Spoiled dog

Question
First, do you happen to know what breeds are in your dog?

I am unsure of the breed, although there are a lot of different guesses.   The vet said when he was a puppy that he might be Australian Shepard/ Rottwiler but today does not look any thing like either one of those dogs, except his coloring is brown and black like a Rottwiler. The most popular theories are German Shepard (I know a purebred German Shepard, the face and size/width of the nose looks just like my dogs) Great Dane (body is very similar) and possibly some Gray Hound.

Second, when did he start growling (what age)?

When he was a puppy he would "talk" a lot, still does. He is, and always has been a very vocal dog. When he wants something he will put his paw on your lap and do the dog "talking." The growling did not start until he was about 1 1/2 years old.

Thank you,
Jessica




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Followup To
Question -
I am a very large, very spoiled mutt. He is about 110 pounds, and about 2 years old. I have had him since he was 8 weeks old. He has been fixed since he was 5 months old.

I take full responsibility for him being so spoiled. He gets along well with children, when he feels like playing, he is very good at being gentle. The smaller the child the more gentle he is. When he doesn't feel like playing and a child is hugging him, or trying to play he will give a soft growl, that can barly be heard. He also growls when someone other than myself goes near his food.

He has never bitten anyone, and never acted like he was going to bit, he just growls. I was told by a person who has owned dogs (this is my first) that a dog who growls will most likely bit someone later on. I was also told there is very little you can do to change that behavior, is this true?

I have one child who lives with me, and there are almost always other children here, ranging in ages 2-10 years old. Even if he doesn't bite, when a 110 pound dog growls at someone, they tend to become frightened. Can you help me?


Oh, and just to let you know he is in good health, and is current on all shots.
Answer -
Hi, I have a couple of questions regarding your situation.  First, do you happen to know what breeds are in your dog?  Second, when did he start growling (what age)?  let me know, and I can probably help you with your situation.

Dawn

Answer
Hi, By your describing the dog "talking", it sounds like he is a very independent dog.  I personally prefer a dog like that as they are "thinkers" and tend to think out situations instead of just reacting and "going with the flow" type dog.  It is common for dogs to "challenge" at around a year to a year and a half of age.  They do this by low growls and sometimes just being totally defiant.  A dog enters their teenage stage of life around 10 months to a year, and it can last up to about a year and a half.  It is during this time that this type of activity comes out.  If they were in the wild, they would challenge the leader of the pack, and either be beaten up (basically they submit), driven out, or killed which goes both ways, in other words these things can happen to the leader if the challenger wins.  In domestic dogs it is sort of their way of showing defiance & trying to dominate the other pack members (the family).  The most important thing you need to do is nip the behavior in the bud.  Because he is an independant type dog, dominating him to try and stop the behavior would just make matters worse i.e. spanking him, using a choke chain on him etc.  If he has not gone through obedience training yet, you should definitely get some now, but you do not want training which uses dominace methods i.e. choke chain, prong collar etc.  The best method would be a leadership type method where he learns to go along with a leader, not be dominated by one.  The training device we use for that is called a "Head Halter".  The brand we prefer is a Halti.  It guides the dog into doing the obedience you want without dominating him to make him do it.  What this does by training him is establish in his brain where he stands in the family.  We recommend that as many people involved with him every day work him in this training so he understands that he is under them in the pack.  As far as controlling the growling, the best thing to do is when he starts growling, show no fear, but instead give him a firm No and then make him do something obedient like sit, down etc. so that you take his mind off of what was triggering him to growl in the first place.  This can be a stage he is going through, but you don't want him to think he is allowed to do it for the rest of his life.  The reason I asked his age when he started growling was because if he had started younger than a year, then I would have told you that it was abnormal and that you had a problem, but he is at the right age for it to be happening.  If you have anymore questions, feel free to let me know.

Dawn