Snapping Teeth

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Snapping Teeth

Posted : 3/22/2011 8:15:24 AM

When Vader is rough housing with our other dog Aragon he snaps his jaws...you can actually hear the snap..i call him a Piranha...lol..he will snap the air very close to his neck or face..lol..its so loud!!! its never out of aggression....he also never makes any noise when playing and rough housing....he never really barks much at all in fact....he does make a deep owwwowwwwwwnoise when he needs to go out.....just wondering if any one else's dog does this.... also at night when all the kids are in bed he must think his "job" is done for the day..lol..because he does not want to be bothered he will curl up on the couch and sleep and if you go over to pet him he gives this kind of grumble...not really a growl...and he will mouth your arm...like..hey im trying to sleep here...lol! if he wants to be petted he will come to us at night...lol..but the other odd thing is at night even when he does not like to be bothered....he will lay wherever i go...if im on the couch he is on the other end...if i move to a chair he will get up and lay by my feet...but if i were to go to him and pet him he will make that grumble noise and mouth my arm....like he is telling me to stop it...lol do you think this is "normal"..or should we watch for possible aggression?....our other 2 dogs never did anything like this so i dont know what to make of it..lol

JackieG

Posted : 3/23/2011 6:48:11 AM

dane6
but if i were to go to him and pet him he will make that grumble noise and mouth my arm....like he is telling me to stop it...

It does sound like he's objecting and correcting you. Not something I would be comfortable ignoring. You might want to consider starting NILIF with him. It stands for 'nothing in life is free'. You can Google the term and find lots of info about it and how to implement the concept.

I'm getting the impression that he's on the couch or another piece of furniture when this happens. If that's the case, I would start training him to get off in return for a treat. Make your approach a signal to him that he's going to get a treat but he has to get off the furniture first. I would train him that he's only allowed on the furniture when invited. This can take a while and everyone in the family has to do the same thing. The kids especially, need to be instructed not to grab him by his collar to move him, as this can make things worse and his objections could escalate. Entice him off and give him much praise when he gets down. If he won't be enticed down with a treat or other reward, put a leash on him and use that to gently pull him off.