When Dogs Growl or Snap: What NOT to do
If your dog recently growled or snapped, you may be wondering why. After all, you may have done your research and made sure you adopted the best dog for your family. Does this sudden behavior change mean you must rehome him, or worse? Does it mean you have a dominant dog on your hands that you must force to be submissive? What would suddenly make your dog act aggressively?
To us humans, expressions of canine aggression are unacceptable behaviors. However, for a dog, they’re simply ways of communicating. From a dog’s perspective, there’s always a good reason for aggressive behavior. The good news is that growling and snapping don’t necessarily mean that worse behavior is inevitable. Simply put, dogs can’t use words to talk to us. They can’t say, “Please don’t do that to me. I don’t like it.” They can’t reason with a small child to quit pulling their ears or quit crawling on them. Instead, they communicate via the only means available to them–they growl or snap.
Humans and dogs have different communication systems and as a result, there are often misunderstandings between the species. Many dogs are uncomfortable with being hugged or being approached with direct eye contact. When humans approach dogs in this way, they usually intend to be friendly, but dogs may perceive this behavior as threatening or intimidating, and react accordingly. There’s no way around it: we don’t want canine aggression in our homes. A dog’s aggression can lead to a bad outcome if your dog bites someone. The good news is that a growl or snap is your dog’s way of communicating a waning—and your dog is choosing to warn you instead of biting.
In the past, many dog trainers viewed growling and snapping as dominant behaviors and advised dog owners to respond by doing alpha rolls (forcing the dog down onto the ground and onto his back), stare-downs (staring at the dog until he looks away, which signals his acknowledgement that you are dominant over him), shaking his scruff, and long, forced “stays.” Unfortunately, even though a wealth of information now exists about the hazards of these training techniques, a number of trainers continue to use them, including popular celebrity dog trainers who make them appear effective through highly-choreographed video editing. Some trainers recommend even harsher methods for dealing with aggression such as shock collars, which allow you to administer a shock to dog when he displays aggressive behavior. You’d be best advised to stay away from such trainers and advice.
Any trainer/behaviorist who understands dog behavior and the psychological process behind modifying behavior knows that punishment does not help aggression. In fact, punishment often makes the problem worse. If the aggression is motivated by fear, punishment will only make the dog more fearful, and therefore more aggressive. Attempting to punish a pushy or controlling dog is likely to make his behavior even worse. In either case, the dog and owner end up in a vicious cycle of escalating aggression. Punishing territorial, possessive or protective aggression is likely to elicit additional defensive aggression and is likely to ultimately result in worse behavior.
Sometimes, dog owners assume that punishment prevents further aggressive behavior. I probably could have intimidated my dog into not growling at me again. But would that have solved the underlying problem? Not at all.
If you don’t address the underlying issue—perhaps of fearfulness or possessiveness—behind your dog’s aggressive behavior, you’re not changing your dog’s feelings about the incident that caused the growl in the first place. The danger in this is that even if you’re successful in making your dog suppress a growl, your punishment might intensify his feelings. Thus, the next time a similar incident happens, your dog will still feel threatened and become more likely to bite. The dog has learned that his warning (growling) doesn’t work, and in his mind, the next logical step is a bite.
It’s also important to remember that your dog will associate his punishment with whatever is causing him to be upset in the first place. For example, if you punish your dog for growling at a crawling toddler (when your dog was just trying to tell the toddler, “Please don’t bother me!”), your dog may interpret your punishment as “I get yelled at when that child crawls towards me.” Thus, the punishment could cause an escalation of aggression towards the child.
The moral of this story is that we want our dogs to communicate with us. We want them to warn us when they feel uncomfortable or threatened and we want them to know we’ll respect their warning. If they growl and we respect the growl, they’re much less likely to resort to further aggression in the future. The purpose of this article, however, is not to advise you to be permissive with your dog or to ignore the circumstances that caused the growl. If your dog is growling, there is something bothering him and you must address it. It’s important to understand why your dog is growling and what you can do to fix the problem proactively rather than punitively. Your dog will thank you and you will ultimately reap the reward of having a great relationship with your dog.
If you wish to learn more about how dogs perceive human behavior, behaviorist Patricia McConnell has written two very insightful and easy-to-read books about this titled The Other End of the Leash and For the Love of a Dog.
If you have any questions or concerns about your dog’s behavior, visit www.ThinkingOutsideTheCage.org
7 Reasons Why Your Dog Snapped at You
Your dog might have snapped at you for the first time due to pain, fear, possession aggression, play/puppy biting, or past experiences.
As you can see there are several reasons why your dog might have snapped at you and we will go over them one by one.
The first thing you need to understand is that air snapping is not something your dog does out of malice or with bad intentions.
It is merely a warning signal that follows after a chain of more subtle signs.
If your dog is uncomfortable, his only way of telling you is through his body language and facial signals.
Let’s find out why he might have felt uncomfortable.
Whenever sudden changes in dog behavior occur, the first thing that should come to mind is health-related reasons.
