Why would he growl at me now?

I have 2 Chessies, and their "problem" seems to be entrenched in a "jealousy" and "possession" thing in regards to my husband.  The fights can come to a blood letting.  Your baby may just be tired of sharing.  We don't think like dogs, so we don't know what is going on in their heads.
 
I look at all the articles, forums, etc., but nothing seems to fit.  Maybe your pup wants you, or maybe he is trying to be the dominant male.  Both of mine are females, 4 weeks difference in age, but the younger one is 23 pound heavier that the other, but her breeding shows a very laid back attitude.  Bella, the older, definitely has the "tude".   "MINE, MINE, MINE".  Sage couldn't care less. 
 
We re-crated ours when Bella started getting nasty with Sage on the bed.  Like there was a lot of room in the first place with two people and two Chessies in the bed!  We did end up putting Dogstra training collars on them, so we had more control (really helped!).  They have to learn that you are the Alpha female and your husband is the Alpha male.  There can't be any other configuration to the tree.  It is a hard thing for them to accept, but you have to be the boss.
 
I am not a pro on this whole thing, but Sage's breeder suggested the training collars.  We went from the PetSafe to the Dogstra, and oh what a difference it made.  They are well aware of their limitations, and who is in "charge".  Not meant as a pun. 
 
Hope this helps a little.
 
 

What is the Dogstra?  Please send link if you can.

Thanks[]

In what circumstances is Joey growling?
 
I'm guessing from the pun that Dogstra is an electronic training collar?

He stated growling at my husband when he would get into bed.  We fixed this by not allowing him on our bed anymore. 

The next time he growled was totally my fault.  He got into the garbage.  When I caught him I told him to "go lay down," which means go away.  He went away, but he went on the bed with my husband, which he is not supposed to be on our bed.  I gave him the "off" comand 3 times and then I reached for him and cornered him[&o] -  that's when he growled at me for the first time and that's when I enrolled him in obedience.

The second time DH and I were at a park.  Joey was off leash and we playing with a football.   As our obedience trainer instructed, we were making him sit before we threw the football.  Well, after a while he refused to sit, so I reached for his martingale training collar (nylon choker) to correct him, that's when he growled at me the second time.  By the way, I had the football in my hands, Joey did not have the football in his posesion, so I don't think it is resource gaurding.

Let me start off by saying that a lot can get lost in translation when describing real-life events on a message board, so my interpretation could be totally wrong and the best thing to do would be to consult a behaviorist in person - preferably one who focuses on communication rather than "dominance theory."
 
That said, what I am seeing in all of your posts is a severe communication problem rather than a "dominance" or aggression problem. Your dog sounds confused, like he doesn't know what you're saying to him most of the time and can only interpret your actions as confrontational and aggressive... so he's defending himself and trying to communicate with you by growling a warning - to me this actually shows a willingness to restrain himself and make an effort to verbalize (growl) before getting physical.
 
Picture this from his point of view - Jojo's always been allowed on the bed. Human invents a new rule. Now when he gets up on the bed, human sternly says, "fiohgiohgkfld." Jojo doesn't understand and ignores this. What could they be saying? He's just sitting on the bed like he usually does. Human repeats "ghkdhfkljdkdskl," then gets upset, and lunges at him. He perceives this as a threat and growls, "stay away." Second scenario, human invents a new game. Jojo doesn't understand the rules. He does it the wrong way, human lunges at him to yank at his collar and hurt his neck - he protects himself by growling a warning, "don't touch me."
 
To me your football scenario points obliquely yet clearly to the possible underlying problems of poor communication and lack of trust going on. You create a new game to play with your dog, but when he messes up he gets a physical collar correction. Where's the benefit of the doubt in this relationship? Where's the room for error? Dogs aren't perfect all the time. No, you can't let them walk all over you, but going to the other extreme causes damage too. Some dogs are slower learners, and they have to be allowed to make mistakes along the way. Some dogs are naturally more stubborn and independent, perhaps based on breed characteristics, and some allowance has to be made for those traits (not every dog can be a Golden Retriever). In my opinion, IF you are going to use physical corrections, they should not be used until that command is proofed - that means the dog understands it in every scenario, every setting, every body position, every tone of voice - otherwise you are just being unfair and setting up your dog to fail (and, in your case, resort to defensiveness).
 
