New dog behavoir--growling

Molly Malone

I have a two year old terrier. I've had her since she was 10 months old. Recently, she has started growling at me when I try to move her either from the couch or the bed.

I searched the internet and I found a lot of sites saying not to let the dog sit on you or sit on the furnitue/bed. By letting the dog sit on me, I'm telling her she is the alpha dog. I'm at the point of not letting her sleep in the bed anymore but I actually like when she sits on me sometimes. I just need to be able to move her when she steals my spot on the couch!

Any suggestions?

doglove

With some dogs, you just cannot allow this behavior whether it's what you like or not. For the good of the dog, you must enforce rules so they feel comfortable and safe. I would look into the FAQs to read about NILF before your problem becomes out of hand.

NotJennay

Is there any way she could be hurting?  We started having a similiar growling problem recently and it had me baffled until I discovered that both of G's back paw pads had spot that were scraped and she thought I was trying to get to them when I moved her. 

Is she big enough to jump from the couch herself?  You might try using treats to lure her off the couch and see if she growls when you do that or if she only growls when you pick her up to move her. 

KatiesCats

If you can rule out a physical issue and she's still growling, then it's no furniture for her.  I am fortunate to have two dogs who are able to be on the furniture without any adverse effects.  But I've had fosters and I have friends who have dogs who cannot be on the furniture or they completely take over the house.

Molly Malone

Thanks for the replies. I guess she is losing her furniture privileges. I know a lot of the sites I visited said the same thing but I just wanted to ask around.

This issue does seem like a night time issue. I understand not wanting to be moved around when it is late and you're comfortable, but sometimes she needs to move.

Alisha_A

Your dog is not seeing her place in the pack correctly and really shouldn't have furniture privileges at this time -- though eventually could be allowed when ASKED/INVITED if her behavior drastically improves.

While one should be able to physically move a dog (which it sounds like you're doing), its never the ideal. In this situation you are physically 'challenging' the dog, which actually lowers your position in the pack. Instead, get a treat, say 'off', and ask the dog to come/sit/etc. Now instead, the dog is obeying you, which raises your level as a leader.

I would recommend doing a NILIF 'Nothing In Life is Free' program (some are kinda harsh but then I have soft dogs so have a different perspective) but basically she needs to earn everything. This isn't cruel -- dogs love to obey and I bet you will find she is more relaxed and loving the more she has to earn everything she wants.

LolaNJoe

Instead of physically moving her, why not teach the "off" or "move over" commands? I'm one of those people who love having their dogs on furniture (bought a large couch specifically for this, and hope to upgrade to a larger bed soon for the same reason) and I don't mind when my smaller dog sits/lays on or around me. My two girls have no problem being moved, but my boy gets grumpy if moved, so I just tell him "off" and he moves himself without complaint.