Dog Growling at Pet Sitter When Being Picked Up

Lorena · Post by **Lorena** » Wed May 07, 2008 10:28 am

Hello Everyong - I have something that has been bothering me. I caught my My 5-yr. old male Shi Tzu, who is very well behaved, growling at my doggy daycare provider when she picked him up. I noticed how she picked him up, and it was not the proper way to pick up a dog. I told her that I believed it was the way she picked him up (grabbing the skin on the sides of the top of his legs - ouch!). I showed her how I pick him up and, this morning, she picked him up in front of me (properly supporting both bach and front ends) and he still growled at her for about 10 seconds.

He has never growled at anyone. I am very upset about this. Any advice?

Me and my dogs · Post by **Me and my dogs** » Wed May 07, 2008 10:59 am

There are so many reasons that your dog could be growling at the person.

How many other people come into your home and pick up your dog and then leave? Maybe the dog associates the person w/ leaving the home. Maybe the dog just doesn't like anyone but "mom" picking it up. I don't want to assume the negative and jump on or criticize the person w/out knowing how socialized or accepting your dog is around other people.

I will say that I would be concerned about someone who picked the dog up the way you described. Perhaps the person has had trouble handling your dog in the past and this way felt safer to them? Then the obvious is... maybe the person ALWAYS picks small dogs up like this and it doesn't feel good and your dog is letting you and that person know?

Have you ever stopped by the doggy day care w/out calling ahead? I'd certainly consider making an unannounced visit.

Ocelot0411 · Post by **Ocelot0411** » Wed May 07, 2008 11:13 am

Yup diito on the unannouced visits. I am not accusing anyone of anything but I have had a bad experience with a dog sitter in the past so I am all the more suspicious now.

Don't feel that you are being sneaky or 'checking up' on them but this is your dog, you are paying them for a service and you have every right to see exactly what service they are providing.

There could be many reasons why he is growling at the pet sitter but the fact that you state he doesn't usually do this would make me a bit concerned about it. In my view one of the main things I look for with a dog sitter is my dog's response to their arrival. My dog goes loopy at the sound of my dog walkers van and will knock me over to get to her!!

This tells me a great deal though about the relationship betwen them.

Mattie · Post by **Mattie** » Wed May 07, 2008 12:49 pm

Why does she need to pick him up? Most small dogs don't like it but do tollerate it for us. I have a small dog but she has 4 legs and is expected to be mobile on them, she is also expected to be as obedient as my other dogs.

It is too easy to control a small dog by picking them up instead of training them, you can't do this with a bigger dog so you have to do some training.

From the sound of the way she used to pick him up, he has reason to bite her never mind growl, it shows what a good temperament he has that he hasn't bitten her.

Nettle · Post by **Nettle** » Wed May 07, 2008 4:05 pm

I was going to say that too.

Dogs HATE being picked up. Why is she picking him up?

spanielsrule · Post by **spanielsrule** » Wed May 07, 2008 4:19 pm

My response to this is a bit off-topic, but thought I would share a couple of stories about picking up dogs.
My GSD girl hated being picked up (well, being a GSD, she wasn't exactly picked up often!). However, she sometimes had to be lifted over fences when walking in the hills and would be lifted into the bath. She also used to hate baths. Strangely, she started jumping into the bath at bath time, and I realised it was to avoid being picked up and put in there! Not daft that girl!

My present girl, a little cocker, in contrast, tries to get me to pick her up by putting her paws on my lap and jumping with her back legs. Hard to describe, but sooooo cute!

Mattie · Post by **Mattie** » Thu May 08, 2008 3:56 am

spanielsrule, she is asking to come onto your knee which is different to being picked up. My little boy Joe loves to be on my knee but if I try to pick him up he hates it. Thanks to idiotic owners who allow their dogs to attack him, he now has to be picked up when he sees a strange dog or he goes into a panic attack and sometimes a seizure.

Many small dogs were bred to work, terriers especially, they are working dogs and have lots of energy and not lap dogs. All dogs need to be treated as dogs even though we talk to them like babies.

D · Post by D » Thu May 08, 2008 10:17 am

I would agree with checking out our dog walker. I interviewed loads of dog walkers when i was trying to find mine. several of they sounded great on paper but when they turned up it was obvious that they had very little experience.

My dog walker now was proffesional from the start and just the other week Bella pulled my OH down the road as she had spotted her walker at 100m and wanted to say hello.

I know if it was me i would trust my dog, if they aren't happy around some one then they aren't going to enjoy being taken out by them.

spanielsrule · Post by **spanielsrule** » Fri May 09, 2008 12:32 am

Mattie, I take your point, and I'm sure you are right about most dogs not liking being picked up. However, honestly, my little spaniel does ask to be picked up as well as to go on my knee. She will happily be carried around for ages. I have no idea why, but it just shows that dogs have different personalities, just as humans do. (Though I agree, they are always dogs, not children!)

Mattie · Post by **Mattie** » Fri May 09, 2008 4:26 am

Sorry spanielsrule I think I worded that wrong. There are dogs that are happy to be picked up but they feel secure when being picked up, they have not doubts at all that they will be dropped etc but many like my Joe, are terrified of being dropped. He has reason to, he was found at 6 weeks old being used as a ball by some teenagers, they were throwing him to each other then a 4 year old used to carry him everywhere

One of my others Gracie, would bite you if you tried to pick her up when she first came 4 years ago but now she can't get up the stairs she sits and waits for me to carry her up.

Gracie can't walk far so I have a bag to put her in if we are going to walk further than she can, she feels very secure in there.

Dogs need to be picked up when at the vets unless they are too big or heavy. Many owners pick their small dogs up instead of training them and often these dogs are snappy, even biting their owners.

spanielsrule · Post by **spanielsrule** » Fri May 09, 2008 3:15 pm

Poor little Joe! Some people really are rubbish! I also find it really annoying when people carry around their snappy little dogs! I was once at the vet with my GSD girl, and a little terrier, which was being carried around by her owner, snapped at my girl. When Gemma barked back, the woman who owned the terrier glared at me as if I had some kind of killer dog! Of course, I was embarrassed

at Gem barking, but she had got a fright!

D · Post by D » Wed May 14, 2008 2:23 am

Just last week when I was in the park, a little chinease crested started barking at Bella, she got a bit excited, nothing to much, no leaping around just taking a bit of an interest, she was on short lead and was about 20m away for this bloke and his little dog. He screamed at me for having an agressive breed then picked his dog up (who had actually started the little episode in the first place) and ran out of the park.

I think its all to easy some times for some people who have little dogs to not have to train them properly, because they can just pick them, (I am not getting at all lettle dog owners I know plenty that train their dogs to a standard I can only dream about). And while I accept that because I have a GSD she has to be better trained than other dogs to be accecpted by some people, owners who don't train their lttle dogs at all arn't helping.

Sorry for the rant....
I feel better now!