# Our new dog growls after he's woken up--HELP!



## luvmydoggies (Jan 30, 2008)

We got Tucker a week ago today. He's slowly and steadily getting used to the family and the kids..even my son. The other night I decided to see if he would sleep in my room on the floor. My husband came in after about an hour to get his work clothes (he works midnights) and Tucker growled at him. It woke me up and startled me and I said "Hey!" and my husband said "Stop That!" and he quit. I put him in the kennel right away and thought he'll always sleep in the kennel, I won't try that again.

Well, tonight I was in my bedroom again folding laundry. The light was on and the t.v. was on. Tucker was sleeping on the floor and I heard my son coming toward the room. I started talking to my son loudly (not yelling) so to wake Tucker up before he came in. My son, who's 5, came in the room to talk and Tucker growled. I clapped my hands and I said "Tucker, NO!" and he growled again after I told him no.  I told my son to go out of the room and I told Tucker again "No!" After my son left, he quit growling. After we left the bedroom, he saw my son again and was fine. I don't know if he's disoriented after he's asleep and it takes him a few minutes to figure out where he is, or what, but I cannot allow this to continue. Tucker has been a great dog otherwise, but as much as it breaks my heart to even think about giving him back to his previous foster home,  I cannot take the chance of him biting any of us. He's not shown aggression at all except for after he's asleep.

Does anyone have any advice?? If so, please answer ASAP as I'm not sure how long we'll be keeping him.

Thanks,
Tina


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

It just sounds like your dog gets startled when he is woken up, I believe some people on here have dogs that get startled when woken up as well. I believe you are doing the right thing as far as just saying no to disrupt him. I would call his name as you come up to him to wake him up so that when you come up to him he will be awake.


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## luvmydoggies (Jan 30, 2008)

That's the thing...he WAS awake. I mean he was sitting up or standing (I don't remember) and his eyes were open, the lights on, the t.v. on and he looked straight at my son and growled. I don't want to get rid of him and I actually cried when I told hubby about it because he's a really good dog otherwise. He said that we could try to work with him, but I don't have a clue how. I don't know what his life has entailed really up to this point. He lived with an inmate for 7 weeks during obedience training and he was at his previous foster home for 2 months. Before that I have no idea what's happened to him....my bedroom is very small (only about 1 1/2 ft. between the bed and the dresser where he was laying) and I thought maybe he felt cornered. Maybe it's just that room, because I haven't noticed that behavior otherwise. He didn't "charge" at my son, but he was looking at him intently and growling, but not showing teeth. I don't know if it's a matter of still getting used to the house or what....frustrating because he really is a good dog and plays with my son and my girls during the day. He's taken to me and he's never growled at me, but I've never walked in on him sleeping. I don't know if he was protecting me...but I don't like that either because it's my kid, you know? I hope someone can give me some insight here on this one....


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

I would call the foster home and ask how he interacted with them. It sounds like he's bonding with you to me but I'm no dog expert. How good is your son with animals?


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## Mr Pooch (Jan 28, 2008)

My middle dog does this,you cant go near his back without a a really slight growl but its all a front, now when he does it i just look at him and he knows and has the "sorry look" on his face.Its a vocal reaction and nothing more i think.


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## PhotoMom (Feb 2, 2008)

It sounds to me like the dog is gaurding you. I agree, the behavior needs to be resolved, but also remember that growling.. is a good thing. Its a warning. If you make the growling stop, but not the "gaurding" behavior.. the next step is to go straight to biting/attacking. When a dog growls first, at least you have the warning. I would definitely get in contact with a dog behavioralist and see if perhaps they can give you a solution. I had a similar problem with my husky (who actually has timberwolf in her) when my daughters started crawling. I had to show my husky that my daughters were not intruding on her space and were not going to take her things (toys/food). And I haven't had a problem since. Its definitely unnerving when they are growling at your children tho so I understand completely how you feel on that. I went thru it twice and probably will go thru it again after I have this baby. 

I wish I had a solution for you, but I'm not sure how I would deal with that. Definitely talk to a behavioralist though. 

