# My dog growled and barked at me! Help!



## GuiLopes (Jun 14, 2015)

Hey, this is our first dog ever and we have tiny experience. We adopted a lovely german sheperd 6 months ago that was abandoned. He's now 1 year and half. 

Last night, I was fondling my dog and doing the kinda of stuff I usually do like playing with his paws. I thought it would be a good idea to place my slippers on his back paws. I putted on the first one, and when I was putting on the second one, he hit me with his nozzle, barked and moved away from me, looking kinda scared and suspicious of me, while growling and starring at me  

Is this normal? Perhaps I was being a douche to him without noticing and he just got upset.

Will he hate me now? Will I lose control over him for not punishing him for barking at me, since I got scared because this has never happened before?


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

You're serious ?? Otherwise, your post is funnier than ****


SuperG


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

He's fine,you just scared him.You may have twisted his foot accidentally and hurt him also.If he was human he would have yelled"Hey!Knock it off,that hurts!"Find a new game besides dress up


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Uh oh!Now you've done it!Are we to be entertained by googled images of fuzzy slippered Gsds


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## Kahrg4 (Dec 19, 2012)

Troll?


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## GuiLopes (Jun 14, 2015)

SuperG said:


> You're serious ?? Otherwise, your post is funnier than ****
> 
> 
> SuperG


Yup, I love random stuff. Now I've learnt. Just didn't know if it was normal for dogs to bark at their owners agressively.


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## SkoobyDoo (Oct 7, 2014)

He has to communicate with you somehow!
If he doesn't like what you're doing and you continue doing it, that's how he's going to let you know!


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Besides dressing your pup up, what kinds of things do you do with your dog? Have you taken him to some training classes? Do you regularly take him for walks. Are you throwing the ball for him? Are you playing tug with him. 

No it is not normal for a dog to snarl or growl at an owner it knows well and trusts. Not unless it is seriously frightened, like a storm sensitive dog in the middle of a severe thunder storm; or if you hurt the dog, like if you tried to push a dog into a crate and a wire from the crate was stabbing the dog; or if the dog was seriously ill. 

If the dog does not have any of these excuses, then you could have a dog that is not well-bonded with you, and stepping up the training, supervised exercise, and play can help immensely.


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

Now that you know how he feels about slippers, aren't you glad you didn't try those high heel pumps?


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## GuiLopes (Jun 14, 2015)

selzer said:


> Besides dressing your pup up, what kinds of things do you do with your dog? Have you taken him to some training classes? Do you regularly take him for walks. Are you throwing the ball for him? Are you playing tug with him.



Yes, even though we can't take him to classes yet due schedule, we have a private trainer and we work with him. He's starting socializing class next month. We walk him like 3-4 times a day and play ball and fetch in our garden.


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## DutchKarin (Nov 23, 2013)

I think many of these dogs do not like anyone messing with feet. My dog has growled at me when I mess with his feet sometimes, especially when he is trying to relax. But I can also dry his feet off with a rag, I can dremmel his nails and check for foreign matter in his toes etc). I don't accept growling at me but I also don't mess with his feet unnecessarily. Our rescue dog will have nothing of touching her feet. She was not socialized to it as we got her as a stray but she will struggle like a wild child if we try to do something with her feet.

Grab some treats, teach a handshake, act like you are drying his feet and treat him with a high value treat. But when he is relaxing or sleeping, leave him alone.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

GuiLopes said:


> Last night, I was fondling my dog and doing the kinda of stuff I usually do like playing with his paws. I thought it would be a good idea to place my slippers* on his back paws.* I putted on the first one, and when I was putting on the second one, he hit me with his nozzle, barked and moved away from me, looking kinda scared and suspicious of me, while growling and starring at me


I doubt you were hurting him. You probably startled him and he didn't like what you were doing. He just gave you a clear warning. Since he is an adult and you've only had him for 6 months, I'd be thankful for the warning.

I have found with my dogs that they have very little issue with handling of their front paws but all of them have a much harder time with their back paws. They pull, they jerk. I've always wondered if they are ticklish!

So get a bag of treats. Gently handle his feet and give him a treat when he has no reaction. If he does have a reaction, be a little less forceful. For instance, you grab his whole foot and he reacts. So only touch his foot. No reaction? Treat. There may still come a time when you have to let him know that you will have to handle his feet and no nonsense allowed but start there so there is a good association to begin with.


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## MamaofLEO (Aug 8, 2014)

Steve Strom said:


> Now that you know how he feels about slippers, aren't you glad you didn't try those high heel pumps?


Hey, Leo has perfected his kitten-heeled pumps just kidding! :laugh:

Seriously, though, like any part of a pup that they despise people touching (for Leo its the top of his head and was collar), our trainer showed us how desensitize: with a high value treat, and smooth movement, give treat and pet with hand, rub lightly over paw/collar. With consistency, collars and harness now go on with out treats.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

When I saw this thread, I was unsure myself? We have 68 pages in the aggression threads I doubt any are like this??

So now we know it's real! Nope we are not the Dog Whisper but we can learn! Start here:

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/6954690-post5.html

And spend some time here:
What Would Jeff Do?

It will be time well spent and the nature of your questions will most likely change??

Welcome aboard!


