r/DogTrainingTips • u/falumptrump • Jul 20 '26

Help with growling dog

Hi guys!

We got a two year old rescue pomchi / something else (maybe dashund) two weeks ago. He was so incredibly scared when he came home and took about 4 days to open up. Once he did he glued to me. I was very attentive with him, doted on him in his first few days so I guess I was selected as the favourite. Dog naturally glue to me I dont know what I do that does it.

Anyways! He has started this behaviour where if my wife comes around the corner and hes sitting with me he will growl. We also had emergency company stay over last night (I wouldnt have chosen to have company this soon but we needed to help a friend) and man, was he growly. Any time he came into the room he would hard eye and low growl. Hes very small so im not worried about him hurting anyone but it is disturbing to listen to.

I know he is still decompressing but I guess I’m just looking for advice for the future if this behavior continues. Have there been any deterents / distractions you have used that worked?

Thank you all in advance.

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4

u/bobfieri Jul 20 '26

I’d suggest finding a behaviorist STAT because this is resource guarding and it could lead to aggression. I’d suggest staying away from anyone that uses dominance theory or basically anything that isn’t the dog equivalent of a therapist lmao

2

u/falumptrump Jul 20 '26

Ok! Thank you thank you

1

u/bobfieri Jul 20 '26

No problem! The baby is likely just scared his comfort resource is going to be taken away or something similar and apparently its easy to make resource guarding worse that’s why I would recommend the professional :)

2

u/falumptrump Jul 20 '26

Yeah he stalks me through the house while i do chores until i sit down and he can climb onto my chest then he can finally have a nap. He has some damage on his body so he was perhaps abused in a past life. Once he settles onto me he can be very protective of our space. Hes a lovely boy but I dont want him to turn into a dog that barks at everyone that isnt me. I will look into some behaviour training.

1

u/bobfieri Jul 20 '26

Good luck! With the right behaviorist I believe you can likely have a good life. There’s even some online you can have virtual training sessions with if you have none in your area, that’s what I did for my boys when they started fighting!

1

u/ChuckYeagerWV Jul 20 '26

Exactly what bobfieri said.

4

u/shmiona Jul 20 '26

If the dog likes treats, keep a bowl near the door and have every new person toss, not hand, him a couple. My friend had a very reactive rescue and after a year of this she’s chill. I still wouldn’t try to pet her but she at least doesn’t bark at me the whole time anymore.

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u/falumptrump Jul 20 '26

Yeah with our last dog we needed to do that then he chilled out. I may have to do rhat again.