HTH,
Amber


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## luvmydoggies (Jan 30, 2008)

It's interesting that you are mentioning a dog behaviorist because I'm sitting here at 2:30 a.m. reading an aggressive dog website. From what I'm gathering, some of Tucker's problem may be that the pack order is not established in this house. Our JRT tries to run the show but he goes right back at her because he's bigger and also a dominant dog. Their "playing" sometimes gets rough with a lot of nipping and he tries to roll her over, which I now know is the alpha roll. She does not give in and she bites at his face and his legs and wherever else she can reach. I wonder if allowing them to "play" like this only adds fuel to the fire as far as his dominance is concerned. I know that hubby will not agree to pay for behaviorist...we really don't have the money and he will be given back before we do that. I took him to pet store today and spoke with dog trainer and she evaluated him and thought him not to be aggressive. We were in the training ring and my son was rolling around on the floor acting like a lunatic and only a couple times did he go over and sniff him but for the most part left him alone. She said she was glad my son was doing that (I wasn't!) because she wanted to see how Tucker reacted to that. The website I'm looking at mentions about not allowing your dog on the bed or on furniture because it's allowing a dominance behavior. It also says to make your dog sit before giving him food or allowing him to enter/exit a doorway or stairs. Tucker obeys well when you tell him to sit so I'll definitely be doing this with him. This has put so much doubt in me, though, and I know he can sense when I'm uneasy and untrusting, which makes him untrusting as well. I may call the dog trainer at the pet store tomorrow and see if she has any ideas, but she didn't have much to offer today as far as when he growled at my husband. She said that he may have been protecting me. But he sleeps on the floor in the living room and the kids run in and out all day long and he doesn't do that. I know this post bounced around a lot but I'm just "thinking out loud" I guess. I should get to bed so I can get up for church later! I'll check in later.

Thanks!


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## echo8287 (Jul 5, 2007)

You need to give Tucker a little time. You can continue to discipline him for his actions, but he's a dog. I think he's doing his job as a dog. He might be protecting you. Do you feed him? Maybe you should let everyone feed him. Let everyone discipline him too> no hitting on anything like that. He is still finding his boundaries, this will take awhile. I had a male Dalmatian that I was keeping for the local dog rescue. He was a good dog but I believe had been abused. Every time I would raise my hand he would squint his eyes and cower down. I started raising my hand and giving him a treat every time. It took 2 weeks for him to stop cowering and about a month to stop squinting with me giving him a treat every time. You can't expect Tucker to be a model citizen in a people world that he has just been thrust into. Give him some time, love and show him his boundaries and I think it will be alright, David


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## PhotoMom (Feb 2, 2008)

luvmydoggies said:


> It's interesting that you are mentioning a dog behaviorist because I'm sitting here at 2:30 a.m. reading an aggressive dog website. From what I'm gathering, some of Tucker's problem may be that the pack order is not established in this house. Our JRT tries to run the show but he goes right back at her because he's bigger and also a dominant dog. Their "playing" sometimes gets rough with a lot of nipping and he tries to roll her over, which I now know is the alpha roll. She does not give in and she bites at his face and his legs and wherever else she can reach. I wonder if allowing them to "play" like this only adds fuel to the fire as far as his dominance is concerned. I know that hubby will not agree to pay for behaviorist...we really don't have the money and he will be given back before we do that. I took him to pet store today and spoke with dog trainer and she evaluated him and thought him not to be aggressive. We were in the training ring and my son was rolling around on the floor acting like a lunatic and only a couple times did he go over and sniff him but for the most part left him alone. She said she was glad my son was doing that (I wasn't!) because she wanted to see how Tucker reacted to that. The website I'm looking at mentions about not allowing your dog on the bed or on furniture because it's allowing a dominance behavior. It also says to make your dog sit before giving him food or allowing him to enter/exit a doorway or stairs. Tucker obeys well when you tell him to sit so I'll definitely be doing this with him. This has put so much doubt in me, though, and I know he can sense when I'm uneasy and untrusting, which makes him untrusting as well. I may call the dog trainer at the pet store tomorrow and see if she has any ideas, but she didn't have much to offer today as far as when he growled at my husband. She said that he may have been protecting me. But he sleeps on the floor in the living room and the kids run in and out all day long and he doesn't do that. I know this post bounced around a lot but I'm just "thinking out loud" I guess. I should get to bed so I can get up for church later! I'll check in later.
> 
> Thanks!


