Learn Why Your Dog Growls Only At Some People And Not Others

Many dogs notice when someone they’ve never met before comes near them. Some dogs can be very friendly and happy to greet a newcomer, some will be mildly cautious, but some might start to growl, too.

If your dog growls when they see a certain new person, this could be a sign of defensiveness, nervousness, or even aggression. But why is this happening? There are a few possible reasons.

The first reason has to do with scent. Humans have very difficult smells to dogs, and due to the fact that dogs have a sense of smell that can be up to 100,000 times more powerful than a human’s, there’s a lot of information that dogs can discern from just one sniff. There could be something on someone’s scent that is alerting a dog of some unseen danger.

A dog might also consider someone’s appearance to be a little intimidating, often because it reminds them of some kind of threat. The way a person moves, their features, their size, or other factors can cause a dog to react with fear. Even people they’re familiar with can be frightening to a dog just when they put on a hat!

It is possible to teach a dog to be more trusting of other people. Be patient, train them to obey commands, and give them those commands when they show signs of defensiveness, then reward them!

Feature Image Source: Pixabay