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Nine times out of 10, it's the human's fault, not the dog's fault.
As others have said, there are so many variables...what was going on the second before the dog snapped? Remember, they live in the here and now. What were the signals before? Is the dog healthy? What were you, (whomever it is), doing, what was the dog doing...triggers.
Also, dogs don't miss. Snapping? That's a warning. If a dog wants to bite you, that dog will bite you.
Find out why the dog snapped and make some changes.
The only time I can think, off the top of my head, would make me put a dog down who was going to "be no good" after it bit me, is if it had rabies. But, I think then it's pretty obvious that there's a health issue...which, again, is something that should be taken in to consideration if a dog snaps at you.
I would get it checked by a vet, sometimes when an animal is in pain in some way - it means it has a serious illness. Animals try to hide their pain sometimes for a very long time.
My 16 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has snapped at me 3 times in two days and has snapped at my adult daughter a couple of times. With me, I was taking off her snow jacket and the Velcro snap pulled on her coat and I'm sure it hurt. Today she was obsessively licking, nibbling at her foot --which was bloody, and when I reached down to get a better look, she snapped. Again, I think she was feeling or sensing discomfort. With my daughter, my dog was sleeping in her dog bed and my daughter started petting her. I think she was startled and snapped. I'm not sure what to do except scold her. I am also taking her to the Vet for a checkup.
I think puppies will instinctively guard their food, or try to be dominant at some point, and in a pack, the mother or leader would quickly put them in their place, by growling and acting intimidating, etc. So, that's what I do. If a puppy growls or snaps at me, for instance if I am near their food, I'll get very big and loud and scary and take the food away. It rarely happens again after that. I think this is normally how a "pack" would handle an unruly puppy, and so it's a natural way of dealing with it. There doesn't have to be any violence at all. Just loud, and big and scary and take possession of the food.
Then, I'd give treats whenever I approach their bowl again, and they did not misbehave.
The dog I rescued last year - a 22 pound rat terrier, kind of growled and snapped at me a couple of times when I got her, and I did the same behavior as above. She was touchy about how and where she was touched. Who knows why, but I wasn't about to let her get away with that. She now lets me touch her all over and loves it ha ha.
She tries to be the alpha dog every now and then, and a dog trainer actually told me I needed to make it clear to her that I'm the alpha. After the first month of having her, though, it has never happened since. But, I do still need to assert my authority with her sometimes when she pulls on the leash or jumps on me, etc. But, she never growls or snaps anymore.
I think you can train aggressive behavior out of a puppy, but I'd be personally afraid of an older dog with that tendency. I could see being nervous about keeping a large dog like a pit bull that may harm you or others. But, if your relative did this to a puppy, I don't think that was reasonable.
My shepard pup was very well behaved until a few months ago when she started getting excited and started trying to initate rough play. Her 'brother' went through the same thing, but she was getting rough with him too (he's a very tall shepard mix) and he'd just leave. But she got a crate, and any sign of agression she went there until she was calm. And if she came out and got pushy, she went back. I didn't let her get by with it and it was a rough patch of sorts. I got some calm down treats for when she really got upset, but haven't used them for a few months. She and the other dog play now, but not agressive biting play. I got frustrated, but she is small now and managable. She gets bigger its harder. The change came quickly when it changed, and the current rule is any sigh of agression and/or biting and she'd sitting by herself. She hates that and howls but when she gets quiet she can come out and stay calm. It does take presistance and being uncompromising.
She's about eighty percent a different dog now, and considering it didn't take all that much time. The problem now is that she'll be calm and her 'brother' comes in bouncing and barking she feeds on it. But then when he's calm she's generally calm too.
These are the first big dogs I've ever had and that they be able to behave was necessary. The worse for agression in all the dogs I've had was a cocker who'd try to bite if you touched her feet and got a wide birth with food so size is not just a problem.
Her 'brother' just came over needing his ears getting a scrich and to give me a hug (he can, stand up on the back legs and hug) and has been a good example to follow since but everyone who deals with the dog and every dog has to have the same rules.
Most dogs will challenge there owners as they are growing .... Its called testing the leader. Just as wild wolves will. New dogs will do the same. Your reaction will tell them IF they are the leaders or You & You don't need to mean about it just Firm.
Most dogs will challenge there owners as they are growing .... Its called testing the leader. Just as wild wolves will. New dogs will do the same. Your reaction will tell them IF they are the leaders or You & You don't need to mean about it just Firm.
