Well Aurora is 3months old now and we are now have dominance problems. We just took in Jereomy parents dog to try and train him to be a inside dog for them b.c he almost got hit by a car a couple days ago and Aurora loves to play with him but sense we have had him over at the house she has had wanted nothing to do with him. She has started to growl at me and Jereomy just when we go to open her crate to take her out. We have tried pooping her on the nose saying no but it doesnt seem to be working. and right now we don't want her around any little kids with the way she has been acting we don't want to growl or try and bite them. So if anyone can help us try and find away to get to stop growling at us i would be very happy. Aurora loves playing with jereomys baby brother but sense he is only two i dont want aurora to be playing with him and think it is ok for her to growl and bite him.

Right now when Aurora growls at us and we pop her on the nose and she doesnt it again we say no and we put her in her crate. So if anyone has any ideas on what we can do plz let me know. we are at are last wits with this right now.

I don't think it's a dominant issue - I'm not really sure what it could be though - she could be stressed from having the other dog there. I imagine though that she's growling at you because you're popping her on the nose (no matter how lightly) for growling. So she's associating the hit/pain/fear with you guys and is telling you that she doesn't like it but you keep doing it.

I will say that you should -never- punish a growl. And you shouldn't really ever use even a light pop as a correction. A growl is a dogs only way to communicate to you that she isn't happy with something. It's their warning and following a warning comes a bite if whatever the dog doesn't like keeps happening. If you punish the warning you essentially tell the dog that it is okay to just go ahead and bite. Which is A LOT worse when there are children involved.

It's easier to teach children proper ways to handle the dog rather than to teach the dog how to handle a human (to an extent but ALL dogs should have manners be it with children or adults) and it is very important to teach children about certain dog behaviors and how they communicate. We can properly communicate with a child - dogs don't understand english.

The children have to learn that when she growls they need to stop doing whatever it is they're doing (this is for the future) - if they don't she very well may bite but at least there was a warning.

I agree with Ceara. This sounds like fear, not dominance.

Third the thoughts

When I first got Freya she would growl if I petted her while she was resting. I got her used to being petted while she was resting, I made it a possitive association.
First I would rouse her by calling her name, then I would pet her and tell her she's a good girl. I'd give her a treat ever now and then, but if she growled I'd walk away. Now she's fine with being petted while she's dozing.

If I try to put her into another room and she doesnt want to go, but I persist with her, she will growl at me and I just leave it. She is telling me she really doesnt want to go into another space. She is comfortable where she is.

I would listen to what Aurora is telling you. She's not happy with something. Pay attention to the signs she is giving you. Dont bop her on the nose as she's associating you with a nose bop.

k thanks for the advise.

I agree with Ceara too. You don't want to punish a dog for growling because one day they will go straight to a bite without any warning. The growl is her only way to tell you she doesn't like something. Francine is right that the growl is telling you something.

Right now she is probably growling because she expects you are going to bop her on the nose when you open her crate. How do you normally go about getting her from her crate? It is her safe place to be and so you should try to get her out gently - use persuasion rather than force.

In general terms, it's better to use positive reinforcement when a dog does the thing you want than to use punishment when they don't. They learn more quickly that way.

It doesn't matter if she is taking a while to get used to the other dog, so long as she is not being aggressive to it. It is a big change for her to have to share her space with it. She will get used to it with time, and meantimes you can reward her for any good behaviours that she shows towards it (such as approaching, sniffing etc). Presumably you are still socializing her to other dogs outside the home? These experiences will also help her to interact with the new dog at home.

I agree also with what Ceara said about training children how to behave around dogs. It's especially important to teach them that they shouldn't approach the dog - if they want to pet it, they should call it to them. However, with small children, you still need to supervise them. Sophia Yin has some really great resources for teaching children about dogs here.

I agree with everything said here. Not a case Of dominance - but fear. Open the door to the crate and then leave her be. When she finally comes out in her own time praise her. This is a stressful transition - no need to make it worse by bopping her.

Agreed it's fear. You have changed up the fear, and she is fearful of it. Give her time, and no bopping!