How to Stop a Pug From Growling Aggressively

Everyone loves pugs. They are adorable right from their little stocky bodies to their pushed in face and famous snort. Pugs personalities are very friendly and welcoming. That’s why it is extremely surprising when one of these animals starts growling. It can often make you very concerned and uneasy. If you have a pug that has started growling, it can be corrected. With a bit of patience, you can locate the root of the problem and then work to correct it. Growling does not always mean aggression. There can be underlying causes as to why your pug is growling. As soon as you find out what it is, you and your pug can work together to solve the issue as quickly as possible. Here are some of the most common causes as to why your pug may be doing what it’s doing.

Growling is a way that pugs communicate. When your pug begins growling, assess the situation. Is there any way that he could feel threatened at that particular moment? In other words, is there another animal in the room? The pug could be trying to communicate to both you and the other animal that he is not happy with the present situation at hand. The best thing that you can do is to remove the other animal. As soon as the other animal is taken out of the equation, the pug no longer feels threatened. This does not only have to involve a dog, but maybe a small child as well. Children love animals and want to continuously pet and feel the pug. If the dog is feeling threatened and the child is not told to stop, the pug may nip to protect himself. That is why assessing the situation is so important. That way you can rectify the situation before it gets out of hand.

Understand that any dog does not growl without having a reason to. If it seems as if your pug starting growling and/or nipping out of the blue, consider an evaluation by your veterinarian. In many of these cases, an underlying medical cause is to blame. You vet will perform various tests. If it is found that there is something wrong with your pug, usually the growling will cease once the problem is corrected. Even if you feel your pug’s growling has increased or his personality has changed, get him evaluated. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Do you find that your pug is growling when he has possession of a bone, or when eating? This is actually not uncommon. Many animals are food possessive. There are ways that this can be corrected. The best thing to do is to leave your pug to himself while eating. If this can not be done for one reason or another, enlist the help of the person the dog is closest to. Have them take over the task of feeding the animal and staying with him while he eats. The person should comfort and reassure the pug that no one is going to take his food away. When the pug becomes comfortable with that idea, together with the person who was feeding him, introduce other people into the circle. As soon as your pug feels comfortable with everyone, the growling will fade.

Another very important point is that you should never scold or punish a dog when they are growling. Most owners reprimand the pug thinking they won’t do it again because they don’t want to get yelled at or displease you. Unfortunately this is not the case. Reprimanding the dog when it occurs may stop it at that particular moment, but can also cause a latent behavior. This behavior can rear it’s head by the dog growling without any warning in the future. Though you may want to scold the pug when he growls, the best think to do is ignore it and let him alone. As soon as he sees that it isn’t giving him any attention, negative or positive, he will stop.

Having a pug that growls can be very frustrating and upsetting. Understand that it can be corrected with a bit of patience. Once you realize the cause, whether it has been summarized here or it is something else, you can fix it. Pugs are wonderful animals, and no one animal is perfect. Work with your pug to rectify the situation, and your pugs is guaranteed to give you years of happiness and respect.