Thats just the thing I'm talking about. For some reason, even tho he doesnt' sleep in the bedroom.. he has taken that as his "den". Perhaps because he did sleep in there one night? Perhaps now allowing him in the bedroom for a bit? If you need to go in there, just crate him for a few minutes until you come back out or put up a baby gate so he cant get in. 

As far as the two dogs playing together, I cant suggest preventing them from establishing their pecking order. They have to, or your going to have chaos in your house at all times. 

This dog has a very strong sense of pack and territory. Sounds very much so like my husky. When my husky started growling at my daughter, I made the mistake of taking her food, toys and bed and putting them in my room and putting up a baby gate so that she could go in whenever she wanted, but that my daughter could not get to her stuff (Tasha could jump the gate easy) What I did.. was make her a den. So then, anytime my daughter even looked in that direction, Tasha would growl. What I ended up doing was keepin all food/water/toys up if my daughter was awake. My husky had NO problems with my daughter crawling all over her, pulling her fur, poking her eyes.. she would just lay there. 

This is why your dog had NO issue with your son rolling around on the floor at the training center. Its NEUTRAL territory so he doesn't care and is not going to, so I wouldn't take that as a "good sign" persay. 

One thing I am going to suggest is to never leave him unattended with your child, even if the growling stops. I never leave my husky alone with my cats, my great dane (who is twice her size) or my children. She has shown territorial behavior to them in the past, I cant risk her biting one of them. She (my husky) is dog aggressive too. Hence why I cant leave her unattended with my dane. The reason things work out with having another dog in my house is one: he's male (she gets along better with male dogs) and two: we got him when he was 7 weeks old so he knows the pecking order. He submits to her right away so it works. 

You've got your work cut out for you with this. Please dont give up on him though. You sound like your willing to work on this and I know you can. I would never expect you to put your family at risk as I would never do that either, but I think he can learn. 

When I said contact a behavioralist.. I know you usually have to pay, but perhaps one will just "talk" to you about the situation and can give you tips. I understand the financial aspect as I wouldn't be able to afford it either. But it wouldn't hurt to see if they would just talk to you. 

I hope that helps.
Amber


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

Is Tucker normally really good with your son and others in the family? I really think all that need be done here is to get Tucker into some basic obedience classes. His growl can just be saying "I am not real comfortable here yet." Growl does not always end in bite. Some dogs are much more vocal. I had one female that growled at everything. She would be wagging her tail and have a loose body posture and you would talk to her and she would growl. There are different growls also. You will have to spend a lot more time with your dog before you will know the different growls. All of my dogs growl like crazy when playing. When I grab my one male around the neck he growls real loud. I know my dog, and I know it is just talk. He is playing with me. There is a BIG difference between that and a BACK OFF growl. Get your dog into some obedience classes that will help you learn your dogs signs. It will help your dog to build confidence and comfort with you and your family. Sit down and have a family meeting and discuss how you are going to train Tucker. You all have to do things the same. Get your children involved in the training once Tucker has a basic understanding, it might be a little too confusing at first. Give him some time, you only had him for such a short time, what you are describing sounds like lack of confidence actually. Good Luck.


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## luvmydoggies (Jan 30, 2008)

Well, I'm little more at ease hearing that some of you may think it's not such a huge issue. The weird thing is that the kids can come and go while I'm in the bedroom with Tucker if he is awake and sitting up or whatever. He doesn't growl or do anything with them, the other dog, or my husband if they come into the bedroom if he's awake and has been awake. But these have been the only two times that he's been asleep (I think he gets into a deeper sleep because it's usually quiet in the room when it's just him and I) and then awoken. I was just shocked really that he didn't stop when I corrected him because he was clearly awake then and still stood his ground. We don't even spend a lot of time in the bedroom....I fold my laundry on my bed. Perhaps he likes it so well because it probably is one of the quietest places in the house. I will try to look into a behavioralist and see what I can come up with. Someone asked previously how my son is with dogs...he's been raised around dogs. We put our 12 1/2 yr. old dalmatian to sleep 3 weeks ago and like I said we have a 3 yr. old jack russell. He was getting to be good buds with the dal, and he tries to have the same relationship with Tucker but I've told him over and over that this dog is different and he doesn't like to be hugged, get in his face, etc. My son has tried to hug him twice and I've stopped him but not before he got one arm around Tucker's back and Tucker whips his head around quick to see what he's doing. I know this is a very aggressive move to a dog and I don't blame Tucker for still being uneasy in the house. My kids tend to be loud at times when they're playing, especially my son. He's always making these whooshing noises (planes flying) or fighting noises (if his two figurines fight each other) and it's odd to Tucker. I don't trust him alone around the kids and when I take a shower I bring Tucker to the bathroom with me or crate him so he's not left unsupervised. When we leave the house, he's also crated. 

