Puppy Culture Potluck: Ep14 - Growling Puppies - Should You Be Worried?

Madcap Radio

Feb 29 2024 • 22 mins

This week’s question is about puppies who growl when restrained:

"Hey everyone! We're raising our first litter, English Setters, nearly 7 weeks old. All have lovely temperaments and have been going through the PC process like little pro's.

One thing we've noticed over the last week is, if they want to hop down when a puppy family or friend is holding them, they'll do little frustrated growls or barks (I hesitate to say growl, though I'm sure you'll understand – it's just a "let me down!" kinda thing).

We've introduced gentle restraint over the last week and they all get a little annoyed if they want to go play/explore etc but nothing out of the ordinary. I just wanted to check if this is normal - should we be upping gentle restraint, or something we should be concerned about?"

In this episode, I cover:‌

  • What you should do about puppies who growl when restrained
  • Whether you should be concerned about puppies who growl or don’t like to be cuddled
  • How to balance the will of the puppy with the will of the puppy owners

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