growling? please help.

2085 Views 17 Replies 13 Participants Last post by Skylar, Jan 7, 2008

Aiche

Discussion Starter · Jan 6, 2008

Got a boxer dog from a rescue on 12/31. This is my families first boxer. She is a 2 year old female.

I am not sure if this is a behavior issue or not, but I am very worried.

today she has started making growling noises that are very troubling sometimes when she is excited and tonight while we were making/eating dinner. (she eats afterwards.)

I am not even sure if she is really growling- her original owner had her surgically de-barked, is there any possibility that this is her version of a boxer's woo-woo? (She can bark as well, but it is raspy and short)

Sometimes she does it while her body is bent in a U shape and crab walking away.

She did it at dinner for a very long time, and it didnt seem that the hair was rising on her back and she yawned while she was doing it, but she did seem to be doing it at my wife. She doesnt seem to be snarling, but her jowels are long and it is hard to tell. She also did it for a long time, possibly 30 seconds. Until this time we thought it was the boxer woo-woo, but now we are not sure.

Sometimes her tail-nub wags when she does it, sometimes it does not.

My wife and I take turns feeding her, we can pet her while she is eating and we can take her food away mid way, give it back etc. with no signs of aggression. We are starting to teach her simple commands and she responds to everyone. She gets two short, slow walks a day. (She is still recovering from being spayed)

I *THINK* she is not being aggressive, but the noise she makes is quite scary.

Yes, I am trying to get in touch with the rescue about this, but I am nervous and would like to see if anyone here has any experience in this area.

thanks for your time.

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

tysonsdad

· #2 · Jan 6, 2008

Sounds like normal boxer behavior to me. Sophie is very vocal--growls and barks but no woo-woo's. There is a sticky on body language that will help you understand if it is aggression or not. I really think it is normal behavior.

Scott

nano

· #3 · Jan 6, 2008

Sounds like normal behavior for a debarked dog. I would guess she is just trying to relay her excitement over the food and attention as best she can in her situation. It also sounds that she does really well with your taking food up and petting while she is eating so this would not be food resource guarding. My guess is that she does it to your wife as she is the one who does most of the care giving in the house and she is expressing her joy to her. Really a shame someone would have that done to a wonderful dog like that. Thank you for taking her into your household.

Nano

nano

· #4 · Jan 6, 2008

Yes, read the sticky Scott mentioned. Sounds like a modified Woo-woo to me! Tails don't always wag when we are demanding some attention or food at my house either.

Nano

Zhanna

· #5 · Jan 6, 2008

Tee-hee, that U-shaped, crab walk is called kidney beaning or just beaning. And yes, lots of growly sounds come out of Henry when he is happy or excited or playing. Sounds normal to me!

samsonsmom

· #6 · Jan 6, 2008

Awww, well first I have to say welcome to the forum and then congrats & kudos for taking in that sweetheart...I don't understand whay someone would do that as far as "de-barking" a dog....Sounds like regular Boxer behavior to me..Angel is quite vocal and will let you know if she isn't pleased, isn't getting enuf attention or just to pester Samson :lol: As you have only had her for a week, I would say she is for a rescue, very well mannered ad has quickly adapted as well....One of the things I do love about my rescue babies, they just seem so happy to have a loviing forever home

What is your girl's name? We would love to see some pics of her

BurningRiver

· #7 · Jan 6, 2008

We call that the "Chewbacca noise".

Completely normal boxer behavior and happens when they're excited, but if you really do feel as if she is being aggressive, you should call the rescue group you adopted her from to get their take on it. They may even be able to come out to observe the behavior themselves.

Barbs2Ks

· #8 · Jan 6, 2008

Welcome to the forum. Kiah makes all kind of noises when she is playing, and the beaning always gets a smile from me.

hgar78

· #9 · Jan 6, 2008

Madeline does it all the time when she's playing. her growling can get quite vicious sounding but she's not aggressive at all. i'll try to get some video of my husband winding her up and see if i can post it for you.

also madeline doesn't bark much at all (although she's doing it more lately since she learned it from my mothers dogs while visiting for xmas).

Brandi

· #10 · Jan 6, 2008

welcome.. harley does this too.. the first time he did it i ran on the forums asking if it were aggression but turned out it was his woo hoo too.

Skylar

· #11 · Jan 7, 2008

Both of mine do the same thing - Boxers are very vocal dogs. Congrats on your new pup and giving her a good home!

boxerlove

· #12 · Jan 7, 2008

Welcome! What a wonderful thing to rescue a boxer baby! Sounds like normal boxer excitement. The beaning is a sure sign of being excited and the woo woo (which can sound like a little like growling) is very normal for most boxers!

DUKE01

· #13 · Jan 7, 2008

Duke does that too. When we are in bed and he wants us to get up he does the yawn and whoo. Sounds pretty normal. And welcome, I haven't been on here too long but I love it. It get on while I'm at work and its hard to actually get back to work.

FREDOSMOM

· #14 · Jan 7, 2008

How exactly is a dog "de-barked"? Meanwhile the only time Fredo barks is if he is in his crate and needs to go out in the middle of the night or if one of his toys slips through the cracks.

DUKE01

· #15 · Jan 7, 2008

I don't know but I can't imagine ever doing that to one of my dogs. I don't think I could do anything to them I wouldn't want done to me!

FREDOSMOM

· #16 · Jan 7, 2008

It sounds very cruel and painful to me too

Aiche

Discussion Starter · #17 · Jan 7, 2008

Thanks for the replies all.

The rescue responded with roughly the same information as the replies here.

As for how does one de-bark a dog (assuming it wasnt a rhetorical question) apparently it involves slicing or slicing out (I wasn't too clear on this point) the vocal cords. My dog still has a bark but it is more like a hoarse cough. As for how someone could do that, I have no idea.

She also has a skin condition where she is missing about 50% of the hair on her back, which we are still investigating. Her scrapes were clear of mites, so we are waiting until she gets her stitches out to investigate further. She was dropped off at animal control several months ago, with any luck her new environment will let her recover her lost hair. She is also a bit underweight.

I don't want to post any pictures until she gets healthy, but she could be a twin of kiahsmom's Kiah, except the white on her nose extends up between her eyes almost to the top of her head.

Skylar

· #18 · Jan 7, 2008

[quote="Aiche\";p=\"64791":kc2mnrmp]Thanks for the replies all.

The rescue responded with roughly the same information as the replies here.

As for how does one de-bark a dog (assuming it wasnt a rhetorical question) apparently it involves slicing or slicing out (I wasn't too clear on this point) the vocal cords.

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.