Don't Discourage the Growl

I was doing an exam on a dog today and it was a little nervous.  It had been a street dog for a little bit and so it had some anxiety about being in a vet's office.  It probably didn't help that I had stress pheromones all over because I had just rushed to pick up my son from the school nurse's office for a cough that may have been more homesickness than bad illness, but I digress.

The owner scolded the dog for growling.  I sat back, moved slow and said, "Please don't discourage him from growling."  She looked a little shocked.  She was a nice person who just wanted her dog to behave nicely.  I told her, "It's perfectly acceptable he's growling, he's obviously a little anxious and I don't blame him.  He's just letting me know he's not loving it here."  She looked puzzled.

"What he's doing is kind of giving me the doggy middle finger.  I'm fine with that.  I'll take the middle finger any day over a bite."  The owner nodded, yep, that made sense.  I told her, "it's kind of like when you tell a child, 'use your words'.  A growl is him just using his words.  If you take that away, he may just suddenly bite because you've taken away his ability to communicate."

We then went on to discuss that sometimes, especially with children, a growl is very effective to get them to stop doing something that the dog doesn't like or is uncomfortable.

I recalled a story from several years ago where I was in an exam room with a woman and her child.  The woman asked me for a medication or a means to get the dog to stop growling.  In the few minutes I was in the exam room, I noticed the child maltreating the dog, being obnoxious, pulling it's tail and climbing all over it and the dog was clearly distressed.

I don't remember exactly how I phrased it, I believe it was blunt, but diplomatic (she took it well), "Excuse me ma'am, the dog is not the one with the problem, it's your child.  If your child did what she is doing to most dogs, they'd bite.  They wouldn't tolerate that.  You are lucky your dog is only growling."  The woman realized that she was lucky and that the child should respect the dog and the dog's space.  I also gave her info to a website I like; Liam J Perk Foundation which talks about dogs, children and stress.  Oftentimes, I see "cute" pictures on Facebook that to a trained eye looks like the dog is really stressed and is trying to override it's desire to fight or flight.  Most dogs are way more patient and forgiving of personal space issues than people.

My tech told me after the visit, "You're not the only vet I've heard who has said, "Give me a middle finger over a dog bite any day!"  She then told me I should cross-stitch it on a pillow.  Instead, I'll just share this on the blog...