He's very vocal when playing with Kadie (0ur JRT) and makes all these silly sounds. He growls and it's very uneven pitched...goes up and down and sometimes he'll make a bark sound. His tail wags the whole time they play. But this growl was IMO a definite back off growl. He didn't snarl and after I corrected him his growl was softer but he still growled. This is the only room that I've observed this behavior but may also be the only room that he allows himself to be completely comfortable and sleep deeply. He never slept in it more than an hour, though, so why he's possibly established it as his domain puzzles me. 

I had our JRT in obedience classes in pet store when she was younger and while I didn't think it was a complete waste of money, I wasn't too impressed with it for over $100. I still have all the info. paperwork from her training and Tucker has already been through obedience training with the prison. I can't see spending money to build confidence in him when it could be something that we could work with here at home. The lady we got him from said to have our son walk him around the house on the leash and give him treats to help establish trust. A couple of times when my son has ran through the living room and playing with Tucker, Tucker has grabbed his sleeve or his pant leg and tugged wanting to play. I do not like this and I correct Tucker. I told my son if he's playing with Tucker to always have a toy, not BE the toy. Tucker really is not a bad dog during the day...even when strangers come over. But his timidness does make me nervous...I've never dealt with a dog like this. My mom's dog was abused and it took her 3 months for him to come around and trust her and now he's the friendliest dog in the world. He honestly wouldn't hurt a soul, and I hope I can feel that way about Tucker some day. Should I completely ban him from the bedroom when I'm in there, or just keep an eye and if he starts to sleep, wake him up myself?? I'm making a call to his foster mom later today and I'll post what happens with that. Thanks so much for the input!!! I really appreciate it!!


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## MegaMuttMom (Sep 15, 2007)

My dog growls on occasion when certain people approach like random men and my son and it seems to have to do with the way their foot-steps sound (fast moving and louder). When we first brought him home he growled the first time my son came home from school with his baseball hat on and another time when he had on his big "Happy feet" slippers. All these things were unexpected for Cherokee, they made my son look different. My son gets him to stop growling by saying hey, Cherokee, it's me. 

I would not over-react at this point by reading too much into it. Your dog is still settling in and might be feeling a little unsure. I think that many people who get rescues, including my family, look for issues. Give him time. 

Don't let him use your room as a den. Don't correct the growl but try to figure out what it means. 

Playing rough and rolling your other dog does not mean your dog is going to be dominant and aggressive. My dog plays the roughest and he easily submits to any dog who gives him a sideways glance. 

We have all the members of our house feed the dog and do training with him. We wanted him to look to all of us as his leaders. Obedience classes help so much in building a relationship and trust with a new dog. Please go and if your son can go with you, that would be even better.


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## PhotoMom (Feb 2, 2008)

luvmydoggies said:


> He never slept in it more than an hour, though, so why he's possibly established it as his domain puzzles me.


Doesn't really matter. He likes the room and has decided its his  My husky.. shes unbelievable. When I bring her over someone else's house.. its hers. Doesn't matter if there is a dog living there. Its HER house. She runs around it like she owns it growling at the dog that lives there! Shes such a brat lol 

Personally.. I would not allow him in the bedroom. Its ONLY that room he shows aggression in. Which I do believe it was an aggressive growl from what you've described because it sounds a lot like my husky's behavior. It wont hurt him to not be allowed in that room. Hes fine in the rest of the house so let him just stay there, at least until he is more comfortable with the family and you feel he is coming around better. 

Amber


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## luvmydoggies (Jan 30, 2008)

BTW Congrats on the baby!  Is it your first??


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## PhotoMom (Feb 2, 2008)

luvmydoggies said:


> BTW Congrats on the baby!  Is it your first??



