- Location
- South Wales
Toby's Growl - Third and Final Video
- Thread starter Len
- Start date
My boy Merlin chats to us just like this! It's his way of saying how happy he is...
Ooooooo he's enjoying that
Candy
Biscuit Tin Guardian
- Location
- West Yorkshire, UK
Toby is gorgeous and those are what I would call 'Happy Dog Grunty Noises'!
Emily_Babbelhund
Mama Red HOT Pepper
- Location
- Regensburg, Germany
Definitely just happy talking. My Rottie boys and my pit bull did this, too. Carbon is my first Labrador and I find it a bit weird that he's so quiet after 20 years of play talkers. I'm currently visiting my father and he's CONSTANTLY trying to get Carbon to play growl because he thinks all his quiet playing is strange too! Maybe Toby could come teach him? 
Toby is a beautiful big boy and I wouldn't worry in the slightest. He's just a happy play talker.
Toby is a beautiful big boy and I wouldn't worry in the slightest. He's just a happy play talker.
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
Yep, I agree, there's nothing I find concerning from the lovely Toby in this video. "Real" growls tend to either fade away into a menacing silence or end on a bark; I wouldn't expect them to keep going at the same level like this. It really looks and sounds like nothing but conversational noises. My lot don't really do this, but my sister's cocker does.
I do agree with @Jelinga that I'd maybe not put both my arms round him at the same time in that manner when you're being physical with him like this, as it's a little bit "grabby", but other than that, it's a lovely video of him interacting with you.
Oh, I should also say, that my dogs don't do this with me, but Willow does do it sometimes with the others. She will grab a toy, walk up to one of the others, shove it in their face and then growl in a very similar way to Toby here. She likes to parade when she has something fancy, and it's just part of that, and often means she wants the others to try to take it from her. On the other hand, when she has something that she doesn't want them to have, she will give a hard stare, then short growl followed by a bark if they try to approach her.
I'm glad you found us, and hope everyone's put your mind at rest. Do stick around and share more
I do agree with @Jelinga that I'd maybe not put both my arms round him at the same time in that manner when you're being physical with him like this, as it's a little bit "grabby", but other than that, it's a lovely video of him interacting with you.
Oh, I should also say, that my dogs don't do this with me, but Willow does do it sometimes with the others. She will grab a toy, walk up to one of the others, shove it in their face and then growl in a very similar way to Toby here. She likes to parade when she has something fancy, and it's just part of that, and often means she wants the others to try to take it from her. On the other hand, when she has something that she doesn't want them to have, she will give a hard stare, then short growl followed by a bark if they try to approach her.
I'm glad you found us, and hope everyone's put your mind at rest. Do stick around and share more
I wonder if this will change over time? Snowie was a very quiet puppy. Now, it sounds like he’s trying to speak human. The new sounds that emanate from him every day are hilarious. He’s almost 8 yo. He’s also started to whistle a lot—like a whine. I can’t stand it because it makes me think he’s in pain and I get very anxious, but I just think it’s a sound he uses at night when he wants to go to sleep and the lights are still on! As soon as we are all tucked up in bed, he grunts and goes to sleep, as if to say, You’ve kept me up past my bedtime.
Emily_Babbelhund
Mama Red HOT Pepper
- Location
- Regensburg, Germany
Could be! I find in a lot of ways that Carbon is slower in some areas of development (physical coordination, recognising human verbal cues, ability to play with humans) possibly because of his early months in what was likely to have been a box. He is still very much finding his personality and human-relating skills. Maybe he'll add a voice to that someday!
Monty did not bark at all (apart from those early puppy yips/ whines/woofs ) until around 2. I vividly remember the evening I was in the kitchen and he did his first alert bark, I very nearly peed my pants and spent the next 10 minutes flashing a torch round the garden looking for an intruder. He's now far too vocal for his own good, so be careful of what you wish forCould be! I find in a lot of ways that Carbon is slower in some areas of development (physical coordination, recognising human verbal cues, ability to play with humans) possibly because of his early months in what was likely to have been a box. He is still very much finding his personality and human-relating skills. Maybe he'll add a voice to that someday!
- Location
- Vlaardingen, the Netherlands
Finn is our third lab and is very vocal. I never heard our first dog (doerak) bark. Euan started barking when Finn came into our lives. I guess he learned to bark from Finn.....
Emily_Babbelhund
Mama Red HOT Pepper
- Location
- Regensburg, Germany
Good point!He's now far too vocal for his own good, so be careful of what you wish for
Iver just does this one funny little baby howl when he's see me first thing in the morning and when I get in from work. He says wooooowo I love it. it makes me happy. It's such a happy noise.
- Location
- Essex, U.K.
Maisy gets barky when someone rings the doorbell but when she is playing with another dog she is silent, not a peep.
I get mumbly growls when we are playing tug but generally she is fairly quiet.
She didn't bark until after puppyhood and hardly ever whined for anything, she was probably over a year old when she started communicating vocally. Sometimes she will do a fake bark, she'll pretend she is protecting us from a dangerous intruder and utter a 'woof', then sneak a look at us and the biscuit tin, although I have never rewarded her for doing that so don't know where she gets the idea from
I get mumbly growls when we are playing tug but generally she is fairly quiet.
She didn't bark until after puppyhood and hardly ever whined for anything, she was probably over a year old when she started communicating vocally. Sometimes she will do a fake bark, she'll pretend she is protecting us from a dangerous intruder and utter a 'woof', then sneak a look at us and the biscuit tin, although I have never rewarded her for doing that so don't know where she gets the idea from
- Location
- Isle of Man
Coco & Meg(an) Sparkle play-fight all the time - she is VERY vocal, with growls and snarls and kind of barks, but they are very friendly. Coco is almost silent with the occasional growl. Or a funny bark to re-start play when they've paused. I have to discourage it in the garden, they get really loud & snarly & people around who don't understand their vocalisations would think they were killing each other!