Dogs Growl, Grunt, And Whine - Recognize A Real Potential Fight Coming When You Are In The Dog Park

This is the thing about dog parks. Dog are interacting all over the place and you need to be able to recognize when the sounds coming out of them are just normal dog communication sounds or they are getting angry and aggressive.

Of course when you go to a dog park you expect everyone there to have control of their dogs or at least know their dogs are not aggressive or going to hurt anyone or another dog.

There's nothing that bothers me more than someone going to the dog park and freaking out if any other dog comes near their dog. Don't go to the dog park then! There are more places you can go where dogs are not off leash then places they are.

I have a very vocal Doberman/Rottweiler. She grunts and jumps around and looks scary doing it. But I know that her noises are just her way of talking. I also recognize when she's getting upset but so do other dogs.

So just because a dog is making noise does not mean that they are aggressive or going to hurt you or your dog. Dogs communicate just like every other animal in this world.

Even showing teeth is not always a bad thing. This is their way of giving a warning that they are not wanting to continue on with the behavior it's not a sign that they want to fight.

Normally fights start out of nowhere with very little body language signs and that is what to watch for. It's the tensed up look where they are carefully walking around each other that I worry about. Tail high in the air and almost mechanical looking. It's not their normal demeanor and if you are an attentive owner you will see it before a fight can begin. There should be a sign before a fight ensues.

This is not to say that a fight could not ensue in another way but in my experience, I've never see them start from growling or making noise.It's always been a few seconds of body language and then instant fight.

If you think it's about to happen whether you are sure or not - give them a quick 'hey' or poke to get their attention. You should be the pack leader and they should be listening to you. So when you make this noise they will break out of their stance and continue on with their walk.

Tip: One thing we do so that our dogs don't feel they have to be protective of us is to make them walk behind us. There is no running in front of us unless it's for a ball or something that we are throwing.

This assures to them that we are pack leaders and will handle any situations and they can just enjoy the walk.