Recently, someone asked me which piece of outdated dog training advice irks me the most. To be honest, there are plenty to choose from, but perhaps the most egregious, and the one I settled on in this case, is the erroneous advice that some dog trainers used to give (and sadly, some still do) that you should not let a dog growl at you. Unfortunately, this advice puts people at risk of dog bites and, therefore, dogs at risk of being rehomed or euthanized. So why do dogs growl, and what should you do instead of telling them off?

A growl is one of the ways that dogs communicate to tell us how they’re feeling. A growl is often more obvious to us than signs such as a tucked tail, looking away, yawning, or licking the lips (when they’re not about to get a treat). A growl tells you that you should stop what you’re doing and think about ways to de-escalate the situation—and depending on the circumstances, make a plan or hire a trainer to help in the future.

If instead you follow the totally outdated idea that you should tell dogs off for growling, you risk making things worse. If you punish the growl, your dog might be afraid to growl in the future. Then how can they tell you when they are stressed or afraid? They may have to escalate their signal to an air snap or even a bite. So never tell your dog off for growling. Your dog should feel comfortable telling you that they’re uncomfortable.

Your dog's growl helps to keep everyone safe because any dog can bite.........

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