
Not very likely. Growling is a form of communication that tells you that the dog is uncomfortable with something. A dog that growls is not immediately dangerous: it is warning you that it is uncomfortable, or frightened or hurt in the only way it can. (The most dangerous kind of dog is the one that learns not to growl, that attacks first and asks questions later.) If your dog growls you need to identify the cause: what is he trying to tell you? Then try to remove the cause. For example, if your dog growls at you when you approach his food, he is warning you that he is concerned you are going to take his food. You can remove this fear in different ways, for example, by approaching many times and not taking the food, by taking the food and then giving it back, by approaching and giving more food or by replacing the food with something even better! In any of these ways he learns that your presence is not a threat to his food (an important resource to him). Which of these approaches you take will depend on the situation. With a young dog or puppy, picking up the food and then giving it back teaches the dog that you are able to take its food which is important if, for example, he picks up something you don't want him to eat on a walk. Doing the same with a dog you don't know (for example, a new rescue) could be dangerous. So learn to read your dog and work up to things that are more challenging gradually.
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Last updated August 2006