting and jump all the time.eny advice.
What about a fearful growl what would you do with that you talked about dominance aggression
I had a puppy with resource guarding issues. We did not correct the growl and followed our positive trainers advice. It worked very well. I was skeptical but I could not find clear enough instructions from anyone but positive only trainers. It did take some time. She is 1.5 now. She had never bitten anyone and does not resource guard.
It's different for every dog. It all depends on genetics and breed as well as age.
Just give your dog their food in a safe place and don’t mess with them. Problem solved
@MCEscher I understand where you are coming from. I can take food from my unaltered pit bulls no problem. I’ve actually done it to show a friend that thought the same way you did. I believe if you have a dog that resource guards then they are in a survival mode and there is some lack of trust. By giving them a safe place to eat their food and building trust with the dog the issue goes away. My dogs haven’t worked for a single piece of kibble in their life and I’ve never had resource guarding. I do believe this behavior is created from humans
@MCEscher i don’t think anybody would like it if people were constantly messing with your food. Why do you think dogs are any different?
I think these dogs from shelters already have major issues. Why would also want to show the dog you are a bully when they are eating. Then when they snap your an even bigger bully by correcting or showing them you are more dominant. Instead you could be showing them that life is great and that they can snap out of survival mode. Food aggression will go away once the dog has complete trust in you and it’s environment
@MCEscher I just figured you meant putting the food down and then taking it away from the dog or putting your hands in the bowl. Just feeding them out of your hand is no problem at all!
Thank you for this video. I have a question: our dog very occasionally growls when he's lying on the ground and someone comes to pet him. Most of the time he's happy and playfuk when this happens but sometimes, I understand his growling as him saying "leave me alone, it's not a good time". Which I can understand. What we do is tell him to knock it off (we don't want him to growl) and then we leave him alone. But I feel there's something off balance here...
How did you resolve this? I’m having the same issue with my gsd. He gives the, “I don’t want attention now” growl. I’m all about not invading his space, however don’t want to reinforce him growling. I’ve been standing my ground until he calms and when his body relaxes I move on about my business. I’d love to hear any other advise for dealing with this.
3 minutes in........ growl could also mean..... I (the dog) senses danger.
It all depends on the details of the situation. All situations are different.
Our Belgium Mal takes the Micky out of me but one shout of right boy from my boyfriend he sits Robert really helps me my dog is only 3mounth old.
If they growl over a bone, how do you correct that growl when the bone is in their mouth and you can’t get it? Or do you just never give him that marrow bone again?
Don’t give high value things to dogs who can’t be controlled.
So when it comes to people I completely agree that you should correct it but my only situation that I do not correct a growl and I'm wondering if I am wrong, is when my dog is playing with another dog and the dog gets too much for my dog and my dog gives a growl just to say "hey get away" should I correct that also? And by correct I mean a verbal correction as that is all it takes for my dogs at this point in training.
I always teach my dog to let me handle food while they are eating. My current dog acts fearful while eating, he is hunched over his food and gets very protective of his food when I reach for it. So far the best I can do is snatch the bowl and set it somewhere else. I am hoping eventually I can become comfortable that he won't bite someone because at this moment with his food guarding behavior I wouldn't put it past him.
Have you ever tried hand feeding? I’ve fed my dogs from my hand instead of a bowl. Or change it up sometime bowl, sometimes hand, sometimes searching for it? Works for us.
Good luck!❤️🐾
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00: The transcript discusses the concept of "The Gift of a Growl," suggesting that growling is a warning sign that prevents dogs from biting. However, the speaker disagrees with this concept and emphasizes the importance of correcting growling behavior, not punishing it.
01:11: The speaker distinguishes between punishment and corrections, stating that punishment is punitive and should be avoided, while corrections are meant to address incorrect behaviors.
02:47: Growling can indicate various emotions in dogs, such as fear, anxiety, stress, discomfort, dominance, or playfulness. Understanding the context and body language is crucial when interpreting a dog's growl.
04:26: Punishment and correction are different concepts, and the speaker believes that using corrections can prevent a dog from escalating to biting if done properly.
05:07: Correcting a dog's growl can build the dog's confidence and discourage further growling, thus preventing potential biting incidents.
07:26: Ignoring a dog's growl may lead to a bite, so it is essential to address the underlying cause of the growling, such as fear, pain, or resource guarding.
10:14: A dog that exhibits dominant or aggressive growling must be addressed by a competent handler to prevent the behavior from escalating.
12:44: Correcting a dog's growling behavior is the most humane and compassionate approach to help the dog understand acceptable behavior and prevent aggression.
