# Sudden Growling



## jakersmomma (Jan 3, 2010)

Jake has suddenly started to show a little bit of aggression. He has never ever exhibited any signs of aggression ever. I can take a steak bone out of his mouth with not so much as a whimper. 

Two nights ago, my husband went to pick him up to move him out of his spot in our bed. Jake actually growled and bit him. He grabbed Jake and Jake turned, growled and bit him again. He didn't even leave a tooth mark so he obviously knew what he was doing but nonetheless, obviously unnacceptable. We tried to figure out what it could be. Is Jake hurt, was he having a nightmare because he has never done this before. 

Just now, my daughter was trying to get a plastic thing from him he was chewing on and he growled at her. Same low growl, no bite attempt (thank god). I told my daughter to leave him be if he growls at her and to back away. I went upstairs and he was sitting under a chair with his tail wagging as I reprimanded him. I told him to come here and he did and sat right in front of me like he knew he was wrong and tried to give me a shake. I don't know what's going on here, any ideas? Do I call the vet? Just wait and see?


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## jakersmomma (Jan 3, 2010)

I wanted to add he has been to the dog park twice in the last couple of weeks and a couple of dogs did seem to get pretty aggressive with him and he gave it right back like I've never seen him do before either. Not sure if it's related or because of the dog park just a thought. Other than that, nothing has changed. He has always been to the dog park on and off since he was a pup.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

How old is he? Is he intact? Riley has started to become more mature and sure of herself and with that has come a little bit of resource guarding (only against our cat and my mom's dogs so far). The fact that he did not break the skin means that you have done a great job of teaching bite inhibition! 

There are 3 commands Jake needs to know, and he needs to know them VERY well: "drop it", "leave it" and "off". Drop it = let go of whatever you have in your mouth. Leave it = don't touch something that I know you want. Off = get off of whatever you are on without me having to touch you. I have stopped taking things from Riley by force and simply commanding her to "drop it" and then "leave it". The result is she lets go of what is in her mouth and backs away from it. Once you have mastered the commands, you can have your daughter try them out. 

Let me know if you would like any links to training the commands.


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

I have had 2 dogs in my life that once every 2 yrs. or so, they decided to retest who is top dog in the household. Those incidents were always settled swiftly, and life resumed on track. Pumpkin (22m) growled at my daughter 1x as a pup. That incident (previously posted) was settled swiftly & with no ambiguity. Not everyone agrees with my method, and it may not be best, but (outside of a glaring injury or illness) no growling, snarling, biting, or posturing is allowed in my house-ever! Pumpkin was close to 20 lbs when she growled at my daughter, and I jerked her up by the scruff, all 4s off the ground, before she took her next breath. Gave her a stern "No," and the triggering incident was repeated, repeated, repeated, and repeated again. No hitting or yelling. All was calmn but my voice said "I ain't kidding!" We still have "irritation drills" every 6-8 wks. These drills are called that, because various family members will "review" the rules regarding things a dog may not like: getting off furniture (although ours are not allowed), giving & taking high-value toys, approaching & getting into dog space (bed, crate, food bowls), handling feet etc.. We have had no issues with Pumpkin since our one incident. She too has learned leave it & off. We practice those commands often. Kids can be annoying (even though we "train" them ;D), and no one likes to be moved out of a comfy spot, but I'm just the type who does not let moments pass with a dog questioning authority. I ask the illness/injury questions after-the-fact. May not be the most appropriate way, but I am OK with it. I think Jake is probably just feeling his oats & testing the boundaries. Just like teens. Do the rules always apply? The important thing, IMO, is to address it without delay, make sure everyone is on the same response page, be vigilant around the kid(s), and praise Jake well when he tolerates perceived offenses. Good luck!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

The love of my life and problem child Cash did this at 9 months old. He didn't do it to me. I was the person that worked with him on training and rules. He tried to pick what he thought was the lower man on the totem pole, my son.
My son is not a young child. He was 14 years old and 6 feet tall, but Cash knew he was a softy. I did stop Cash from doing this but he was a full time job. He would try it again months late. If I had still been in the field that day I would have buried that dog there. Cash had a reprieve and is a great dog that has lots of rules for him to be happy. Hopefully you can use some of the other methods on the forum. One of the ones I used with him that finally made him stop is not for the faint of heart and only as a last resort. Most of the people on this forum would think I was a horrible person, but it saved my dogs life. I was determined not to pass on a problem dog to someone else and Vs aren't happy living out their life stuck in a outside kennel. When a dog goes from resting to biting in a split second its hard to deal with. I would ban Jake from the bed right now. His days of being on my level would be over.


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## Vida (Dec 26, 2011)

What did you do?


