Dog snapped at daughters friend.

Literally this.

Your dog warned you that he was not comfortable with your daughters friend and this should have been respected.

Are you serious? Its up to adults not to put their children in a position where it could be bitten by a dog. Children should be taught not to approach strange dogs without owners permission and to look out for signs of discomfort. If they arent old enough to understand this then they probably shouldnt be physically interacting with a dog without an adult right there who can.

All dogs are capable of being pushed to the edge, and by punishing growls, snarls and air snaps you are taking away their warning/discomfort signs so there is a chance next time they will go straight to biting. And you'll have people say " but there was no warning signs".....yeh you punished the warning signs!!

I'm so sick of random children approaching my dog in the street and I look like the a**hole when I tell them to stay away. He's never bitten but he will growl or snap at strange people if they invade his space and make him feel cornered. Advocate for your dog, keep it safe and teach children that dogs are not toys and deserve a bit of space and respect!

Hi OP,

I'm sorry you found yourself in this situation but well done on seeking advice. I have to also agree with a lot of the posters here. It can be tough to see your normally loving pet get cross, but unfortunately, we are all capable of being pushed! For the future, you now know your dog's cues and you can be aware and watching when people other than family members are around her. If she is unhappy with the situation, you can remove her - for both her own comfort and to avoid a bite situation. I also agree that the child should not have pushed the situation with a dog who clearly did not feel comfortable around her .. but as she was not your child, I can see how you were unsure how to act. Best of luck to you!

Complete nonsense there Loueze from you.

“Humans” always come first, especially children. Stranger or not it is not acceptable for a dog to snap at a child. If he does it once he’ll do it again, and the next time it could be a much younger child and maybe there won’t be an adult there to take the child out of the equation. What happens then? I’ll tell you what happens, you read another story in the papers about a child being maimed by a dog.

The dog should be severely reprimanded for what he done. He should be kept away from children any more unless fully supervised and if he ever snapped again at anyone then there is only one other option.

No child should be around a dog unsupervised. Ever!

And again by reprimanding these warning signs you are taking away the dogs way to communicate and this is why you hear of dogs biting/attacking "out of the blue" with no prior warning. There is a ladder of escalation of subtle stress signals dogs show when they are uncomfortable. As a dog owner you should be familiar with these. Lip licking, yawning, whale eye, ears pinned back, fixed stare, tense body.....all of these come before growls, snarls and snaps and if a dog is uncomfortable then ensure that all people, especially children give it space.

That’s all well and good if there’s an adult there. But what happens when the dog has got out of his owners garden unknown to the owner? Or when the adult turns their back on the dog for a moment or 2 when there’s young children around that the dog is unfamiliar with?

Im sorry but like has been said here previously; people, and especially children, come before animals. If you’ve too much of a sentimental attachment to your pet to take the required steps needed when the pet steps out of line then you’re not mature enough to own a pet in the first place.

Judgemental much?

If a teenager isn't mature enough to leave a dog alone when that dog has made it 100% clear they don't want to be petted, that teenager shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a dog.

See - hyperbole can work both ways.

Or maybe instead of curbing your child's social interactions how about the dog is locked away when there's visitors coming over!

This modern generation of dog owners who treat their dogs like they're actually people is ridiculous. They're animals at the end of the day. And because of the pampering they get is probably the reason they think they can do what they want..

Like the above comment, if the animal misbehaves let's just stop our child's friends coming over instead of locking the dog in another room..... Or.... Crazy idea.... Lock the dog outside!

Except none of what I said is hyperbole. It’s what’s happening all around the country on a regular basis.

The problem is immature people that have too much of an attachment to their pets and think they are people. They can’t then see when their dog has done wrong until it’s too late.

I cannot honestly see how the child/teenager was wrong. She was nice to the dog - nothing in the OPs post suggests she done anything wrong. She went to pet the dog as must people would ( be it a child or adult). The dog when growling should have been put into another room.

Stopping the childs friend ( or anyone the dog doesnt like) from coming to the house is an absolutely ridiculous idea. A teenagers social circle is very important. Family and people should always be first. Anyone who puts the dog before their children really needs to take a long hard look at themselves.

But you are berating people who are advocating for reading and responding to a dogs warning signs and trying to teach the OP what do to in future? What do you believe the necessary steps are if a dogs growls or snaps at a person or child?

There seems to be two sides here. The people who are trying to educate those on dogs body language and how to respond. And those who say any dog who is not comfortable being approached/handled and responds with a growl or a snap is automatically an aggressive dog.

If a teenager is not mature enough to understand a clear warning why should the OP lock their dog outside? What other clear boundaries will that teenager decide to ignore eh?

As I said - In MY house a teenager who ignores clear warnings would not be welcome until they do learn to heed them. I would not push my dogs because some kid old enough to know better decides they have some right to go at my dogs in their own home. You are free to act differently in you home. You are not free to judge people who disagree with your opinion.

The rest of your post is really nothing more than you having a little rant because you disapprove of other people's decisions. If other people pamper their pets that is none of your business - and really has nothing to do with this thread as you have no idea whether the OP "treats their dog like it's actually people".

Yes true, but to be honest if I did not know the teenager I would be supervising them around my dog. Same with adult guests in my home. He is a nervous dog and i tell all guests he is not comfortable being approached and to ignore him unless he approaches them for affection. We are trying to counter condition him at the moment so all guests are to drop treats for him when they arrive and then ignore him. This will teach him guests mean good things and no need for fear/discomfort. If the dog is still showing signs of discomfort i give him a long lasting chew/puzzle toy and send him upstairs out of the way.

If i had a teenager in my home that was stupid enough to try and pet my dog after he growled at them, i would of course be stepping in and telling the teenager to leave the dog alone and then sending the dog to another room.

The dog should have been given space. The teenager became the problem when it chose to try and pet a dog that was growling at them. The owner was the problem because they did not ensure the dogs signs were being read. They should have ensured the dog had space, and yes probably moved the dog to another room but at the very least made sure the teenager did not reach out and try to approach the dog.

Not the dogs fault - wrong done by the owner and the teenager.

I saw a bichon do it's best to get away from a child until it was backed into a corner despite the child being told repeatedly to leave the dog alone, the dog had enough and left the marks of its teeth on the skin of the child, the child learnt an important lesson, cried for a few minutes and got a good scolding of her mother for not doing what she was told, the dog is living a happy life, the child got over it and it was all forgotten about 10 minutes later, teach your kids to repect dogs and keep the dogs in another room and everyone is happy

Off with it's head.No discussion,just do it.Try to read Nody's post and don't allow yourself a dog.