# Momma dog growling at her pups?



## BandCsMom

I work at a shelter that has a mother dog,(with 8 adorable pups)she is also a little bit underweight. I was just wondering if it is okay for her to be growling at her puppies while she is eating. I gave her a bowl of food and the pups are starting to eat solid food, so they went to share out of her bowl and boy did she let out a good growl. I asked a couple of people....1- said, well, then just feed her separtately and the other said that she is teaching them disipline. Is this true?


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## djpohn

I would feed her separately. Why take the chance of her seriously injuring the pups.


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## Annikas Mom

Feed her separately!!


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## BlackGSD

A 3rd for feed her seperately. IMO, it is NOT "normal" for mothers to be aggressive towards their young offspring even if food is involved.


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## UrSun

Hi, this is what I found on wiki about growling, hope it helps a little:

Growls can be used to threaten and to invite play. Growling should be watched with special attention because it can indicate aggression. A soft, low-pitched growl often indicates aggression; the dog may feel threatened and may be provoked to attack. An intense growl, without showing any teeth, may often indicate a playful attitude. Always consider the context of a growl, and exercise caution.




> Quote:An intense growl, without showing any teeth, may often indicate a playful attitude.


What kind of growling you've heard? 




> Originally Posted By: BandCsMomI work at a shelter that has a mother dog,(with 8 adorable pups)she is also a little bit underweight. I was just wondering if it is okay for her to be growling at her puppies while she is eating. I gave her a bowl of food and the pups are starting to eat solid food, so they went to share out of her bowl and boy did she let out a good growl. I asked a couple of people....1- said, well, then just feed her separtately and the other said that she is teaching them disipline. Is this true?


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## Riley's Mom

Someone also needs to work with mom on her foodbowl aggression issues. That should not be tolerated at all. The pups don't need to learn that kind of behavior either.


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## middleofnowhere

I think it is appropriate for her to teach the pups the limits. Hers is her food bowl. I would feed her seperate from the pups especially since they now get their own solid food.


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## RebelGSD

She is probably starved from nursing and she may have had enough of the pups, those teeth are needles and most moms start getting tired of them as the pups get older and start eating on their own. She has the right to her food, yes, do feed her separately.


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## Chris Wild

It is entirely appropriate, and good, for a dam to start teaching her pups rules and canine social manners. Staying away from the older/higher ranking dog's food being one of those important rules of canine society. When done right this is NOT going to teach the pups to have food aggression issues. What it is going to do is teach them respect for their elders and some of the basic rules of canine society.

However, one must also be able to judge the individual dog's ability to teach this appropriately and not overreact. Some dams are too permissive with their pups and don't effectively teach them any manners. Others can be too forceful. It helps to know the dog's general attitude when it comes to interacting with other dogs and enforcing rules (not just with her own litter) to know if she fits into the too permissive, too forceful, or just right category. In the case of a rescue, that information is probably not available.

If the people involved aren't sure if she may overreact and injure a pup, or themselves are made uneasy by the situation (which is going to add stress and tenseness to the situation making the dam even more uncomfortable) feed them separate.


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## djpohn

While a lot the above information is appropriate for most bitches under normal situations, when you have a mom that may be starving in a "shelter" situation, her behaviors may be amplified due to stress. Since you don't know if it is appropriate or not (or if she will actually hurt the pups) why take the chance.

She may or may not have food aggression, it is really unfair to judge that and I also wouldn't start messing with her until you know that she is getting enough to eat on a regular basis. Our rescue get in dogs that have been slated for euthanasia because they ate their food to fast (gulped it down) when they were brought into the shelter. Bare in mind these are often young dogs that were obviously on their own for a while and starving.

We have also rescued females with pups that wouldn't let the shelter workers near the pups and were more than happy to have our volunteers touch them, move them and help out with them in general. Also these females may have trouble keeping up with the food needs of so many pups as they get older. You might want to start supplementing the pups on formula, or soft food if they are old enough to help her out.


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## Chris Wild

Agree. Which is why I said in the case of a rescue, and not knowing much about the temperament of the dog and if she'll overreact or not, feeding them separately is a good idea in this specific situation.

But at the same time, I think it should be pointed out that the idea that this is totally abnormal and shouldn't be tolerated, she needs work on food aggression, the pups will learn food aggression from her, etc... is misinformation that I don't like to see propegated in a general sense.


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## BlackGSD

Chris,

Should it matter how old the puppies are in a "normal" dog. (Meaning say one of yours or another that is in it's HOME rather than in a shelter.) For instance they may wilingly "share" with puppies that are 4 weeks or so old, but start teaching them some "manners" as they get older? (If they were still allowed access to her food.)


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## djpohn

Chris,

We were posting at the same time!


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