Pain is one of the most common causes of “aggressive” behavior such as growling, snapping or biting.
If your dog is in pain or if you have just petted a spot that hurts, he might show his teeth or even air snap at you.
This is his only way of showing you that he is in discomfort and that whatever you are doing is making it worse.
It is also their way of protecting themselves from further pain.
If you suspect that anything is wrong with your dog, make sure to bring him to the vet.
Similar to humans, dogs can be quite grumpy when they have just woken up.
Some dogs really dislike being moved or touched when resting and they prefer to have their personal space when tired.
If your dog is still sleeping and you suddenly touch him, this might also elicit an adverse response.
Getting startled in the middle of a good dream would throw anyone off.
Paired with the disorientation that comes with an unexpected awakening, your dog’s brain might send signals that he is in danger and will act accordingly.
This is also called sleep startle or sleep aggression.
It is best to let sleeping dogs lie and if you are in a situation where you must wake up your dog, it is best to do so by calling them.
Photo by Sandra Seitamaa on Unsplash
Most aggressive behavior happens due to fear rather than true aggression.
It is a form of self-defense and can be directed toward people or other animals.
A dog that is scared will show various signals such as retreating, shaking, lip licking, and avoiding eye contact.
Growling and snapping are common warning signals that happen when your dog feels intimidated by someone else or you.
When fight or flight kicks in and your dog has already tried flight, the only option left will be to warn with snapping.
If the snapping incident happened around food or similar items of interest, your dog might suffer from food aggression or possession aggression.
Resources are essential for every animal on this planet and they have to be protected.
If your dog suspects that you might take something like food away from him, he will try to protect it as much as possible.
This usually happens due to a lack of early socialization and resource rivalry in the litter.
If you want to learn more about this, check out my food aggression guide.
If you have a puppy that is constantly going for your hands and/or ankles, this most likely happens due to puppy biting.
It is very normal for puppies to experience their environment with their mouths and they also use them to receive feedback.
Before you took your puppy home with you, this feedback was provided by his littermates and mother.
With the right training and socialization, puppy biting will go away after a couple of weeks.
A dog that only snaps at you during play might do so because he is play-biting or mouthing.
This is also a very normal behavior mostly seen between playing dogs.
They tend to leave their mouths open to “bite” each other in a gentle manner.
If your dog is showing this behavior with you consider yourself lucky as you have just been promoted to a proper playmate.
Not all dogs play bite with their owners and many like to use different play styles for different species.
As long as it is gentle and friendly and your dog is relaxed and enjoying himself, there is nothing you need to worry about.
This is a reason that often gets completely overlooked.
Growling is a dog’s primary communication tool to tell the world that they are feeling uncomfortable and that you need to back up.
Contrary to common belief it is not an aggression signal and their only way of sharing with you their unease.
Growling is a very important behavior as it is part of the various signals your dog sends you when he is stressed.
You can imagine it like a ladder with the most subtle signs at the bottom and a bite at the top.
If your dog has been repeatedly punished for growling in the past, he might start to skip that step of the ladder and go straight to more direct warnings.
How to React When Your Dog Snaps at You
A snap that comes seemingly out of the blue can be highly distressing.
This is a behavior your dog might have never shown before which catapults you into a state of confusion.
The most intuitive reaction for most people would be to gasp out loud and maybe even become angry at your dog.
When something like this happens, it is crucial that you are staying as calm as a clam.
The last thing an agitated dog needs is an angry owner so we have to try to control our emotions as best as possible.
Remove yourself from the situation and take a few deep breaths.
Once you have collected yourself, assess the situation with a neutral mind to find the reason why your dog has acted as he did.
If you have to, make notes of the dog snapping with as many details as possible.
Like I said before, the most common reason why your dog might have snapped at you is that he wanted to communicate to you that he feels threatened by whatever you were doing.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
Were you maybe trying to hug him, were you accidentally cornering him, or did you emit a loud sound?
There most likely have been many other warning signals before the snap that you might have missed so try to remember the situation in detail.
Monitor your dog’s future behavior and pay closer attention to his body language.
Photo by Fernanda Nuso on Unsplash
Dog Snaps and Growls at Owner! | It’s Me or the Dog
Naturally, many of us may have kept a certain distance on occasions when we hear a growling dog. This begs the question — does it automatically signal aggression when you hear your dog growling? Why do dogs growl?
It’s easy to associate dog growling with aggression. Still, when you put things into context and observe your dog carefully, you’ll be able to understand that there are actually different types of dog growls, each with their own meaning.
For dogs, growling is a way of communication. From expressing their pleasure as you rub their belly to snarling at another dog, there are several possible reasons why your dog growls.
As stated in a study, dog growls express various contextual and affective content for humans. One way of understanding the meaning of their behavior is by being observant of your dog’s situation whenever they growl.
While the sounds might be similar, it helps to take notice of the nuances. At the same time, being mindful of your dog’s body language when they growl is equally important.