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perennialfan275

Growling does not always mean aggression (dogs)

perennialfan275
3 years ago

Just like people, dogs have personalities too. And my dog has taught me that. A lot of people believe that dog growling indicates aggression, but this is not always the case. My last dog was a golden retriever, and she was a very quiet and timid dog. She was loving and kind, but she was also very submissive. She wasn't the kind of dog who would challenge someone for dominance, and she would often hide from things she was scared of. She died years ago, and now we have a new golden retriever, and she is COMPLETELY different than my last. She will often greet me with this sort of low pitched growl in the morning (or when she hasn't seen me for a while). It sounds kind of like a low pitched "roorooroo". She will often grab a toy or one of my socks after doing this and walk up to me with it while continuing to growl (again very low pitched). Her tail is also wagging the entire time btw. Also, she does not snap at us while doing this, so I'm pretty sure this is not aggressive behavior. What I can conclude from this behavior is that she usually does this when she wants my attention or she wants me to play with her.


What I want people to take away from this is that when it comes to dogs, take some time to get to know them before judging (unless it's an extremely obvious sign of aggression like snapping at you or something). I will admit that when my dog did this for the first time I was scared. I had never met a dog who was so "vocal" (for lack of a better word) as her, but she is the sweetest dog you'll ever meet. She is very different than my last dog, but I wouldn't trade her for anything.

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