Help! Why does my dog growl and some other dogs?

@jterrock (276)
United States
February 23, 2012 8:14am CST
I work at a veterinary hospital and I take my dog with me to work everyday and kennel her while I am working. When I take her into the kennels, there are certain dogs that she will just growl at and go balistic until I pull her away from them. I am not sure why she does this! She gets along great with some dogs, but others she wants NOTHING to do with and she can't pass them without getting in their face and growling like she is going to fight. Thank God the other dogs are behind kennel doors so they can't get to one another. This stresses me out so much that it is making me depressed. I just need some advice on how to handle this situation. I am in the process of trying to sell my house so this is the reason why I take her to work with me. As soon as someone puts a bid on the house, I can start to leave her at home again. It is just wearing me down. Please help!
1 person likes this
4 responses
• Philippines
25 Feb 12
i know how you feel about your dog going ballistic with other dogs. it's very stressful and can drain patience even if you adore your pet. but it's not impossible to change them. i sometimes walk 3 of my dogs together and in our neighborhood there are lots of stray dogs (they're actually our neighbors' unleashed dogs) which makes it challenging to keep all 3 calm during walks. what helped me accomplish this is practicing everyday to calm myself first before i attend to them and not mind about the other dogs. maybe in your case you are in a hurry to get to work and your dog is feeling that energy from you and that you're unsure about bringing her to work with you. also, even before you get to your work place you may be envisioning your dog's behavior toward that specific other dog. so try calming yourself first and never think about what might happen with the dogs in the kennel. if you feel insecure then most probably your dog would try to be protective and attentive to every detail where you bring her. if you don't care about the dogs who growls at her then surely your dog wouldn't care as well. sometimes we people are the ones creating the mood for our dogs. you might already know these stuff from working in a vet hospital but this i tried and tested it myself with my own dogs, so i hope it would work for you. ^_^
@jterrock (276)
• United States
25 Feb 12
I agree with you! I do believe that dogs can pick up on the uneasiness of their owners! It is some chemical that they can pick up. Emma probably does pick that up when we go in there. She can tell that the other barking dogs makes me nervous. One thing I do have to remember is not let it bother me and let them bark at one another. It might let them get to know her or vice versa. Great comment! Thank you!
@jterrock (276)
• United States
27 Feb 12
This is just a temporary thing. I don't plan on bringing her to work with me after the house is sold. I am just doing it while it is on the market so she will not be in the house if and when they want to show it while we are away at work. So, it is not a forever thing. I am just going to make sure I correct her if and when she does growl so she knows that it is not ok to do that. Overall she is a really good dog! Just tempermental at times! haha.
• Philippines
27 Feb 12
thank you! i'm not an expert but i'm happy to be of help i'm sure you can tell if your Emma is barking in a friendly way or not. just letting them bark at each other might not help. you might need to correct her every time she's about to snap/bark at another dog so she knows you don't want that. and also slowly introduce them by making them smell each other so they'll be acquainted. of course if you're not intending to bring her to work after your house is sold then you don't have to do this.
@hunibani (720)
• Philippines
24 Feb 12
Better to keep your dog away from the other one. Or else they its going to cause you a lot of trouble.
@jterrock (276)
• United States
25 Feb 12
I am just happy they are behind a kennel door! lol
@Monkeyrose (2840)
• Canada
24 Feb 12
some dogs just dont get along. have you considered putting a muzzle on her until she gets to the kennel
@jterrock (276)
• United States
25 Feb 12
No, I haven't thought about that. She has never bitten anyone, and I know that she would never. All the barking and all the dogs she does not know in the kennel probably has something to do with it. Thanks for the comment!
@kukueye (1759)
• Malaysia
24 Feb 12
I guess some dogs get into your dog nerves and nothing much u can do except avoid them to be together just like human being sometime your just growl at other people what your feel threathen and such , maybe your dog has pass bad experience from certain dogs and hence with the negative aggressive dog behavour towards certain other dogs.
@jterrock (276)
• United States
25 Feb 12
I don't remember her having any negative behaviors in the past. But, I do know that she does get along with some female dogs and others she does not. This weekend my mom is visiting and she had brought her older female dog with her. They get along just fine. It is weird. But, they are just like people I am sure. Some they like and others they do not. Thank you for commenting!