The Cause, Not the Symptom

Growling, snarling, and barking are warning signals

Many of us have experienced the chill at the sound of a dog’s rumbling growl or vicious bark.  Some of us might have even been the owner of the dog that was doing the barking and growling and felt embarrassed by our dogs’ behavior.  We feel like our dogs are being rude and unsocial and the temptation is to reprimand them for being that way.  But it’s important to remember why dogs growl and bark and to examine the causes rather than addressing the symptom.

Dogs do most of their communication without vocalization.  Slight gestures like the turn of the head, lip licking, or sniffing the ground are all signs of discomfort.  Given the option, most dogs will give a variety of signals, including leaving a situation, rather than get involved in a physical conflict.  It’s only after the silent communication is ignored that verbal communication is utilized.  Growling/barking are the final warnings before physical action is taken, and depending on the dog, physical action can be anything from an air snap to an inhibited bite to a full-fledged attack.

However, experience can modify how dogs communicate their warnings.  A dog whose silent warning signs are consistently ignored will then cease to use those signals and go directly to vocalization, especially if vocalization gets the desired results.  A dog who is punished for vocalizing will stop vocalizing and go immediately into a physical response.  A dog that attacks without any warning at all is highly dangerous.  For safety’s sake, it makes sense to keep the growl and the bark, but address what is making the dog uncomfortable so it won’t feel the need to warn people or animals away.

Growling usually happens when a dog still has a considerable amount of control over its behavior.  It’s the human equivalent of a firm “Stop.”   The dog is willing to wait for the situation to change, although it’s already considering the next step in the process, if the situation remains the same.  There is room for negotiation when the mental pressure is released.

Barking, on the other hand, is done in the state of high arousal and suggests a dog out of control of its behavior.  Not all barking is a warning, dogs can bark out of extreme joy.  Barking is the equivalent of human yelling.  Humans yell when they’re excited as well, whether in celebration of a victorious sporting event or if a loved one is in danger.  Because a barking dog is already beyond its control threshold, there is no time for negotiation, and the dog can go immediately into its preferred defense mode of fight or flight.

Address the cause, not the signal.

Because growling and barking are warnings to “stay away/leave me alone,” to stop the vocalization, we need to find out why the dog wants space.  Usually, it is because the dog is afraid, afraid that it’s going to be harmed or that something important (to the dog) is going to be taken away.  If a dog is worried about being harmed, is it because it is currently in discomfort/pain?  Has it been hurt before by something/someone similar?  Is it encountering an unknown person/animal/object that might hurt it?  If the dog is worried something is going to be taken away, it’s called “resource guarding.”  The resource can be a toy, a treat, food, or even a person.  There is also guarding territory, trying to keep people and animals away from an area to protect the resources there.  The dog is afraid it’s going to lose something valuable.

Sometimes it’s obvious what’s making our dogs growl and bark.  Other times it takes some detective work, which is where a professional trainer can become useful.  Once we find the cause, we can train our dogs to be less fearful or possessive which will eliminate their need to growl/bark, while allowing them to keep that warning signal, should they need it at a later date.  It’s a crucial component for safety.

Dogs give warnings to tell us they’re feeling threatened, that their personal space is being invaded and that they are worried that something “bad” is going to happen.  We owe it to them to respect and address their concerns. Just like with human friends and family members, when we keep all the lines of communication open, we can better  understand each other.             

Living in the Literal World

Seeing isn't necessarily believing!

Keeping in the Halloween spirit, there’s been an online trend called “Horsemanning.”  Horsemanning is creating an undoctored photograph that looks like a decapitated body with a head next to it.  What makes it entertaining is that observers know that what they’re seeing is not real.  It’s just an optical illusion.  But what if we weren’t sure?  What if we took the photos for exactly what they represented?  That’s how a dog would perceive the picture.

Dogs are literal thinkers that lack gestalt.  In other words, they are incapable of creating a whole picture when given just parts.  For humans, this is the ability to see the picture in a dot-to-dot, for example, before the dots are connected or to know that when someone walks behind a curtain they are behind the curtain.  This is a learned behavior, which is why young children need to connect the dots in order to see the picture and why peek-a-boo is so entertaining for infants.  Dogs never develop this capability to the same extent as people.  So, when Bob the neighbor walks by behind a wall and only his head is visible, dogs do not assume that the rest of Bob’s body is behind the wall.  Bob’s head is a floating head.  Scary.  When a dog buddy goes home and then goes out into the yard behind the fence, it becomes mysterious disembodied dog.  Scary. It only becomes a buddy again when completely viewed.  Some dogs do learn object permanence, which is knowing things exist, even if they can no longer see it.  If they watch a treat being covered by a cup, they assume that the object remains under the cup.

Literal thinking can also apply to clothing accessories, especially costumes.  Dogs that are unfamiliar with people wearing hats, sunglasses, or even roller skates are seeing bizarre “whole” pictures:  humans with oddly extended heads, frighteningly large eyes, or fast noisy feet.  Costumes aren’t costumes but “real,” which is confusing and frightening for dogs and even young children, who have a similar perception of the world.  Dogs familiar with other dogs can suddenly become frightened of the walking hot dog with their friend’s face.  Despite the strong reliance on scent, a dog’s survival skills prioritize unusual over the familiar.

In addition, dogs base their vision of the world on previous experiences.  They might be able to combine previous experiences into novel combinations, but if they haven’t seen an item before or experienced something before, in their minds it doesn’t exist.   For example, if a dog only goes for walks in the neighborhood and on occasional trips to the vet, when you leave the house, in the dog’s mind you, too, are only going to a walk around the block or to the vets.  The scent information you bring home creates a complicated picture because it doesn’t match with the dog’s knowledge base.  Seeing something even slightly different, such as a person who walks differently or who has hair on his face is an oddity first and human only after safety is established.

New experiences can be disturbing unless most
previous new experiences are positive.

Personality and experience dictate how a dog reacts to new items and situations.  Dogs categorize everything into three categories:  Bad/Dangerous, Neutral, or Good/Beneficial.   That’s why it’s so important for puppies to be exposed to many different people and situations in a positive manner.  If their memory bank is full of good or neutral experiences, they are more apt to expect new experiences to also be good or neutral.  Bad experiences would be seen as “abnormalities,” making the dog more confident and willing to try other new situations.  However, dogs that are genetically inclined to be shy, like shy people, might still be more hesitant in new situations, although not as hesitant as a dog that has had predominantly no experience or bad experiences with novelty.

We can help our dogs to become more comfortable around new situations.  Regularly introducing something safe and new to something already comfortable and familiar can make novelty less threatening.  Preventing or intervening when there is a potential “bad” experience in a new situation can not only build confidence, but increase our dogs’ trust in us.  Not forcing our dogs to go beyond their comfort zone can also help bring confidence.  Allowing dogs to advance on their own into new situations while we give encouragement and incentives can create good associations as well. When dogs know they can trust us to protect them and that we “have their back,” “new” can go from scary to an opportunity for discovery. And that’s money in the experience bank!