14:05: Dogs that cannot be helped and show consistent aggression should be humanely euthanized, but it is essential not to ignore their warning signs and give them a fair chance at behavior improvement.
15:29: Growling is not a "gift" but a signal that something is wrong with the dog, and it should never be ignored. Addressing and working on the dog's behavior can build trust and a better bond between the dog and its owner.
I'm glad this is being talked about
Robert..u haven't covered demand affection...Got an important question about my adorable red nosed pit bull that growls ....in a playful, sarcastic way when he demands me to pet him or play with him, he's not at all aggressive, but he does it to get my attention when I'm talking on the phone ignoring him...I can kiss him on the face....no way would he bite, just wants that affection .
My rescue dog was limping so I tried to look at her paw. She low growled at me. She really doesn’t like being touched other than petting. I have to fix it because I can’t look at her if injured and she needs to be groomed.
Robert, I just did my 2nd orientation at the boarding facility I'm starting at and I'm very excited about this opportunity to gain the experience. Now I know they don't take in aggressive dogs mostly due to lack of trainers, and they're still figuring out business since covid. None the less I noticed one GSD that's nervous to the point that walking past the run he darted back inside fast enough that I only knew a dog was in there because I saw him from the social yard. How should I be treating this dog (it didn't seem immediately reactive, just nervous/skiddish. I would like to help this dog out because really if it was mine I'd be a bit embarrassed for people to see him being so scared, because I'd feel like people might think I've abused it.
By treat this dog im referring to my own body language etc. I see a handful of dogs there have unfortunately quite clearly awfully ignorant owners, the manager told me today how she's suspicious of a sweetheart mini American bulldog being boarded in order to abondon the poor girl. What kind of person eh? I suspect she was hit or yelled at a lot she's looks like a submissive wolf in an educational video behaviour wise when people come near and just melts when you show her affection
toss a few treats and slowly walk off.. Come back a few seconds and do it again.. Might take 10 reps but might get him thinking you are okay. Most any dog can display aggression if triggered.
What about, for example going into the daycare yard today I got the crowd and I don't even know which one (I assume a known nipper, boxer) came up and grabbed my hand. Any advice with avoiding reactions within the welcome communities lol
@@TheWackler I’m curious, how did things go with the German Shepherd and what did you learn from your experience?
QUESTION: My dog barks at dogs all the time. He's not cornered or threatened. He simply barks but also goes crazy because he wants to go after the dog. I believe he just wants to play but I don't take a chance. I tell him to stop ans tell him it's wrong but he just doesn't listen to me. He's extremely head strong. How can I correct him? I don't believe in punishment but he also doesn't listen to my corrections.
Robert i love your content but I would have to strongly disagree with how you put it. Punishment is punishment. It is not abuse. Punishment has a very logical and well thought out projection. Abuse is emotional. If you ground your kid because they did something wrong and the grounding is proportionate to what they did, that is punishment. If you ground your kid for no reason or because they didnt take out the trash 2 months ago, that is abuse. Correction is just a punishment followed by a reward for the correct behaviour. Just as an abusive relationship is not one where the couple fight when someone does something wrong but it is when a response is out of proportion or unprovoked even.
I’m sorry but you have completely got this wrong.
@@aussiegrace enlighten me.
My GS rescue of 1 & 1/2 yrs. has anxiety, as diagnosed by two vets, the second a behavioral specialist. Prescribed Prozac and training. We have come a long way on leash reactivity. But new neighbors have a dachshund and pomeranian which engages mine to fence fight. They bark at me whenever we come outside. Both dogs (growl, snarl and are nose to nose with mine at the fence when this erupts. The pomeranian is the persistent fighter. I have managed to correct my dog and redirect her behavior. But no one is out with these dogs __EVER! . So, They are getting no
corrections. I know we are reinforcing their dogs to escalate when I correct my dog to disengage. We often go back inside after so much distress. After reading about using the following technique to stop unwanted behavior, I started using/squirting a water bottle toward the neighbors' dogs noses to interrupt them at the fence. and deter this behavior from my neighbors dogs. It helps. The dogs backs off and simmers down. I hit my dog with the water just once and it literally stopped her in her tracks. My question is---- is this an acceptable action to use to CORRECT the fence fighting. It seems to give my dog the opportunity to choose to avoid the water which stops HER aggression at the fence, and she obviously thinks before she acts when she sees I have the bottle nearby or in hand. It would be nice if it also stopped the neighbor dogs from starting the act up. Sometimes, due to this activity, my dog leaves the house looking for them to have some action. It's ongoing management on my end. I'm ok with that but how should I address the growling with my neighbors? Thank you! I appreciate your teachings.
