I read with great interest the replies given to Pedro concerning his female Dobe growling on the sleeve. I may have a similar problem (I think?), but would like to clarify what I see as potentially important factors in my case and would like your opinions.

My bitch is 14 months old. She tries to kill the sleeve if given a chance and will usually growl a little while setting the grip. I too was concerned about the growling; however, my trainer (he is considered a very good Sch. trainer in the US) said he's not concerned with it at this time because she has a full and firm grip. She does not loosen her grip while growling. He does not see this as a nerve thing or a defense drive thing. I would classify the training as primarily prey (a great deal of sideward movement, several "misses", and then a bite, followed by grip setting and sometimes a light drive with fake stick hits). If her grip was good on the strike, it doesn't deviate.

My female has always been very vocal. She has always growled some while playing with her toys, particularly when she decides to "kill" it. She has very good prey drive and, of course, is silent as she chases the prey; however, once she gets it and the tugging starts, she tries to kill it and also starts to growl.

I don't know if this is important, but she is a working bloodline German Boxer. Her father just competed in the DVG Nationals this year. Is the growling a problem even if her grip does not suffer? What should I do about it? Thanks!

Darn good questions. First though with any type of vocal demonstrations while a dog is on the bite you must ask why is the dog doing so.

What I mean by this is, does the dog have a tooth problem or sore jaw, etc that causes the growl, etc. Is it really a growl and not a scream of bad stress vs the growl of control.

I do not worry if it is the latter as my Axe man was so loud when fighting during his career he could be heard at 50 yds.

In Ringsport a judge will not care if he hears the dog while on the bite but a sch judge, well that is a different story.

So to answer your question. No, I do not worry so much about a dog that growls while on the bite in as much as I am concerned why the dog has to be vocal.

Herein lies a big differnce along with a wide varience of drive issues.

Jerry

Jerry, I don't know if this will answer your question as to why she needs to be vocal, but as early as 10 weeks while playing she would growl while "attacking" me. She would come running over to me and I would curl up in a ball while she "mauled" me. If I showed my face and said her name, she would immediately quiet and lick my face. We don't play this game anymore, but if I dive under the covers quickly, she growls and pounces at me until I come out. She is very sociable, but seems somewhat dominant. She will walk up and stare (and sometimes lightly growl) at our 2yo male and he will immediately get up and walk away from his toy or even a bone. Maybe this is just a bitch thing (this is the first bitch I've owned)?

I assume that if this is a growl of stress, the answer would be to remove the stress until she is better able to handle it? What if it is a growl of control? What, if anything, do I do in this situation? I've heard from some that it could be related to her being a fighting dog breed, but then the few Boxers I've seen did not growl?

Thanks, all. We tried variations of most sugestions this a.m. The barrel sleeve, tie out (bungee) and frustration, in conjunction with each other, worked well. Will keep you advised....