Dog growled at son....now I'm worried

[StressedRose]

My 8 year old son went to stroke our dog (1 year old mongrel) while she was in her bed (it was about 8 pm) and she growled at him. She has done this 2 nights in a row. I have told him not to disturb a sleeping dog but both times she was awake.

Should I be worried? or am I overreacting?

You should tell your son not to touch the dog at all when she is in her bed ,awake or asleep . Her bed should be her safe area where she is left alone .

Agree with Floral, the dog's bed should be sacred. Have your son call her out if he wants to pet her.

I have to agree. My rescue snapped at my daughter and drew blood. She had attempted to crawl after her into her crate ( she was teasing her with a tea towel and the dog had tried to go into her bed out of the way)
Initially, I was horrified and the dog was ready to go. But I researched her behaviour, realised her space was invaded and although shook up, my dd has never done it again. I also watch them together constantly.
If she is possessive of her bed I would ensure your sone def. leaves her alone in it. Also try to ensure your son is more involved with the dogs training and putting food bowls down. All to show the dog that your son is 'in charge too'.
Don't worry, at least your dog is warning him she is uncomfortable and he had the good sense to move away.

Growling's good if you think about it...she's saying I'm not happy with this is a really obvious way without resorting to being more forceful about it.

Yes. thanks for feedback. I have now introducing a no touching dog when she is asleep or in her bed.

Also it could be a sign of her being unwell if this is new. Keep an eye on her make sure she's ok. And yy to not approaching the dog whilst she's in her bed. Is she spayed? Could she be in season or pregnant of she's acting funny?

Yes. thanks for feedback. I have now introducing a no touching dog when she is asleep or in her bed.

good would you want to be petted while you were alseep or resting id growl too if a big hand came onto me while I was asleep I think you have lesson learned let sleeping dogs lie

see - and here's where I have a little bit of concern...I do agree that dogs should have a safe space, and that kids need to leave said dog alone while she sleeps.

But I would be concerned about this territorial behaviour. It is not something I would be happy about in my house. I would be thinking about a behaviourist to come in and help understand why it is developing......we are not talking about an annoying toddler hanging off its ears, we are talking about an 8 year old boy, giving the family dog a pat. I would not be happy with it growling at him at all.

mrs I sort of agree with you dog shouldnt be growling but This was maybe a 1 off incident from the dog maybe it was caught unawares perhaps it got a fright I do think the dog is allowed it boundry we had the nicest lovliest dog i could eat off her dinner plate if i wanted too but give her a chew stick and it was hers and we learned to leave her alone (and not buy them very often) I think this was 1 growl the op can monitor it ,

It is good that she growled (warning sign) rather than going straight for a more aggressive behaviour (a bite) but as she should not have growled at all. As the dog has done it twice now I would be getting professional advice to assess her and give you some training ideas to work on to make the dog less possessive of her bed (at 1 year old her personality is still in development and you may find that if you do not address the issue over the bed she may become possessive over food, toys, the sofa, etc.).

That's what I would be worried about boo - that it starts with the bed, then the area she becomes pocessive of becomes bigger.

It may be a one off, but I would be monitoring the situation very carefully.

I have same concerns with dog and 14month old ds. Te dog growls at the. Baby if he comes near his crate. The baby knows he isn't allowed to touch the dog or his crate when he is in it but you can never rely on a baby to do as he is told. We have older dd too and he has never growled at her.

It really concerns me as we have a small house so nowhere for crates to go other than kitchen/diner but means baby can only be left unsupervised in one room

I don't quite know what to do either. Dog submissive everywhere else just not in his crate.

Please get a professional to assess the dog and help you. If the dog is resource guarding there are some very effective training techniques you can use, but you can't rely on the internet to diagnose an aggression issue.