Hi Lindsay,
As others have said - punishing a growl is a risky proposition. If you're lucky the dog "gets the message" you're trying to teach that they should tolerate whatever it was that they growled about, but with many dogs that simply is not the case. Many times, the dog suppresses the growl response and then when something pushes the dog past it's tolerance, rather than growling it goes straight to biting "without warning". Many dogs who are trained in a coercive way learn to differentiate between people who are strong enough to punish them, but test to see who is weaker (such as children or older folks who aren't as strong or agile). When working with a dog who will be as large and powerful as a Dane, I really want them to work for and like ALL people, not just defer to the ones they know are bigger, stronger or quick to punish. Knowledgeable trainers, behaviorists and dog owners are very thankful for a growl because it lets them know that the dog is stressed and gives them a brief moment to intervene before the animal feels that it has to protect itself from whatever is upsetting it.
This is not to say that you just let the dog growl! You intervene in that moment and take the dog away from the stress and proactively manage them to keep the situation from happening again, THEN set up training and behavior modification exercises to work with the dog to help alleviate its anxiety about whatever proved to be worrying it. In your case, this would mean teaching the puppy that the child means good news rather than being scary or bothersome to the dog. (And please don't think you're alone - many dogs are nervous about children.) But, if you just punish the dog for growling, you run the risk of increasing the unpleasant association between the dog and the child. To the dog, he was right - when a child comes around, bad things happen (mom/dad yell, smack, punish the dog). When this happens, dogs may escalate to growling/snapping more quickly in the hope of fending off what scared them to avoid "getting in trouble" (from the dog's perspective). At my training center, we see this type of situation very often.
You should closely supervise all interactions between dog and child, and if you know that the puppy has a history of groaning/growling at the child when being petted, then you stop letting that situation occur until you've worked with a behaviorist. Allowing the dog to continue growling is practicing the inappropriate behavior, and as they say, practice makes perfect.
NILIF is a good start. It will help teach the dog to defer to you, but won't change the pup's view of the child. This is why working with a behaviorist is important. Be sure that the behaviorist has a thorough understanding of canine behavior and how animals learn - not someone who believes in dominance theory or "being the alpha". The latter belief is outdated and inaccurate, but still hangs around out there among "traditional" trainers. You need someone who can help you teach your puppy to love children, and punishment is not the way to do that.
Please feel free to email me directly or check out the Resources section of my website to find good websites and reading materials, as well as directories for trainers/behaviorists with a science-based approach to behavior.
As others have said - punishing a growl is a risky proposition. If you're lucky the dog "gets the message" you're trying to teach that they should tolerate whatever it was that they growled about, but with many dogs that simply is not the case. Many times, the dog suppresses the growl response and then when something pushes the dog past it's tolerance, rather than growling it goes straight to biting "without warning". Many dogs who are trained in a coercive way learn to differentiate between people who are strong enough to punish them, but test to see who is weaker (such as children or older folks who aren't as strong or agile). When working with a dog who will be as large and powerful as a Dane, I really want them to work for and like ALL people, not just defer to the ones they know are bigger, stronger or quick to punish. Knowledgeable trainers, behaviorists and dog owners are very thankful for a growl because it lets them know that the dog is stressed and gives them a brief moment to intervene before the animal feels that it has to protect itself from whatever is upsetting it.
This is not to say that you just let the dog growl! You intervene in that moment and take the dog away from the stress and proactively manage them to keep the situation from happening again, THEN set up training and behavior modification exercises to work with the dog to help alleviate its anxiety about whatever proved to be worrying it. In your case, this would mean teaching the puppy that the child means good news rather than being scary or bothersome to the dog. (And please don't think you're alone - many dogs are nervous about children.) But, if you just punish the dog for growling, you run the risk of increasing the unpleasant association between the dog and the child. To the dog, he was right - when a child comes around, bad things happen (mom/dad yell, smack, punish the dog). When this happens, dogs may escalate to growling/snapping more quickly in the hope of fending off what scared them to avoid "getting in trouble" (from the dog's perspective). At my training center, we see this type of situation very often.
You should closely supervise all interactions between dog and child, and if you know that the puppy has a history of groaning/growling at the child when being petted, then you stop letting that situation occur until you've worked with a behaviorist. Allowing the dog to continue growling is practicing the inappropriate behavior, and as they say, practice makes perfect.
NILIF is a good start. It will help teach the dog to defer to you, but won't change the pup's view of the child. This is why working with a behaviorist is important. Be sure that the behaviorist has a thorough understanding of canine behavior and how animals learn - not someone who believes in dominance theory or "being the alpha". The latter belief is outdated and inaccurate, but still hangs around out there among "traditional" trainers. You need someone who can help you teach your puppy to love children, and punishment is not the way to do that.
Please feel free to email me directly or check out the Resources section of my website to find good websites and reading materials, as well as directories for trainers/behaviorists with a science-based approach to behavior.
Did't you have a dog that mauled a child once? That you had to put down?
I think we could always learn from new training.I also have a hard time with the growl only being a warning with that said i do not hit my dogs though when my intact males threaten each other i will grab the back of their neck.Does anyone think this is mean i know a mother dog never hits her kids but she does use the back of thier neck to train.It works here any opnions??
We have already started nilif. We sat down with all of our children and discussed everything with them. We laid down some new rules. We are taking Tego to the vet on Tuesday and will probably be meeting with the behaviorist after that. (by the way..is $75/hr. session expensive? It seems it to me, but I'm not sure what the going rate is.) If he does continue aggressive behavior after that, we are going to return him to rescue so he can have a home with no small children. I just cannot put my children's welfare in jeopardy. Thank you for all of your help...I may be pm'ing some of you.
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