I know that you've enrolled your dog in obedience classes and that you believe he already knows his commands, but to me it doesn't sound that way. To me it sounds like Jojo doesn't understand you, and you don't understand Jojo. There has to be something going wrong either with the consistency or the method of issuing commands. I think you need a clever behaviorist who really gets canine "language" to provide you with greater insight, and I think some clicker training might clear up some issues as well.

 Sorry, I meant to add to my last post - It seems significant that every situation in which he's growled at you has been one in which he was being scolded by you. This tells me that scoldings and even mild punishments do not work for your dog. This doesn't have to mean you can't train him - it means you have to do it a different way.

Whoa Erin, I think you hit the nail on the head girl!

Why would you even consider "correcting" him in the middle of playing a game? how is that fun for him? if he doesn't do what you ask, he doesn't get the football, so simple. That's how NILIF works, and why it is the safest way to work with a potentially dangerous dog-- there are no corrections and no confrontations. The dog chooses to work and thus get good stuff, or chooses to not work, and thus gets nothing.
 
Mind you, there are situations in which corrections are warranted. But not while playing a game with your dog.
You may want to work on getting your dog to relax about you grabbing at his head/collar. It may be necessary at some point in time for safety reasons, and you don't want him to go through life thinking that the only time you grab at him is to punish him.

Jojo,  
 
How old is this dog?  Is is 3 years old?  Most dogs go through maturity (adolesence) between the ages of 1-3 and this is when MOST behavior issue arise. 
 
I know you looking for an answer to why?  Here is is..  You are not the leader of this pack and you in dog world someone has to be Alpha.  Many dogs going thru maturity think they should take over leadership and other see weekness in their human leaders and think they have to take over.  Either way, you are discribing a leadership behavioral roblem.  As I and others stated under the aggression thread you posted.  Take control, it takes some time - could be months but start now.  And although both positivie and correction type training is successful since you don't know totally when to incorporate which, I would stop the corrections and hire a behaviorlist.  Start the NILIF progran and LIVE BY IT.  You got many good suggestions on your other thread I don't have much more to offer.  There is no easy answer, no magic pill it take devotion and work from you.  Its not personal your dog is not trying to be mean to you he is doing what comes naturally when other pack memeber don't adhear to what he wants.  So become the lead, use NILIF and hire a behaviorlist and drop the obdience trainer. 

Many dogs going thru maturity think they should take over leadership and other see weekness in their human leaders and think they have to take over.

 
FWIW, I think this is an extremely corrosive, damaging and unpleasant attitude to carry on in a relationship with a dog. I also think it's inaccurate.
 
Yes, sometimes if dogs perceive a lack of leadership in their owners they will attempt to take a leadership position themselves, pretty much every canine behaviorist I've ever read or heard would say that is true. However, dogs are not Machiavellan conspirators on a constant vigil to for their opening stage a coup d'etat! Being constantly paranoid and on edge because you perceive your dog as about to "take over" is going to do far more damage than being a little too "soft" could ever do.
 
Instead of micromanaging every instance in which the dog might seize this moment to topple your regime, step back and take a look at the big picture. Does your dog trust you? Does your dog understand you? Does your dog understand the rules in your house and how he's expected to behave? Is he being held to a reasonable standard according to his age, breed, and individual drives and motivations? Is he plotting to overthrow the king or just having a moment?
 
Understand that dogs are like pure id... they have no morality, no ethics, no religion. They understand pack position as social structuring, a way to organize the group harmoniously, not as some kind of moral hierarchy or even meritocracy. It's in the dog's nature to do whatever he wants whenever he wants to, it's in the human's nature to have control over his environment - this produces a conflict of interests, or a culture clash to steal a phrase. The onus is on the human, the more intelligent being with the greater resources, to navigate this conflict so that both (or all) members benefit and are able to coexist peacefully.

Jojo,
 
Send me your email PM.  [email=powdrkeg@msn.com]powdrkeg@msn.com[/email]
 
 
Thanks,
Sage and Bella's Mom