Unfortunately, when you punish your dog for growling, you also exacerbate the underlying issue. Meanwhile, your dog is still stressed and just might snap without the benefit of a warning. Even worse, the lack of growling might fool you into thinking otherwise. However, your dog will still feel uncomfortable around other dogs. For example, punishing your dog for growling in the presence of other dogs will stop the growling. You won’t have done anything to address the underlying issue. If you punish your dog for growling, you will only inhibit growling. It’s either benign or a symptom of stress in your dog.

Hopefully, you now recognize that you should never correct growling. Appreciate growls for the insight they give into your dog’s state of mind and for the time they give you to intervene, help your dog, and prevent injury. A dog that attacks without warning is incredibly dangerous. They use growling to prevent the situation from escalating. Their purpose is to tell others to back off before the dog is forced to take further action. Particularly with young children, teach them to treat all growls with caution. Especially with dogs you aren’t friends with, it’s better to mistakenly end a fun game than misjudge and wind up injured. However, when in doubt, act as if the growl is a threat. A loud, higher-pitched growl might tell you something different from a soft, lower-pitched one. When you know a dog well, sometimes the tone of the growl can help too. If your dog seems stiff and is staring with a hard expression, that growl is serious. For instance, if your dog is giving you a submissive grin or play bows, then it’s likely any growling is just fine. How can you tell the difference between happy growls and stress growls? Look at body language. Now you can intervene on your dog’s behalf and change the situation before your dog feels the need to resort to more serious measures like biting. Unlike play and talk growls, you can think of these growls as stress growls. In these cases, and more, growling indicates something is bothering your dog. An injured dog will often growl to keep others at bay. Growling is also a common symptom of resource guarding. A dog might growl to threaten another dog, or it might be a response to feeling cornered. Of course, other growls have an entirely different meaning. These types of growls simply indicate happiness. Many dogs growl talk to communicate contentment or as a greeting. Your dog might even growl during a particularly pleasing cuddle or patting session. It simply means they’re having a great time. Growling during play does not mean your dog is aggressive.

You might have thought that meant the roughhousing had gone too far, but it was likely all part of the game. Have you ever seen two dogs wrestling? Chances are you heard some growling. Many dogs grunt and grumble during playtime because they’re having fun. It all depends on the situation and the dog. Just like barking, growling is a form of canine communication that has many triggers.

But what is the underlying motivation for growling? Is it aggression, fear, bossiness, or something else? And what can you do about it? Read on to learn why dogs growl, what it means, and how to handle it.

Dogs use this vocalization in all kinds of situations from guarding their favorite bone to playing tug-of-war. There’s no mistaking the low menacing rumble of a dog’s growl.

Growl applications