Dog Aggressiveness – What do they mean?

Today, we know that dogs are much more complex animals than we thought in the past. Each time they study more, and in greater depth, their behavior and the reason for their behavior so that we can understand what they want to convey to us. The growls in the dog are only a small part of the set of ways the can has to communicate.

The growl is considered a form of aggression and we tend to recriminate it. This is very likely to make the situation worse because we are not listening to what the animal wants to tell us. Finally, we end up with a dog that bites, whose end is usually euthanasia, abandonment, stigmatization of the breed or the bad image of dogs in general.

Do the grunts in the dog mean aggressiveness?

The growls in the dog do not necessarily mean aggressiveness. These are part of the set of behaviors that a dog can carry out to communicate something. Depending on the situation, the education of the dog, its character or emotional problems and its past experiences, a growl may involve:

• Fear
• Discomfort
• Self defense or a member of the group
• Aggression
• Game
• Resource Defense
• Threat.

As we see, the growls in the dog can even be positive. Many dogs, during game situations, when they are with other dogs, or also with us, can growl.This growl poses no threat, since it is linked to the positive behaviors of the game.

Resource Defense

One of the reasons why many dogs growl is for the defense of resources, such as food, toys or other objects that are of interest to the dog. In the face of this conflict, some tutors often quarrel with the dog and take away what it is protecting, since they believe that the pet is showing dominance.

This is not like this. The only thing the dog feels is that his tutor is taking away something that is very valuable to him., so the link between the tutor and the dog deteriorates. In addition, due to frustration, the dog could eventually bite.

The best way to act in these situations is to make the dog lose interest in the resource. For example, if the dog values ​​too much a toy, we should not take it away; on the contrary, we must give him many equal toys because, having so many, they will lose value.

Can a growling dog bite?

Yes, any dog ​​can bite.The growl is not always the prelude to the bite.Many times, the dog growls and then decides to leave. This is also a form of communication.

On the contrary, other dogs,After the growl, if the stimulus that is causing it does not stop, it will mark with a bite.However, before the growl, the dog shows, through other body gestures, that something is bothering him. Therefore, it is essential to know how dogs communicate. Unfortunately, some dogs have stopped using previous behaviors because they see that they have no effect on us, so they bite directly.

How to avoid the growls in the dog?

We cannot pretend that a dog never growls, just like barking. Both are a natural form of communication, and it is normal and healthy that sometimes they do. However, as always, an excess may not be normal.

Anxiety, stress, mismanagement of frustration and other problems that a dog can suffer are states that promote behaviors such as grunts in the dog. For this reason, we should not try to correct the growls, but look for why our pet behaves like this.