A growl is a warning that if you proceed teeth will come next
If the dog is growling at people or other dogs he is reactive and if he has an opportunity he WILL BITE and now has a bite history which makes him difficult to impossible to adopt out and sets him up for euthenasia. Sometimes it doesnt escalate but who in their right mind would allow a dog to growl at a baby playing on the floor and not CORRECT the dog BEFORE it launches at the baby.
He didn't really say specifically how to "correct" properly. ???
My working line German Shepard is always growling at me when i tell him no what do i do ?
I messed my dog up with this he was resource gaurding my bed and when my kids came in he would growl and I would tell him knock it off and tell him to get down. And then stopped letting him on beds and furniture. And then when he would stop and either go to his bed or calmly approach my kids I would tell him good boy. Then he started resource guarding toys theirs and his from them or sticks and he doesn’t growl now. He did stop growling he went straight to snapping into warning bites. He will growl at my other dog if he has a stick or something he really wants but my dog will move away he’s pretty good at understanding other dogs body languages. I want to help him in a safe way so I can keep him forever. He has shown improvements in walking and reactivity early symptoms where he now is looking up to me for guidance In that and when I train the two together he is the first to sit first Down first to stand he’s quick and eager to please. He’s silly and goofy and I have pretty good control over him in most areas we’re working on it together. They have boundaries in the house and on walks and in the car and I have been staying consistent in keeping them and have added new ones to try and get him to see that the toys and good things come from me and the kids when he is doing the right thing but l Don’t know how exactly to treat this resource gaurding. I know it’s serious and I’ve gotten a few sizes muzzles being shipped to train so he can have that on around them til I fix it and while we work on more obedience and I try to find a solution in the meantime. There are no accredited behavioralist near me. Most of the trainers work on basic obedience not behavioral. I also do not want to make it worse by a force trainer or doing the wrong thing because it’s my most prized possesssions at risk. But I do want to give him a chance. I realize that he may need to be rehomed if I cannot find the right thing to fix it and it shows it isn’t improving. But right now I’m willing to put in the work and extra annoyances with rearranging my house and throwing out toys and setting time aside to train and make sure I keep them separate and monitor all interactions and ive been trying to keep him at a sit down by me when we’re all together and praise him throughout when he is doing it and calm. He’s about 7 1/2 months old and 90 lbs. I walk them separately because they do act more reactive to other dogs when together and I like to keep control and keep them interacting with me and add commands on our walks as well. And also I realize with a guardian breed they are weary of strangers and strange dogs and that being males of such breeds esp they are not going to like all or most dogs and I’m fine with that as long as they continue to respect each other in my house and can either ignore dogs on walks. I will be muzzle training both of them as soon and they come and they are acclimated to them because I’d rather be safe than sorry since it’s basically a loaded gun with a brain and high drives and strength. But in my home they must not bite my kids and I need to eventually be able to trust him enough that if they are respecting him and just walking by he won’t lunge at them cause he’s chewing on something. Because it’s more than just food with him or bones those are easy to dish out without the others around in my house set up but toys and sweatshirts or sticks outside not as much. Are there exercises that will get him to see they are to be respected because they are mine and he respects me and they can’t earn it as well with a leadership role because right now I feel like he looks at them with love and they are part of the pack but like they are little chiwinis that he can dominate over and treat like a weaker dog and because they are not picking up the dog language and he doesn’t growl they just carry on with their day and are bitten or snapped at. I work with them daily about respecting them and their space and things dogs don’t like and we never do. But how do I get him to see they are my most prized possession. I did stop letting them play with the dogs at least for now. It’s only supervised pets and if I’m reading his body language. And he is engaging I’ve been trying to end that with praise and rewards and then if he gets too hyper I make him sit and stay til I realease him or say wanna go outside and redirect the energy so it doesn’t get to escalated. At first they were playing tug with him ended that because he doesn’t respect them enough to play like that with themselves I think to him it may have trigggered the aggression more towards the toys because it might feel like they are teasing him or testing his dominance. I give them lots of breaks away from them not always in the crate either sometimes I’ll take them so they get a break and they’ll be with my bf and vice versa. All incidences happened with a full house all kids home. They do trigger my nerves too so I’m thinking he stacks his triggers and then feels my tension with the kids and then it like blows up when he has a High value item in the evenings I’ve either been cooking with them all by me or sweeping when these episodes have happened in the same room. No growls possible quick change in body language. He does lick his lips a lot when they are running around so when I notice he starts I move them all and let him chill make them do something else. I don’t want to see him killed or in a shelter or in another house with kids with someone who’s not willing to do the work because they are such a stubborn breed. If I have to rehome him I would look for an older couple who have had mastiffs and are experienced and do not have small children. He does get walks exercise and we go on hikes and to my dads farm in progress and I bring him around his female older positive role model dog as much as I can because he respects her likes female dogs and she is still bigger than him. When the farm has other livestock I can work on training him to have farm jobs so he can put his guarding and drives to good use. So please any tips for resource guarding correction with children or getting them to respect children or control the impulses other than what I’ve done so far I greatly appreciate. If you know of any good guardian breed trainers in NY you could recommend. Will setting more boundaries and practicing that in time and consistently whilst muzzling help improve it over time. I’ve only had him a month and he shows the capability to learn and is very motivated by toys food and praise. Please please help. I know it was stupid to not know what dog I was getting before hand but I have researched them now and am ready and willing to do whatever it takes to keep my kids and him safe and all together in harmony.
