Hello

My springer bitch (3 years old) is very noisy when we play with her.  She takes a tuggie toy or a nylabone and when I pretend to take it off her she growls and growls quite loudly.  When I ask her to 'drop' she drops it and just looks at me.  If I stop playing she sometimes comes and puts the toy in my lap as to ask me to continue playing.  Her tail wags all the time when she growls. 

I think it's play growling, and she really seems to enjoy it, but wonder if I should continue to play like that or is there a danger it could encourage her to growl in ernest?

Thanx

Sounds pretty normal to me :) 

IME there's a distinct difference between these type of mutterings and a threat - the situations you describe don't sound at all like the's trying to warn you and there's no reason to believe that play noises will somehow manifest themselves into aggression.

regards, Teri

>I think it's play growling, and she really seems to enjoy it, but wonder if I should continue to play like that or is there a danger it could encourage her to growl in ernest?

My dog has always play-growled, he sounds awful, but it is all in play, he'll also bark and make funny noises like 'Chewie' (the big hairy thing) from Star-Treck!! He's nearly 17 months old now and he has NEVER growled aggressively or in any other situation, other than play :)

Thanks for your replies! :)

My cocker if he is chewing something in my office, can be heard growling and moaning in the next office. He only ever once growled as a tiny pup when I touched his food bowl and he was put firmly in his place and never did it again.
My OH get on the floor with our border and taps his feet, which he hates and he barks and growl and flys all over the place trying to avoid getting his feet tapped, I dont know who loves it more. I think there is a real difference in a play growl and a warning one.

Even when the cocker was tiny I could hear the warning he was giving me loud and clear, but they have never "warned" us off ever again. Whilst our two play fight, its loud and can  (frighten?) (disturb?) people that do not know the two of them, but only twice has it turned into a real fight and the noise and tone were very different. I think they can play growl moan and bark just for fun and because they get excited, I would not try and stop it they have a limited vocablary as it is.