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## MadLab (Jan 7, 2013)

> I was fondling my dog and doing the kinda of stuff I usually do like playing with his paws.


Generally dogs don't like people playing with their paws.

Fun for them would be searching for a ball you placed around the house. You tell the dog to stay, go hide the ball, and return and release him to find it or search for it.

I do desensitize a dog to having it's feet touched, dog on back and rolled over, ears checked, etc. But I do it in a way where I am in control and the dog is comfortable. It is necessary to have this level of control i reckon. 

You start by doing a little and releasing the dog and giving a treat and build it up to put up with longer.

Remember your dog is not a doll or teddy and may act if it's warnings are ignored.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

GuiLopes said:


> Yup, I love random stuff. Now I've learnt. Just didn't know if it was normal for dogs to bark at their owners agressively.


Okay...so you're serious....hopefully you can understand why I thought you might have been joking. Yeah, you were probably being a douche and the dog let you know it in pretty clear terms....however, I doubt the dog "hates" you. You kind of are at a disadvantage since you don't know what took place with your dog since it was abandoned but have had a year to discover any of it's tendencies which might have made impressions on the dog during the first 6 months of it's life.

Seems to me, the dogs I have had over the years really never cared for being messed with in certain areas, paws being one of them...don't know why...but just know they didn't care for getting them tugged on and messed with. Cutting their nails is a good example....some people never get it figured out...I was that person with my first dog because I was unrelenting and of course cut too many to the quick....big surprise my dog didn't want me messing with it's paws. My last few dogs and their paws along with the rest of their bodies is a different story, no problems whatsoever because I started from day one being mellow with the pup. Most every day when the dog would be relaxed, I might get on the ground with the dog and give it a massage of sorts...from the tip of it's nose, tips of it's ears, to the ends of her paws and everything in between....all super relaxed and avoiding any areas which might break the dog's mellow...and slowly working back to those areas as the dog would calm. My current dog as the previous two let me cut their nails without moving, just laying on their sides and relaxing....I'm chalking that up to the time spent massaging the dog in the evenings when she was relaxing.....and I always kept it super relaxed.

I'm pretty sure I could put slippers on my current dog..haven't tried that yet....the notion of it makes me laugh..reminds me of when I used to put socks on my last dog....I have no idea why I did...probably like you...just like doing random stuff at times.

I think one has to know when they are annoying their dog and proceed carefully from that point. I know I am purposely annoying to my dog at times when she isn't executing as she knows how but never had her growl at me....personally I wouldn't tolerate that and there would be a "moment" if she did......but if I was being a jerk to her and provoked her to growl at me...I'd assume I had that coming.


SuperG


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## GuiLopes (Jun 14, 2015)

Thanks for all your lovely tips! I'm finishing finals next week so I'm putting alot more effort on my dog, which btw is named Jack. 

If you're still reading this thread, my dog tried sneaked out of my house when he used to live outside the first week we got him. The third on he end up getting caught in the neighbor's fence, and I wake up with a pool of blood on the street and the dog crying for help. He had to go for a leg surgery and healed completely fine. (Nice first week, no?)

He also gets mad with every single dog, and once jumped from a 1st floor to the garden to bark at another GSD.

Recently, we tried an harness for the first time and he barked and growled at my brother, and would run if we tried to put it on on him.

I'm very unexperienced, so any help will be appreciated, even though we have a trainer.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

You have your hands full it sounds like.....trainers are great.....some of them really know their stuff and can help.....Seems to me, at the end of the day...the owner has to make the biggest difference by following through properly on what the trainer has taught them. GSDs have a lot of going on between those ears and once you dial in on working together as a team...it's a win/win.

SuperG


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Well, if you have a trainer, I would bring this up to them first. They can see the dog, and give you pointers. If you do not trust the trainer, find one that you do trust. Much better than trying to fix something over the internet usually. 

But do post your progress. Then if you trainer suggests you do something way out there, we can all try to help you figure out whether or not your trainer is giving you good advice.

It shouldn't have to be that way. But anyone out there can hang a shingle and be an automatic dog trainer. Not everyone knows how to research a trainer or that they may need to.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Completely agree......why I used the word "some".


SuperG


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

Steve Strom said:


> Now that you know how he feels about slippers, aren't you glad you didn't try those high heel pumps?


This was funny!!!! Totally wins the internet!
Sheilah


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

DutchKarin said:


> I think many of these dogs do not like anyone messing with feet. My dog has growled at me when I mess with his feet sometimes, especially when he is trying to relax. But I can also dry his feet off with a rag, I can dremmel his nails and check for foreign matter in his toes etc).


Mine sure doesn't like it.

I've taught her, "Feet!" She still protests, but she knows that if it's wet or snowy out, she will be standing on the rug in the entryway so I can wipe/inspect her paws. Lots of petting and, "Good feet!!" when she allows it. Treats if my husband is around to lend an extra pair of hands.


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## WolfsOwner (Jan 16, 2015)

I have found with my dogs that they have very little issue with handling of their front paws but all of them have a much harder time with their back paws. They pull, they jerk. I've always wondered if they are ticklish!

Wolf is the same way and she is very ticklish on her back paws. Or at least I think she is! However, she loves for me to massage her front paw pads and legs.


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