growling puppy

my pup has growled at me twice today, i cant rem why he did the first time, but the second time was he with in here with me and i heard a noise, i thought he was playing with his toy, so i look up and his ripped open a fliippin chirstmas present!

so i said 'no!' and moved him away, he went and laid down quietly then walked off into the bedroom, which we dont let him in, so i got up to get him and he just sat there & started to growl at me! so i still went forward to get him and he ran passed me into this room and hid under the computer talbe growling at me! it wasnt a play growl either!

so i picked him up and took him into the lounge with my boyf & put him in his basket & stayed afor a few mins, then i left and he ran after me crying cos i was leaving the room?!

then he weed all over the flippin floor as he will only put two paws on the paper

why he do this!? or was he just playing? didnt feel like it! his been really good all day aswell i taught him 'sit' and 'leave' over two days!

Hi MB I would say your puppy growled because he knew from your tone of voice saying no/ your body language/your going after him into the bedroom to get him that you were angry with him and he was a little afraid and uncertain what was going to happen next. (Remember you have already sprayed him with water on a previous occasion).

It is easy to get into the habit of saying 'no' all the time to puppies and they can get very confused. Rather than moving the puppy away from something you don't wish it to have try bending down/ shaking a toy/ calling it to you/giving it something that it is allowed to play with, then praising it. If it goes in the bedroom rather than going after it again try bending down/call it to you/ praise when it comes to you , this avoids a chase game developing and turns a negative event into a positive one.

I find avoidance is the best option, that means not leaving things you don't want the puppy to have (like Christmas presents) around and closing the bedroom door if it isn't allowed in there.

MB ...can I just add please don't scold your puppy if it growls, if it is a warning growl and the puppy is scolded it may stop growling a warning and just snap instead.

Millie is very vocal and growls all the time but they are not warning growls, eg she growls when..
.. I put her lead on meaning 'hurry up I want my walk',
..I have been cuddling her and put her down meaning 'don't put me down I was enjoying that',
..when we go down the lane but not into the fields she growls and bites my feet meaning 'turn back I want to go in the field'

I agree with both replies, my dogs growl at me when they cannot get their own way, it is their way of saying hey i wanted that....but i just give them something that is theirs and they can have, pups will growl if they feel afraid it is their way of saying back off, they are so tiny and to them we are giants so when you go after him , he sees this huge person rushing up too him and he feels afraid and the only thing he can use is his vocal cords to warn you off. He is deffinately not aggresive by the sounds of it too me.

If he is hideing from you and peeing i would be worried as this could lead to him being anxious, i would try too relax and enjoy the little fella abit more, he needs to trust you as he depends on you just like a baby would.

Good luck hunny let us know how you get on

Hugs Loz n gang xx