🎉 this is good stuff kind of stuff you want to listen to over and over again to get all the good you can from it I was I have a chow mixed with a cattle dog she may have some German Shepherd in her I'm not sure but she is the red fur and the bluish tongue and I truly do not ever remember her ever growling that when she might have played with a tug toy when she was little but she's never heard a growl she did show her teeth one time when a man just walked into the house someone she was Vaguely Familiar with but she showed her teeth but she didn't you know he I wasn't there just people telling me but he wasn't welcome and all she did was guard my mom she just sat there and guarded her and stood right next to her while she was sitting in the chair but you know that was an unexpected situation but she was respectful I mean she vaguely knew him and he was kind of unwelcome but she was mostly concerned with protecting her homeowner and she didn't really want to fight or anything she was just protecting and then someone that she knew was with the man and so she was she was only interested in protecting not not in attacking which I thought was really good😊
How do I correct my dog from growling? My dog growled at everything she heard..bark then growl. It drives me crazy to be honest and I don’t know if she is fearful at those noises or over protective
Maybe suspicious. Build her confidence.
My brothers dog growls and shows his teeth for attention. I stroke him for a bit, he then calms down and the growling stops. What can he do to fix this?
Love this! The problem I see with the whole "scientific method" of things is that it's too compartmentalized. Communication is fluid and layered... Animals are very intelligent beings that we do not fully understand, and so training is the best way we know of currently to communicate with them ... this includes all species, not just dogs. Dogs are however, the most popular and widely accepted animal to train because they are considered 'domesticated'. All animals in the wild that live together, nurture each other, play, hunt together if they are hunters, forage together or for one another.. and also CORRECT their young or each other or protect their families.. They do not scientifically break down their own behaviors.. only we do this in order to understand how to live with them and have them as a part of the societal structure that we created that is also quite unnatural and full of contradictions. Positive only training is a recipe for disaster and anxiety driven animals that are regularly overstimulated and not given clear communication of boundaries or rules.. no species lives without boundaries or rules.. nature doesn't play like that
Well, there’s “science” and there’s science. Yeah..confusing. It’s like statistics..you can find virtually anything to support your view if you cherry pick, this is what the positive only wackos are doing, they use outdated or cherry picked things and paste on the label of “science” to justify it.
We have a Belgian Malinois mix. If a dog is lunging at her, she will growl (and sometimes bark). If it ignores her, she will ignore it. (She's always on a leash). Should we be correcting her when she lunges and growls? I merely turn around and walk away.
I think (from the other dogs' body language) that they just simply want to play (they're all very relaxed, although excited). My dog is definitely not.
its not 100% clear. If a dog is lunging at your dog and your dog is on a tight leash, the dog is in defensive state and has no escape. Redirection is the only methodology here. If dogs approach playfully and your dog growls, I would correct that. important to know the entire picture...
@@RobertCabralDogs she's never on a tight leash, although she's usually either in a heel (her choice) or about a foot ahead of me. (I always leave her a way to escape). She is friends with a Boxer (who's also always on a loose leash, and she's made friends with a Border Collie mix (after lunging and barking at him when he wanted to make friends).
I'm not sure if it's protectiveness because I'm walking her (although she's done it once when my husband was walking her. Three barks in 11 months -- she's the quietest dog I've ever had!). The rescue organisation we adopted her from said that she was good with dogs (no, I didn't take that to be the case).
My female GSD growls at dog's she doesn't know when we are out walking on a trail. How should I correct this? She's on a herm sprenger collar. I've tried popping but it hasn't helped.
Try “leave it” before you pop. Make sure you have thoroughly trained “leave it”.
@@goliard84 thank you, I'll try that.
Thank you everyone for your help and input! Very helpful!!