[jmm]

What to do about growling?

sadie always sits in the lazy boy in the a.m....the morning ritual is that i eventually join her with my morning coffee. this a.m. she growled when i tried to move in and then nipped the air.....

i am removing lazy boy privleges...

any suggestions? how worried should i be?

 

[puddingtjie]

well she wasn't sleeping was she? Lexie is usually very "growly" if I try and wake her on the couch - i then resort to poking her softly until she's awake and she'll jump off the couch!

 

[Anonymous]

Francis did that a few times at the same age as Sadie. I was a little scared and thought we were headed for trouble.
A friend of mine said that the next time it happened I was to loom over him looking stern and saying, "No!" loudly. That worked for a few weeks until he got a little too big for his britches again. This time I sort of forced his head down firmly and calmly (not in anger or too roughly) so I was truly dominating him and holding him in a subordinate position. I held him in that position until he stopped struggling. He hated it but I was once again ALPHA BEVY!!!!!
Sweetly and gently maintaining your dominance is the trick to a happy relationship with dogs. They're pack animals and that's the natural order of their world.
The only time he's the "Big Dog" is when occasionally I let him win tug o' war with his "Baby".

[ March 20, 2006, 09:01 AM: Message edited by: Beverly Anne Cawley ]

 

[jmm]

yep, she was sleeping when i tried to move her ...then the GRRRRRR happened!

 

[charvie]

Mocha and Beldin get the same way sometimes if they're sleeping when I try move them over to sit on the couch - I noticed at first they did it more if I pulled back after they growled and let them be - then a friend told me that I shouldn't do that and to say 'NO' loudly and -move- them over ...

So I tried it for a bit, if they growled I just said 'NO' and continued to place myself in my spot, moving them over ... now if they are sleepy and growl if I try to move them, they quickly realize who it is and often look rather sheepish that they "forgot themselves" and growled at me in the first place.

I think mostly you can't be scared because they sense it. You have to stay firm and dominant.

 

[Mikey T]

"You have to stay firm and dominant."

"I was truly dominating him and holding him in a subordinate position. I held him in that position until he stopped struggling. He hated it but I was once again ALPHA BEVY!!!!!
Sweetly and gently maintaining your dominance is the trick to a happy relationship with dogs. "


Interesting. If at a meeting you were sitting in a plush leather chair. The boss walks in grabs you by the back of the neck and pulls you out of the chair. I bet you would have a few choice words for him also. However if he/she asked you to move politely you would have done so.

The answer is not intimidation, bullying or some misquided notion of dominance , the answer is to train off. It's not hard.
Queen of the Couch: How to Deal with Dogs that Won’t Let You Use “Their” Furniture

and some other thoughtfull reading

How Much Does Your Dog's Cooperation Weigh?
Physical struggles aren't the point in relationship based training.

RELATIONSHIP BASED TRAINING

 

[jmm]

thanks for all of the great links and advice.

 

[Milly and Lily]

I occassionally have the same problem with Lily over the ottoman. It is usually when she is sleeping but I won't accept it from her at anytime. If she growls, off she goes. She is starting to get the point that growling means she doesn't get to sleep on the giant green pillow thingy mommy puts her feet on and has to resort to a common dog bed.

 

[Anonymous]

Easy answer, don't allow dogs on furniture in the first place. If they have their own beds you don't disturb them and they don't get possesive.
Arlene and Opus.

 

[Jose']

I do have that problem with José occasionally, although I have to say that he is the most gentle, wussy mama's boy who wouldnt hurt a fly. But Oh at 7 months he was a wild indian! He had such crazy fits of energy I thought I had a wolverine in a basset body. What a difference a year (or two or three...) make.

He will sound ferocious when asked to get off the couch when sleeping. He is all talk & I liken it to a crabby teenager. I feel bad, poor baby is sleeping on the couch for an hour or two & I rudely help him off to go outside for one last 11 pm pee (selfishly so he doesnt come wake me at 3 am)

We kind of laugh about it as it is pretty comical. Every so often he oversteps his bounds (like going to snap at me) & I turn him belly up while holding him there & I firmly remind him I am the boss.

