Re: Growling

In Reply to: Growling
Posted by:  Kerry Klimek
Posted on:  October 30, 2001 at 20:46:03

: My Lucy is a two year old Jack Russell. She has recently picked up the habit of growling instead of barking. We were able to control her "spoiled barking" habits she learned as a pup. But, we can't control the growling. She never growls toward anyone, she growls instead of barking. We have tried everything. Every time she hears a noise, she growls. He growl isn't aggressive at all, we can still pick her up and hold her, but we can't control the growling. It doesn't bother us until we are trying to sleep. Lucy used to sleep all night long, but now she wakes my husband and I up several times a night. This has just started in the last few months. Does anyone else have this problem?

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Hi Kerry,

I can't say I have ever heard of this problem. You might want to try what some trainers claim that works. That is to teach your dog to bark. This way they will only bark on command and not all the time. However I must add the caveat that this is a breed that was bred to bark.

As far as waking up during the night, you might want to try giving her more exercise. A tired dog is one that is too tired to wake during the night and wake everyone else up too.

It probably wouldn't hurt to have your vet check her out too. There could be a medical reason for her sudden change in vocalization.