3 year old retriever growling on an evening

[retrievermum]

DDog has suddenly started growling at DH and I on a night; she’s almost 3 and has never displayed any aggression before. Usually happens while we are relaxing/watching TV before bed on an evening. She does it whether we interact with her or not (but usually we aren’t as she seems happy chilling by herself).
She hasn’t progressed further than growling, and will still accept us stroking her/playing with her etc but then goes back to growling a little while later.
For context, we have a 10 month old baby who she has never growled in front of but obviously I’m worried about DDog and DD now (not that I’d ever leave them alone together anyway).

Any advice? Have a vet visit booked for a couple of weeks.

My dog is growling, gently but firmly, at me right now to let me know I have to get his Kong which has rolled under a sofa. It's just how he communicates.

@lifebeginsaftercoffee i don’t think she’s bored/wants attention, as it’s usually after we’ve been playing with her and she’s taken herself off for a relax. She goes out with her walker for minimum of two hours a day, plus we give her a little runaround when DH is home from work, and I play with her a lot during the day!

I’d get the vet check brought forward. Ruling out physical reasons is always the first step where there’s a sudden change in behaviour

Could she be overstimulated then? That sounds like a lot in one day.

You say she settled when DH cuddled with her and went to sleep - maybe she's telling you to go to bed

Our Labrador ( sadly now dead) used to growl then bark because she wanted us to move her cushion to another location. She definitely used to sound very pissed off with us!

I'll just put this out there, my GP's dog started doing this and they thought it odd but she showed no more aggression - it was always in the evening. A few weeks later they found out that they had a Peeping Tom. Hopefully this isn't the case for the OP but may be something triggering it outside.

She wants you to do something I think. If she's looking towards the window when she barks I'd say there's something outside. Try just saying what's the matter? Getting up and looking out the window then reassuring her It's nothing, and give her a pat or stroke. It might just be she's hearing something and wants you to investigate. If she runs to the door when you get up, go and check out there. Once she sees you check it out, she might relax a bit.

Our Lab started suddenly looking round the room like he was watching a fly but there was nothing there. Totally freaked me out and I thought we had ghosts.
We took him to the vet who said it was attention seeking behaviour that was more common in smaller dogs.
It was when DS1 was quite tiny so the dog was getting less attention and it made sense.

It sounds like she's tired and wants to tell you she needs to go to sleep, if cuddling to sleep with your DH worked.

Could she be needing more sleep because baby's night time noises are waking her / giving her a fitful sleep? Is she getting more stimulation in the daytime than she was used to, if you are at home on maternity leave and more present through the day?

It could be that the tiredness and stimulation of past months has caught up with her and she needs you to know she wants a calmer sleep environment.

It's possible that dog has deduced new baby gets attention by making a noise, then gets picked up and cuddled. Maybe she's asking for a cuddle?

Well Done Doggy.

Is it possible dog is pointing out that you've not got baby with you?

Is baby usually with you specifically? Just thinking if yes, then dog will alert you primarily/mostly. Maybe once everyone is settled in for the evening, dog has noticed that baby isn't there and is letting you know or perhaps can hear baby stirring and is letting you know?

If this was mine I think he would be trying to alert me to a problem. A cat in the garden or someone passing by outside. The sitting making eye contact is what he will do if he wants attention and he will make some sort of grumbly noise initially escalating to a bark if ignored.

He also isn't keen if members of the family are not altogether in one place. If some are upstairs and some downstairs he lies on the front doormat to keep eyes on both places. He has accepted the kids going up to sleep before us but he will alert us if someone has not gone to sleep which is actually quite useful. Maybe your dog can hear the baby stirring?

My dog started barking in the evenings at a particular time and we finally realized it was the clicking of the central heating pipes relaxing as they cooled down.

Is it not that she’s a bit anxious because baby isn’t with you? Lots of dogs like to know that their family unit is all safe and gathered together, particularly of an evening when it is time to settle down.

Didn’t think about her being anxious about baby not being there, that’s quite possible! DD is with me literally constantly (she usually naps while DDog is out with her walker so me and DD are a bit of a package deal atm).

I had almost convinced myself I was pregnant again and DDog was picking up on it! 😂

Can you film her doing it the next time it happens? At least you can show the vet then

My dog does this, is this your first dog OP ? As dogs make “growly” noises a lot, and most of them are not actual growls, as in they are not an aggressive warning off noise. They are dog conversation. My dog looks at me and makes a growly noise when she is hungry, she makes growly noises that are slightly different if playing with a tug toy, and she also growls if she hears something outside. All these noises are slightly different and none of them are at all menacing towards me. Maybe you should record the noise and post it here ?

Not trying to minimise and safety is the most important. But my golden sits in another room sometimes and starts growling because he wants attention. He eventually lumbers in and sits in front of me staring at me very intensely and makes grumbling noises. He does also resource guard sometimes and it feels different. Basically he has an over developed personality for a dog! Be as cautious as you need to be to be sure but also in my experience not all growling is aggression

Typically she didn’t do it last night when I was going to film it!
She’s growling now but she’s also sat under DD’s high chair so I think she just wants some toast!

In that case it doesn’t appear to be a ‘growl’ at all. ‘Growling’ implies aggression and from what you have said there is no sign of aggression whatsoever.

It sounds like this is just her way of communicating, whether to say, “Where’s the baby?”, “Can you hear those foxes shagging outside?” or “I would love a bit of that toast…please”.

The wanting toast noise isn’t growling . That is a normal noise for dogs to make, it is asking for toast. All dogs do this. A real growl, as in a threat, is very different and the dog’s body language is different too.

I wouldn't want to guess if a serious growl or not without knowing your dog. But I have a 4yo golden retriever and he has become more vocal over the years. In the evening when we are watching tv he will growl (well, make a growly noise) to get attention. Often he will go and get a toy and growl at us until we play. Just now he's been growling because DS was exercising on the floor.

I would say that to me it is very clear that my dog is not growling aggressively. No curling of the lip etc. I think he gets more vocal the more attention he is given - definitely a learned behaviour.

If you're not sure if aggressive maybe video and show vet or behaviourist?