Dogs growl when they are scared of a person or when they are in what they perceive to be a threatening situation. When they feel nervous their natural reaction is to give a warning growl to let everyone nearby know that they feel uncomfortable.

Many dogs are fearful of children. Children poke at them, pull their hair and act erratically. When children make them uneasy they growl to indicate their fear. Then someone smacks them on the nose and yells "Bad dog!" This proves to the dog that they were right: When children are around, bad things happen.

The veterinarian's office can be a very scary place for dogs. Each time they visit the vet, something bad happens. They get held down, poked with needles, have surgery and worst of all, get their nails trimmed. So they growl to warn people to leave them alone. And what happens? Someone grabs them by the scruff and yells "Knock it off!" This proves to the dog that bad things happen when on the table at the veterinarian's office.

So, what should you do when your dog growls at the grandkids?

First realize that he is doing so out of fear, not because he is a bad or mean dog. Make sure the kids learn how to act properly around the dog. Don't expect the dog to take everything that kids dish out.

Begin to change the dog's attitude about the kids. Instead of bad things happening when the kids are around, make good things happen. Good things for a dog would be special tasty treats such as cheese, hot dogs and chicken. If the kids are old enough, have them offer the dog some of these tasty things from their hand, it they children are young, have an adult work with the dog.

When the children leave, so do the good things. Have the children go in and out of the room; when the children are in the room, the dog gets the tasty treats. When the children are gone, so are the treats. This should begin to change your dog's attitude about children.

At the veterinarian, your dog might not be willing to eat dry, hard treats that may be offered by the office staff. Take some of the extra special treats along on your next visit and see if he will relax a little and eat the treats while there.

Better yet, make some social calls to the veterinarian. Go to your veterinarian's office, sit in the waiting room for a few minutes while giving your dog some tasty treats, then leave. A day or two later, go again and ask the receptionist to give him some of treats, then leave. Make several visits to the office when nothing bad happens, only good things.

By pairing really good things with scary things you can change a dog's attitude. Imagine If I am holding a large snake and I ask you to touch it. You're afraid of snakes and quickly decline. Then I start offering you money to touch the snake. We all have a price and if I offer enough you may change your attitude about the snake, even if only a little.

This is why we need to use really good treats to get your dog to settle down when exposed to scary things or situations. Some dogs would willingly allow you to trim their nails for a few bites of kibble; others may suffer through the nail trim for bites of hot dogs. Others may need lots of work desensitizing their fear of nail trims. You could start by just touching their foot as you feed them treats.

When a dog growls you should try and find out why and then work on changing the dog's attitude, not just the behavior. If you just change the behavior, the dog may suppress his growling for a while, but if he feels too threatened he may take it to the next level and bite without warning.

If you are having problems with your dog growling, snapping or biting at people, find a trainer who works on changing the dog's attitude not just the behavior!

Bark questions to: Canine Companion, 11652 North - 825 West, Huntington, IN 46750 or email info@caninecompanion.us.

Canine Companion conducts dog training classes in Fort Wayne, Huntington and surrounding communities and behavior consulting nationwide. Along with their combined 30 years experience and endorsement by national organizations, the lead trainers are graduates of Purdue University's DOGS! Program and have earned the title of Certified Pet Dog Trainer through the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.