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## jakersmomma (Jan 3, 2010)

threefsh said:


> How old is he? Is he intact? Riley has started to become more mature and sure of herself and with that has come a little bit of resource guarding (only against our cat and my mom's dogs so far). The fact that he did not break the skin means that you have done a great job of teaching bite inhibition!
> 
> There are 3 commands Jake needs to know, and he needs to know them VERY well: "drop it", "leave it" and "off". Drop it = let go of whatever you have in your mouth. Leave it = don't touch something that I know you want. Off = get off of whatever you are on without me having to touch you. I have stopped taking things from Riley by force and simply commanding her to "drop it" and then "leave it". The result is she lets go of what is in her mouth and backs away from it. Once you have mastered the commands, you can have your daughter try them out.
> 
> Let me know if you would like any links to training the commands.


Jake is 2-1/2 and not intact. One time I remember he was guarding a bone and growled at my husband and he was reprimanded and has never done it since. He's been flat out kind of grumpy lately. He does know drop it, leave it and off. He could use extra reinforcement though, that's for sure and he sure doesn't listen to my daughter (age 13) for anything. 

Thank you for your advice!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Vida said:


> What did you do?


I don't think you really want to know. 
If your dog never goes into full attack mode then you would never use it any way.
I had my vets full approval. It did not hurt him in any physical way. He did think my sons face was the last one he was ever going to see. It changes a dogs dominant way of thinking if they think you can take them out in a heartbeat.


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## Vida (Dec 26, 2011)

I asked you 'what did you do'?
Are you too ashamed to tell?
There are good vets and bad vets,vet approval means nothing to me ,I stand alone ,I make my own decisions.
Do tell??


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## jjohnson (Nov 9, 2011)

That is weird that he jsut started growling and he has been "grumpy" lately. Maybe he is not feeling good or in some sort of pain that you don't know about? Maybe the vet could be able to rule out any medical problems first?


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## jakersmomma (Jan 3, 2010)

jjohnson said:


> That is weird that he jsut started growling and he has been "grumpy" lately. Maybe he is not feeling good or in some sort of pain that you don't know about? Maybe the vet could be able to rule out any medical problems first?


That's what I thought too. I have a behavioralist coming to the house Monday night. One who when I asked if he had ever worked with other Vizslas told me "yes, last week" but then told me to make no mistake a Vizsla was no different than a Yorkie. A dog is a dog and needs to be treated as such. Oh boy, I know I'm not gonna like this guy but he's probably right. I'll let you guys know how it pans out. Thanks for all the tips!


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## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

I'm sorry to hear that jakersmomma. 

Flynn started this at around 2 years of age. Anyway, we did just what you did - discipline him and let him know who's boss. Our trainer seemed to think he was getting "too big for his britches' and needed more structure and discipline (more crating, don't let on the sofa unless invited, or the bed, make him sit before you put his food in front of him etc. - just basic obedience stuff). She says they often try to raise their status in the pack, especially a male. To this day, at 7, Flynn still sometimes test me and bares his teeth at me but all I have to do is give him an authoratative (sp?) voice and posture and he will back down. We were shocked the first time he did it over a bone as a younger dog. Now, I can take a bully stick or a bone from him no problem. But with a nice, big high-value meaty bone he's been known to bare his teeth at me. I have to posture and move with out of the way with the force of my body before I reach my hand in.


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## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

PS - Does he give the "lip curl"? I could generally tell if Flynn was going to growl or nip because sometimes he would curl his lip back and bare his teeth at me. Sometimes he looked downright scary, which was devastating because he's my baby boy. But after all, he is a dog.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Vida said:


> I asked you 'what did you do'?
> Are you too ashamed to tell?
> There are good vets and bad vets,vet approval means nothing to me ,I stand alone ,I make my own decisions.
> Do tell??


Sorry to inform you I'm not ashamed, and I don't need your approval.
If you think repeatedly asking a question that you don't need the answer to is going to upset me.
Sorry your wrong.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Vida said:


> I asked you 'what did you do'?
> Are you too ashamed to tell?
> There are good vets and bad vets,vet approval means nothing to me ,I stand alone ,I make my own decisions.
> Do tell??


Vida you may well have had a bad day, rather than jump conclusions I'll give two of the commands that have been mentioned,,"leave it" and "drop it"
I hope you have a better day tomorrow.


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## Vida (Dec 26, 2011)

Fortunately I am not a dog,and as such do not accept commands.
THAT terminology is highly offensive.
As I said ' private club'!
Very sad that you promote animal abuse.. there is a better way,and we in the UK should be advocating positive reinforcement training.
I doubt if this will be posted?
By the way,
I provide trained animals ( mostly dogs) for film work and commercial Advertising.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Vida said:


> Fortunately I am not a dog,and as such do not accept commands.
> THAT terminology is highly offensive.
> As I said ' private club'!
> Very sad that you promote animal abuse.. there is a better way,and we in the UK should be advocating positive reinforcement training.
> ...


Jumping to conclusions again Vida, nobody at all here has *ever*promoted animal abuse in any way. You may well be able to train dogs to jump through hoops, but as a moderator on this forum I have to make sure you don't try it with members.


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