Dog snapped at daughters friend.

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.

From the OP: “He seemed to take an instant dislike to the friend, growling at her and refusing to go near her as he normally would with visitors. The friend loves dogs and went to pet him, he growled again and snapped”

No, it is not normal to pet a dog that is growling at you. It’s a plain stupid thing to do.

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.

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

Context is important. Was the dog in a corner of a room when the girl approached the dog, with no sign for the dog to "escape" from the source of discomfort, i.e. the girl? It may have felt less threatened if it was nearby an open door for example.

Look at behaviour as a means of communication rather than being the dog's innate personality or attitude. The girl put her desire to pet the dog ahead of the dog's own feelings. The dog gave numerous signals, both subtle and obvious ones so the growling and snapping as a last resort is not suprising. Hopefully a lesson to respect a dog's boundaries has been learnt from this experience.

Putting 'teenager' in bold letters is weird! She's a child, in anyway you look at it. Highlighting her being a teenager is is you trying to assign more blame to her because she should know better.

My 'little rant' wasn't aimed at the Op actually, because they seem fairly reasonable looking for advice. My "little rant' was aimed at the people who are suggesting punish the child and curbing their child's social interactions by not keeping the dog locked away or outside if her friends are calling over. And the whole post is perfectly relevant to the topic. People are allowed opinions, that's the nature of these types of websites. You don't like my opinion fine, no need to go on a little rant of your own.