We tend to think of growling as something which our dogs should never do. But in reality, it’s simply their way of communicating that right now, at that exact moment, they’re feeling pretty concerned about something. And that’s the same whether you have a Doodle, a Terrier, or a Retriever; all dogs use growling in the same way.

It’s then our responsibility to work out what’s happening and remove the need for our dog to growl to begin with.

When Other Communication Fails

Our dogs have a hierarchy or ladder of communication when they find themselves feeling worried. They’ll start on the bottom rung and work their way up until they eventually find a way of making the scary thing go away. Now some of these signals can be really subtle, so that means it’s easy to miss them. As a result, your dog goes up the ladder to try the next way of telling you that they need help.

The Ladder of Canine Communication

Now, not all dogs will show every step, especially in a very scary situation, and some may be so quick that you miss them. But generally, all dogs will go through each of these ten stages when facing something they are worried about

1. Yawning, Blinking and Licking Their Nose

Now yawning can just be caused by a dog being tired, but it’s also a way of relieving tension in the jaw. This is the first sign of your dog feeling uncomfortable. Blinking and closing their eyes is your dog training to communicate that they’re not a threat. Licking their nose? Well, that can be a comforting behavior, a little like when a child sucks their thumb

2. Looking Away

When we’re talking to someone, we face them, and when we indicate that we’ve finished the conversation, we turn away. Dogs have a similar way of telling us that they’re finished with the situation and want to move on. So, your dog may look away so that you see the whites of their eyes. This is often called ‘whale eye’ and is a sure sign that your dog is not feeling happy in their current situation.

3. Walking Away

Next up on the ladder is to walk away from the issue. The problem for many of our dogs is that they’re not always able to do this because they’re on a leash or their exit is blocked.

4. Creeping and Ears Back

When a dog is creeping, they sink their body low to the ground and then try to move away very slowly. Dogs who are doing this will look very nervous, so you may also see them yawning and the whites of their eyes all at the same time.

5. Standing Crouched with Their Tail Tucked Under

Now your dog is telling you that they feel unsure and are trying to make themselves as unthreatening as possible by becoming very small.

6. Lying Down with an Exposed Belly

This dog is trying hard to show you that they feel very anxious and that they’re no threat. This is quite different from a wiggly playful roll or the chilled-out dog who rolls over to have their tummy rubbed.

7. Stiffening up, staring

At this point, all of the over attempts to resolve the situation have failed, or the threat is pretty big, needing an extreme reaction.  Your dog may stay in this position until they are sure that the scary thing has gone.

8. Growl

Now we get to that growl. This is very clear communication from your dog that they need space and are feeling very threatened. They may have tried all the previous steps, but if they haven’t worked, then they’ll try to tell you by growling.

9. Snap

There’s no missing a snap; it’s a pretty clear sign to keep away and a warning that if you don’t, they may have to go to the next step on the ladder.

10. Bite

Finally, when everything else has failed, then your dog may have no alternative than to bite. Don’t forget that just because you don’t think the situation is scary, it doesn’t mean that your dog has the same opinion!

Why Growling is a Good Choice

Sometimes, your dog may find themselves in a situation that is so scary for them that they need to take immediate action to force the frightening thing to move away. And that choice might be a snap or a bite. So, when a dog chooses to growl rather than bite, they’ve made a great choice. They may also have tried all those more subtle signals on the ladder first, but we may not have spotted them. That means that they have escalated their response to one that we do take notice of!

Remember that a growl is always a better option than a bite. That means that while we want to avoid our dogs being in these types of situations to begin with, if it does happen, then we shouldn’t punish them for simply communicating how threatened they felt.

Why Never to Punish Growling

So, if we think about growling as our dog’s way of telling us how they feel, then we can see why it would be so wrong to tell them off for it. When we hear that deep throat growl, it’s a sign that we need to help our dogs to cope with the situation or move them to a place where they no longer feel worried.

And if we do punish the growling? Then our dogs will learn to skip this rung of the ladder and go straight to the snap or bite. Not something that any dog owner would want to happen!

Be Your Dog’s Advocate

Part of taking care of our furry friends means helping them to feel safe. So, when they’re feeling worried or threatened, we need to take action to help them feel more confident. That might mean moving them away from a scary person or a barking dog.

Don’t forget that reassuring your worried dog won’t make them more scared or more likely to be fearful; they’ll just know that you’re the one to turn to when the world all gets to be a bit too much.

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