I have 2 Tibetan terriers, one male one female who are 4 years old.  Recently the boy has been growling at me from his bed when it is time for their walk, and he does not want to be put on the lead, showing gums and teeth.   I have tried growling back (which is something someone told me to try) but to no avail.  I am worried about putting the lead on now when he is like this as he has gone to bite me 3 times now.  Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to combat this?

Who told you to growl back ? The dog is warning you & then you warn the dog, I would like to know what that is supposed gain you, some people(not you)do have some very strange ideas

Something connected with the lead is obviously worrying him. You need to make it a rewarding exercise for him to have his lead put on & to want to go for a walk

Does he have a collar on all the time or does he object to having a collar & lead put on(he has to wear a collar & tag of course when he goes out) ?

Or is it just the attachment of a lead to his collar that he objects to ?

I do all my heelwork training off lead at home & my dogs wear collars & tags 24/7, so putting a lead on means they are going out which they love to do so they are willing to have a lead attached

As this appears to be a fairly recent behaviour has anything happened to him when he has been having a lead put on or whilct wearing a lead.

Does he have any little lumps or bumps on his neck that might hurt whilst wearing the lead ?

What sort of collar does he wear ? could that be hurting ? There are so many different things that could be making him frightened of wearing the lead/collar & lead you need to think about what happened before he got upset about it

If this is a new thing then I would have the dog looked at by a vet, if he is fit and healthy I have to say there seems to have been a breakdown in your relationship with your dogs and someone who is able to see the situation on the spot should be asked for advice.

A growling dog is trying to tell you something so there is no point in just growling back. For example, is he starting to dislike walks? Does the lead bother him? Is he in pain? Is he just being bolshy in which case the relationship needs to be addressed and a training programme implemented and so  on :) Most vet checks are often quick once over, so if the problem persists i would consider taking the dog back for a more thorough check up.

Lindsay
X

Thank you for your comments - it is a new thing, i can't see that he is in pain so i would imagine it is a behavioural change.  I think a trip to the vets may be in order and also some training!

http://www.sspca.org/Dogs_TANSTAAFL.html

This is a good way to get this behavior under control. Use these suggestions and I can almost guarentee that he'll respect you more.