My 4-month old Malinois puppy occasionally growls at me following a flat collar correction. I am only correcting the puppy for inappropriate pack behavior issues at this point, i.e. play biting my wife, bolting out the door first, etc. He doesn't do it (growl) very often, but when he does I'm not exactly sure how to perceive it and what I should do about it. Most of the time, the growling is accompanied by him taking an aggressive posture towards me.

So with that said,
(1) Why does he growl at me?
(2) What does it mean?
(3) Could I be doing something wrong to provoke it?
(4) What should I do about it?

Thanks.
kjs

That's basically the reason why I say beginners shouldn't get Malinois puppies :p But you have one now so you'll have to learn to work with it

You don't need to correct for biting, your pup is a Malinois, thats what they do and they do it exceptionally well. Instead of correcting, redirect to something he can bite.

He growls because he is a Malinois puppy and they can be vocal. There is so much drive in that little head without any clue as to what to do with it, so this comes out in the most fun forms of aggression, frenzies, temper tantrums etc.

Depending on the pup, moving your lil finger could be enough to provoke it. In the case of my Dutchie female, grabbing her by the cheeks and sticking my tongue out at her is a surefire way to provoke a fight

As for what to do about it... channel it into useful behavior. Playing with toys, tugs, balls etc. 4 months he might be teething too, so don't tug, just let him win the toys but don't pull on his teeth until his adult teeth have come in and set properly. You can start some motivational OB while the pup is worked up too. They become very willing to listen in that "mood" when the right reward is inevitable.

And most importantly, use the crate to control the times the pup is out to coincide with times that you have time to deal with him. This stuff decreases as the pup matures, Mal puppies are a little crazy, too much drive and no maturity to know how to deal with it.

My 15 month old Dutchie sometimes growls and barks at me after a verbal correction and a stare.

I think he has a attitude problem.

this may be politically incorrect, lee, but my old dog (hard,to say the least ) would've gotten "bipped" in the head w/my "knuckles". it worked! took her 3 yrs to be reliable, but never decreased drive. but that was her.... wouldn't do it with a more sensitive dog.

and i've found over the years that every dog i've had is more sensitive.

Ann,
I've got to hand it to you, I didn't think sticking fingers down the throat to teach the out could be topped....but you've managed to do it girl!!!!!!!

Man, is there no end to bright ideas?
Randy

Hi Ann - He is just a teenager feeling a little macho when I piss him off. He knows his pack leader and does challenge his rank occasionally.

As long as I can control it I prefer him this way.

All -

Thanks for the feedback. That sheds some light on the situation.

Unfortunately, in my 10 years of previous GSD ownership, I've never seen this situation, so until I've seen every possible dog behavior situation, I'll have to continue to ask "beginner" questions.

Thanks again.
kjs