 

[Anonymous]

I had the same problem with Jasmine a few months back, so at the same age really. However with her it's never over the furniture, but has always been, with one exeption, over having to be shut up in the kitchen if we're going out. The first time it happened I was terrified and called my fiance in tears, wondering what demon spawn had replaced my beloved fluffy pup. She still does it occasionally, but although she makes a lunge to bite, she's never actually bitten us. My problem is I fear that she might, and therefore lose the dominant edge in those situations. You sound like you handled it well though.

 

[Valerie and George]

George has occasionally been possessive of food and now and again gets something he shouldn't have and I want to take it away from him. He won't growl, but he sort of looks and stands angry. My solution is to say in a mock shocked and offended voice, "Hey!" and he always sort of deflates and looks embarrassed and that's the end of it. I wouldn't be physically dominant of him because I don't want him to feel threatened by or afraid of me. And Opus, what on earth is the point of having a snuggly basset if you don't let him on the furniture so you can snuggle with him? In our house, the couch BELONGS to George. He just occasionally lets us sit on it, too.

 

[Anonymous]

As far as I can see bassets genuinely do not like to be disturbed when sleeping, and when they have their own beds, they don't get disturbed. It makes perfect sense to me to avoid conflict.
Valerie, I love Opus-and indeed am frequently accused of preferring him to everyone in this house- but, as I have said before on this forum, he is my dog and he is treated as a dog. I take him everywhere with me, I worry about him when he is not well, I talk to him constantly, he sleeps right by my desk and I bathe, clip nails, clean ears, put eye drops in daily and groom him with all the due dilligence of a caring owner, but what I do not allow is him to lie on my furniture or behave badly. He is still a 'snuggly basset' and loved dearly despite his lack of furniture privillages.
Plus Opus is a heavy shedder and I don't want dog hair all over my furniture. He sleeps with Diva, his cat, and has done for years, and they are perfectly content.
Arlene and Opus

 

[joanr]

Arlene is not alone on this, I don't let Happy on the furniture either.

 

[Anonymous]

Mike, what JMM is describing is what you do after the dog has growled and snapped. After I held Francis down for a minute or two he never growled or snapped at me or anyone again.
That has to be the roughest and sternest I've ever gotten with him but I am around little kids and old people frequently and Francis has to know his place in the pack. He's friendly and sociable and the time I walked into the living room and found my 2 year old niece's tiny little finger firmly planted up Franny's nose, I could see that Franny didn't like it but he didn't snap or act threatening.
Remember how mother dogs teach their dogs, it's the same way.

 

[EleanorTheDog]

Eleanor does the exact same thing when we try to move her while she' sleeping. We've learned to offer her small treats to get her attention and let her wake up a bit first.

The treats, not suprisingly, work well.

I think Eleanor just doesn't like to be woken up and moved when she's sleeping. Makes sense.

 

[Rosie'sMom1]

I am also one of those who think dogs should not be allowed on the furniture. From what I've read here on this forum and elsewhere, this happens way too often-the dog gets too big for its proverbial britches and thinks it can boss people around. I'd much rather prevent a problem then have to try and train one away that has already developed. Rosie has her own comfy dog beds and we do plenty of playing and snuggling on the floor. It also helps keep the hair and drool on an easy to clean surface.

 

[Soundtrack]

Remember how mother dogs teach their dogs, it's the same way.

I haven't seen any of my girls hold or pin a puppy down. They reprimand and the puppy voluntarily flattens itself to the ground to show respect.

 

[Anonymous]

A plus to keeping them off the furniture is that you are preventing back problems down the road. With the Basset's body structure of being very heavy on the front end, when they jump down or go down steps or stairs a lot of pressure and compression is applied to their spinal column often causing problems as they age. Bubba developed disk problems at seven years, after following my every step up and down stairs over the years and hopping on and off the couches and recliner.
He was then banned from both and not a happy dog. With Bogie we just spend a lot of floor time for snuggles, and he sleeps happily in his dog bed in the den or goes to his crate when he's tired. He goes up the stairs once a day, at night where he sleeps in his bed by our bed, and down the stairs once a day when we get up in the morning. We just keep a baby gate at the end of the stairs.

[ March 21, 2006, 12:01 PM: Message edited by: BubbaLeroy ]