Dogs are not wolves, wild or otherwise. Comparing a dog to a wolf is like comparing a human to a chimpanzee. Shared DNA does not mean they behave or should be treated the same. Wolves and dogs are very different creatures.
CDE, your dog is being a dog.
A dog that is in pain may snap- that is entirely normal. To help with any negative reaction due to pain, first, be careful when you put on his jacket. A longer term solution that should help is to handle your pup when he is feeling well, begin to handle him all over his body- pick up a foot and give a treat, give them a gentle side bump- treat, peek into their ears quickly- give a treat, touch them all over giving them treats for each touch. When my dog is lying on the couch with me I massage his feet- gives me a chance to check out the nails, pads, and let him know that touching his feet feels good.
Your dog should be allowed to rest when it is tired without being disturbed. If you need to wake him, then don't touch him, but rather call to him and toss him some treats once he is awake, then let him come to you for pets.
Like a growl, a snap is a warning- how the dog is telling you it is uncomfortable. You do NOT want to scold for this. Your pup didn't bite you, he warned you. If you scold when a dog either growls or snaps you end up with a dog that won't warn, that will escalate and just bite.
Dogs are not wolves, wild or otherwise. Comparing a dog to a wolf is like comparing a human to a chimpanzee. Shared DNA does not mean they behave or should be treated the same. Wolves and dogs are very different creatures.
CDE, your dog is being a dog.
A dog that is in pain may snap- that is entirely normal. To help with any negative reaction due to pain, first, be careful when you put on his jacket. A longer term solution that should help is to handle your pup when he is feeling well, begin to handle him all over his body- pick up a foot and give a treat, give them a gentle side bump- treat, peek into their ears quickly- give a treat, touch them all over giving them treats for each touch. When my dog is lying on the couch with me I massage his feet- gives me a chance to check out the nails, pads, and let him know that touching his feet feels good.
Your dog should be allowed to rest when it is tired without being disturbed. If you need to wake him, then don't touch him, but rather call to him and toss him some treats once he is awake, then let him come to you for pets.
Like a growl, a snap is a warning- how the dog is telling you it is uncomfortable. You do NOT want to scold for this. Your pup didn't bite you, he warned you. If you scold when a dog either growls or snaps you end up with a dog that won't warn, that will escalate and just bite.
You're dead wrong with regard to wolves and dogs. Left out in the wild, your house-pet will become feral and assume a pack mentality with with other canines. It's hard wired, and, at times, a dog will challenge its master. Maybe by being protective of toys, growling, or yes, possibly snapping. None of these is acceptable. Barring a health issue, snapping is never acceptable, and a stern scolding is appropriate.
Last edited by empireghost; 02-03-2015 at 08:23 AM..
cavilers are known for their great temperament and rarely snap or bite at people. take him to the vet for sure. ask him about putting something on his foot that will stop him from licking so much. maybe something like bitter apple or something that doesn't taste good will help. are you still in contact with the breeder? ask them about the temperament of the parents. there is a great CKC forum that can help as well called "caviler talk"
first time: what did I do to provoke it...a dog deosnt just suddenly start snapping for no reason...so am i doing something to mkae the dog feel the need to react? and am i NOT paying attention to its body language...
if nothing seem to be "out of the normal" otherwise id pass it off as having a bad day (we ALL get into one of those moods some times.
second time: again what did I do to provoke the situation, if no reason can be found its off to the vets for a full work up...once can be dismessd as a one off, but twice especially if the dog has never shown any sighns of snappy/guardy behaviour its time to rule out an underlying cause, illness and pain are VERY cmmon causes.
from there then it would become a case of training/behaviour modifications (which again comes down to "what am I doing to provoke the situation and what can i do to teach my dog to A: respond differently to the situation or B: safely manage that behaviour if it cannot be redirected/cured.
Good questions & advice. I'd also be interested in the dog's reaction after the incident. My guy, a GSD pup, got snappy a few times, during groomings, ear cleanings and the like. He promptly received a stern, bass-filled verbal scolding, followed by me totally ignoring him for an hour or so. Most recently was while I was applying medicine to his eye. Understandable. However, after he did it, his ears went floppy, and he rolled onto his back, totally submissive. He knew he screwed up. I gave him a pass on that one, and scratched his belly. We're making progress.
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