dog growling only when lying down

Question
Hi there,
I recenlty adopted a rescue dog that is a year old.  He has a lovely disposition, is gentle and shows no signs of aggression (except when you approach him while he is eating).  However, we do see a pattern with him, when he is lying down.  If you approach him while he is lying down, it is a guess as to how he will react. Sometimes he is all loving and docile and other times he is demonic, baring his teeth and growling (a low growl, and sometimes snaps at us).  He is not asleep when we approach him, so he is not startled.  We try to correct the behaviour by raising our voice, using the word "Hey" and staring him down.  He then retreats and goes into another room (so he knows the behaviour is not acceptable).  My question is: Why does he do this only some of the time and what can you suggest to correct this problem?

Answer
Hi Betty,

Whenever your dog growls at you, he is exerting his dominance over you. Staring him down works, as evidence by your dog "giving up" and leaving, but he still tries to ward you way, perhaps you've listened to his "warnings" in the past.

It would help to enforce your "pack" position as leader in ways throughout the day, other than when he growls at you. One method of passively controlling a dog's behavior, while pointing out his status in the home is called "Nothing in Life is Free".  You can read more about this here:  http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

I think after your dog gets the message that he isn't top dog, the growling will stop. But you need to be patient and consistent with the training method discussed at the web site given above. It can take a month or longer for a dog to learn a new behavior, so don't give up!

Best of luck,
Patti