growling

[sarahm2008]

Sandon is coming up 5months and today has really suprised me as he has growled twice, something he has never done before. My parents came earlier and gave him a chew treat, he was sat eating it, my dad leaned down to stroke him and he growled, although we weren't taking it away he has never been possessive of food so far. Secondly this evening my 4yr old went to stroke him and he growled again which to be honest is a bit worrying they have a fantastic relationship she never pushes the boundaries with him and knows to leave him when he is resting however today for some reason he has growled twice. Is this just his age? Something I need to keep an eye on or something I should be telling him off for?

[Juno]

I don't know a huge deal but know that you should never tell him off for growling.  He is communicating with you!  He is telling you that whatever you're doing is making him uncomfortable/nervous.  If you tell him off for growling you run the risk of him cutting out the growling and going straight for a snap - if you don't "listen" when he growls, what's the point of him telling you he's unhappy?

I always leave Juno alone with any chews or long-lasting treats that are of high value to her.  It sounds like Sandon was uncomfortable with your dad being so close to him while he was enjoying his treat.  It may well just have been a one-off but to build his confidence that you're not going to take away his chew, toss a few treats if you walk by him while he's chewing.  You don't need to interrupt him or touch him, but literally just drop a few nearby as you go past so he learns that people around while he's chewing = more treats!

I don't have kids so can't offer any help on that one, sorry...

[JeffD]

Like Juno I am not an expert and it is worth doing a search on COL and the internet and have a read what others have done in this situation.
Some of my puppies have gone through the growling stage at around 6 months normally over food or a favourite toy.
As Juno has said don't tell the puppy off for growling as a dog that does not growl can go straight to biting with out warning.
Start by adding food to the dogs dish as the pup is feeding and holding a chew in your hands for him to chew, I also will offer the pup a high value treat in exchange for what he has in his mouth.
You want the pup to associate your hands with something nice.
I always taught my children to never ignore a growl or chances were the could be bitten, I always worried that as the children were so used to our dogs they would think all dogs were safe.

I do not believe as some folk do that you should never remove food from a dog, I think it is very important that you can remove food and items from there mouths, dogs will often try to eat or chew something that is dangerous and you need to be able to take away without being bitten.