dog snapped at me.

dougo83 said:
This is pretty unlikely. Dogs possess very limited, if any, episodic memory. Basically, the dog didn't even remember the spanking earlier. Dogs have very strong associative memories, however. They rely on the ability to associate your smell, voice, etc with your actions. This is based on reinforcement. It is easily seen in a young puppy that only warms up to a few people who feed, bathe, and care for it. Unless the spankings are occurring regularly, highly unlikely, the dog doesn't associate that kind of action with you and the "snap" was a result of: A. Hunger, B. accident (misjudged playing) C. Testing her limits. (dogs, like kids, see what they can and can't get away with) or D. some other outside environmental effect.
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If the dog associates getting caught doing the wrong thing with being struck, it may snap as a defensive move out of fear. I am not saying one episode would produce that or that it is the explanation here, just listing the things that may elicit that type of response.

Again, I am not saying that this dog has been treated in a way that causes it to fear the owner. Fear is just one of the causes of aggressive behavior and can have been learned under a prior owner.
 
Try setting some food on a paper plate. Halfway through your pup eating it, pick it up. If it snaps or growls, then you have a problem. I would do it a few times over the next few weeks to make sure everything is ok.

Good luck.

Carl-
 
nc527: "what crack are you on? "

What kind of crack am i on?...It's just my opinion man, are you ok?...oh wait, we are all trained to have the same opinions, and be a part of the clone army. Please dont be mad that i'm not marching with you.
 
Well hopefully things are better with your dog. I was wondering if those Leerburg videos were any good. I know a few people referenced him, so I thought I'd ask.
 
nc527 said:
Update: Today I gave her a piece of bacon the same way as last night, but today she lets me take it away from her easily. I am also trying the thing where I stand betwen her and the food. she stayed where she was untill I released her. As I type she is laying on her bed beside me. I guess she must have been cranky last night for some reason or another.
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Excellent news.

Definitely keep it up, you'll have a happier dog in the long run. Bottom line is that people tend to treat dogs like children [not saying you, but generally], and they often feel mean when they really shouldn't. Stuff like indulging a dog's “grumpy mood” or he/she “allowing you” to do X shouldn't factor into it. From a dog's eye view it is a pack creature and it functions best when it knows exactly where it stands and who the leader is. It being subordinate and submissive to you as leader are what it is geared to do but people tend to project human attributes on to the dog as if it has some kind of concept of the leader being a draconian swine. This is the hardest thing to get across to junior kennel hands. A well balanced dog knows exactly where it fits into the order and there is no doubt in its mind.

As I said, those kennel hands works with some of the toughest dogs around. A lot of them are there because they have been dumped neglected or mistreated. It often comes as some surprise to them that statistically by far the most common episodes of biting aren't from big bruisers they are from typical family dogs, labs and collies in particular, that have been treated rather more as another child than a pack creature. They lose their place in the pecking order and strive for dominance. True, some take a long time to go through the process of rehabilitation. They come in with red tags [it'll have you] and in extreme cases have adopted neurotic circling behavior too, through blue tagging [not a hazard] and eventually many even respond excellently to clicker training before re-homing.

There is nothing about making your dog submissive and knowing its place that is cruel. Quite the inverse. Practice, practice, practice. Move it off the couch when it is comfortable and so on. You might need to poke it gently with a newspaper or something at first to save your fingers [that's where the broom comes in]. As I said, in its mine everything in your world must belong to you and not it. That must be made abundantly clear whether we are talking about taking the food bowl away or the imperative of how they see themselves in the pack in relation to babies. As I said, it is simple. It shouldn't be a big deal to fix. Stay on it. It'll love you more for it.

Just for fun – don't know whether you've seen a picture of my personal dog here. He aint exactly small. We love a good fight, and we can have that because ultimately we have trust born of everyone knowing where they stand. We all take our bites and nothing comes to any proper harm because when I call time that's it, immediately. It's a wonderful relationship to have and you can't have it if either of you have doubts about who is boss.
 
William m.- I have read before, and then reread the leerburg article. It is a very well written article, with several good points.

Revolution 13, It has been proven that dogs LIKE to have a set of rules established, as is present in even wolves and other wild canines. You seem to think of dogs as humans, when they are not.

Charles Helm, She is a medium sized dog at 51 pounds. She is lab/chow/boxer mix. She wasnt on my bed, but on her dog bed beside my bed. She doesnt like to sleep on a bed, unless its on the couch, which she rarely does, as she is a mostly outside dog, but is allowed to come in sometimes, and sometimes sleeps inside.

Baldtaco, Me and her also enjoy a good romp together, but I can tell her when to stop, and I doubt I treat her as a child, Because I am only thirteen myself.


Thanks for all the good info guys. I will make sure it will never happen again. I am just glad that she snapped on me, and not someone else. Again as I type she is asleep on her bed beside the couch.
 
stingray4540 said:
Maybe he/she just really liked those sweet potato fries?!
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Actually this is no joke. I've owned many dogs and I've learned that sometimes they just like something SO much they're like "don't f$#% with me!"

Sometimes it's a particular rawhide chew or a soup bone... every dog has SOMETHING they like so much they'll bit you over it in my experience.

.
 
nc527 said:
It has been proven that dogs LIKE to have a set of rules established, as is present in even wolves and other wild canines. You seem to think of dogs as humans, when they are not.
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Correct. Dogs snapping at people is not instinctual, but a reflex.

Dogs obeying the stronger power in the pack *is* the instinct. If your dog is snapping at you, *he* is in charge, not you. Dogs do not lose their instincts; they merely shift their obedience.
 
Correct Watchful. Dogs do alot better when a pack rank system is in place. And they are not brainwashed as whatshisname says, they simply listen to the leader.
 
nc527 said:
...Because I am only thirteen myself...
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From your posts I thought you were older. You seem pretty reasonable and thoughtful. :thumbup: You might just be right that she was spooked by the storms, simply startled, or just in a crabby mood. Glad to hear she's calmed down since. I'm no expert but the advice/links given by these folks make sense.
stingray4540 said:
Maybe he/she just really liked those sweet potato fries?!
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For the win! Like others that's the first thing I thought of too. :D
 
A) Never let a dog lay on your bed, thats your space, you are alpha dog, if she lies in your bed she thinks she casn be boss, same rule applies to seats/soafas aetc. A dogs place is the floor, I put a big cushoin down for mine and thats where he stays when allowed inside.
B) Dogs snapping is another sign of them thinking thery are boss, make sure you put food in the bowl, let them see this, then put it down where they can see/smell it but not get to it. then eat your food - if not hungry eat a biscuit of something, when finished then let the dog eat, this reinforces them that you are alpha.
 
Our dog, a 125# lab/english mastiff mix, acts weird during storms especially a strong thunderstorm.
I guess it freaks her out or something, but as soon as it passes she calms down and returns to normal.
It literally could just be something in the air.
 
When something like this happens and then things seem to go back to normal, it is easy to say it was a one-time event and get careless with reinforcing who is in charge.

Stay on top of that aspect and try to avoid the same issue again and see how it goes. Consistency is very important.
 
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