My 2 1/2 yr old goldie is a very nervous soul and tends to be a bit vocal with people that she doesn't know at first. (mainly barking.) She is getting better as i keep socialising her alot. She can be scared of children, but is slowly learning to accept them a bit more.  ( Despite living with a 13yr old girl with learning disabilities, with no problems at all.) At training on monday a friends grandaughter (8) was there. Ellie has met her before and the girl is very dog savvy, didn't push her or anything, but ellie was quite happy to go up to her. At training she continually went up to her everytime she went past, sat next to her, put her paw up and generally had a cuddle. Her body language didn't show that she was uncomfortable, yet she seemed to be growling at times. I wasn't sure how to react as there was no malice in the growling and she happily sat there and had the option to move away should she need to. I can't work out if she was being nasty or just talking?

My bitch is also vocal with people (different breed) and whenever she meets people, wheather they be new to her or familiar, once she's settled in for a cuddle :rolleyes: she emits a very deep growl. At first, for those that don't know her, it can be a little unsettling, but I've worked out that this is how she communicates :D She's 10 months old now and has been doing this since she was 5 months.

Her body language is very friendly, she uses her paws, normally 2 on their lap, rests her head on their knee and rumbles away. If you heard the noise from behind a closed door, you wouldn't enter :P

If she was being nasty, I would have thought that she would have moved away of her own accord. IME, dogs don't generally stay close to you if they're warning you off.

Guess what I'm trying to say is that you know your dog best, you can ascertain how her mood/body language is. Mine mutters away to many people,  but does it mainly to those she likes the best :)

My westie dog is like that, very growly if you heard him you would think that he was nasty, but hes talking to you, we know what hes like, but a stranger coming in would back off thinking that he was seriously growling at them, sometimes it even sounds as if he is saying "mum,. mum" LOL!!!!! His body language also shows that hes not going to bite you.

My boy is pretty vocal when he wants attention. He make a sound exactly like Chewbacca (from Star Wars) which is neither a bark nor a growl. Should you fail to respond to his Chewbacca impression, he follows it up with a big slap...pretty hard to ignore and extremely intimidating for anyone not familiar with his behaviour. I should add that my boy is verging on certifiably weird...but that's what I love about him :D

Our pup does it as well, sometimes when we are stroking him or sometimes just if he is led on our feet or whatever, I have always just taken it to be his way of saying 'ooo that's nice!' :D