Thank you  No this is my third pregnancy! I have two daughters. Hubby is really hoping for a boy lol

Amber


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

I concur with other posters who have said that the dog needs a chance to settle in and you need a chance to get to know him. A week is hardly long enough for Tucker to have determined that he can trust you (and your son and your husband) fully. 

Alvin, like Cherokee, growls when confronted with something he does not suspect. He's met my boyfriend a number of times, but the last time Kevin came to visit, he took a red eye flight and I had to go and get him at 1am. When we got back to the house, Alvin stood in the doorway and growled softly at him. It made perfect sense to me...a 6' 1", 200+ man in a dark uniform walks into your house sneakily in the middle of the night...wouldn't you growl, too?!? 

We don't correct Alvin for growling, because we would rather he did that than skipped straight to snapping, but we do try to distract him. Sometimes it's as easy as saying "Hey, Alvin, it's okay. It's just Kevin (or whatever)" and sometimes it involves doing a quick bit of obedience work, just to get him thinking about something he's comfortable and familiar with.

I don't mean to suggest that this growling thing is not an issue that you should deal with, but with the dog being as new as he is, I'm not sure it's something to consider rehoming him for, yet.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

If somebody were to pick you by the back of your neck and drop you in Germany or other foreign country where you did not speak the language and had no way of escaping your dilemma etc. It might be just a little confusing to you and might take some time for you to adjust to your circumstances. Since we have more reasoning powers than our dogs it would be easier for us to adjust hopefully. I have known of K9 handlers who at great expense purchased trained German Shepherds from Germany that took anywhere from 3 to 12 months to bond with their new dog. I know this is the age we want every thing now but dogs are not something that can be rushed. (My opinion only) Nothing to panic about.


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## harrise (Jan 9, 2008)

Just another idea to toss around... I've encountered a Bischon that does this as it's waking. She's an older dog and her vision is slowly fading. Sometimes my own eyes take a few moments to adjust to clarity. Couple that with the new environment, and the fact that all the smells and schedules aren't memorized yet... I'd do some vision checks to make sure it's not a physical condition that you're trying to "train".


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## luvmydoggies (Jan 30, 2008)

harrise said:


> Just another idea to toss around... I've encountered a Bischon that does this as it's waking. She's an older dog and her vision is slowly fading. Sometimes my own eyes take a few moments to adjust to clarity. Couple that with the new environment, and the fact that all the smells and schedules aren't memorized yet... I'd do some vision checks to make sure it's not a physical condition that you're trying to "train".


Something that never would have crossed my mind actually. I didn't get a chance to call his previous "mom' yet. He's been fine since the last incident but he hasn't slept in my bedroom at all either. He and Kadie seem to be getting on each other's nerves...well, he's getting on hers. She's starting to get pretty aggressive with snarling and snapping at him and he seem oblivious and keeps on playing with his tail wagging the whole time. All I have to do is say "Tucker" and he stops, but my husband says to let them work it out and he has to learn from Kadie when enough is enough. She jumps up on the couch with this look that says "help!" and she's covered in his slobber. After reading the post about the 4 dogs who lived together and one ended up dead, it makes me a little nervous. But they aren't left alone together unsupervised. I still think he's going to work out and be a good dog for us...I don't want to give him back and confuse him all over again. We are still in the "decision" phase. He absolutely loves me and the girls. He's still pretty wary of my husband and my son which makes me think it's a gender thing for him. My husband has gotten in the floor for two nights now and just sat by Tucker and petted him. He sits/lays there ok as long as I don't move, but the second I get up, he's at my feet. I've never had a dog like this before...one that goes EVERYWHERE I go. I like it but I'm not sure it's the best thing??? Especially when I'm in the bathroom getting ready (which has a floor area space of about 2 ft. by 2 ft.) and he's laying right in the middle! 

I"ll keep posting as things progress.....


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## echo8287 (Jul 5, 2007)

I think as far as the kids are concerned, if the new pooch is not a snapper or grabber, I'd let them feed him and give him treats for awhile. Most new dogs I have had always had a certain respect and affection for the one that feeds them. You have to train the kids too, not to be real ruff with him for awhile. When we go over to visit my brother and take my dogs, my niece would be real rowdy and try and pick them up and stuff. We had to stop her from doing so, and now she knows if she does certain things the dogs will come to her and play with her. David


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