How to stop my dog from growling when i pick him up??

Question

well i have a 2 yr old shih tzu and when i pick him up he always growls. how do i stop him from doing this??

Answer 1

Are you picking him up correctly? Could you be hurting him?

Growling is letting you know he's afraid or angry. I would think he's afraid of something.

If he shows you affection other times and is sweet, I would gently pick him up.  I wouldn't pick him up while you are sitting, that way it's not very high for him.

See how he does. He might be afraid of heights and gets scared when you pick him up.

Answer 2

i also have a shih tzu that growls when he is picked up,this is apparently common with this breed and its mainly because they don't like heights.my dog blu goes stiff when he is picked up,whilst up he is ok but then growls when he is put down again

Answer 3

He either doesn't like being picked up or the way you pick him up.

Answer 4

he could just not like being picked up! would you want to be picked up all the time!

dogs were not bred to be picked up they are meant to walk!

you could associate it with something good, e.g. when ever you pick him up he gets a small fav smelly treat!

other than that the way you pick him up might hurt him? do you support his back end?  

Answer 5

How to stop him growling - don't pick him up!

Answer 6

Your furbabie is just being dominant.

have you heard of "nilif"= Nothing in life is free. Its a great tool to use to learn how to be the dominant one.  

Answer 7

it depends on how he knows u and isclose to u try playing with him and treat him good with lot of treats and stuff when mine was small he used to bite but after awhile he loves me now