Beth G Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Now although he does this alot (rears up like a horse and walks backwards, air snapping and clicking his teeth while grinning and panting real loudly) when he wants to go out and play, last night I had words with Poppy, because he ran up to my face while I was lying on the sofa, just as I was drifting off on, and I heard his teeth click together. I really did not appreciate that. Although I know he was just playing, this time he actually touched noses with while doing it!! A little too close for comfort... I really do not want him to misjudge and accidently nip me. Do yours do this? and can you break them of this? Poppy and Pepper do that with each other alot. You can hear their teeth click while they play. Even when I toss the ball for Poppy I hear him trying to catch it. *Click click click!* Lol...I wonder it if chips their teeth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelb'smum Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Well... Shelby does this air snap while playing. about when the play gets to rough for her, she runs to hide behind me and air snaps... its cute with her lil teeth and all. I don't know about breaking them of it? maybe a flick on the nose? and a strong NO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth G Posted December 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Lol.. he hasn't hurt me yet but that little stunt startled me and made me think... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoBC Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Yeah mine does that too. When I'm playing with him out side he likes to jump up and snap his teeth together a lot. It doesn't bother me except sometimes he gets a little close for my comfort. I have been giving him a strong "no" if he does it to close to me. The main reason that I started thinking about it was my Mom didn't like it when he was snapping in the air when I was trying to play with him. I don't think he means any harm by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth G Posted December 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Nah it's just the breed. But it would be nice if we could kind of calm them down on it when they are close to us..lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoBC Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 No kidding. lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCjetta Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Hannah does this too...when she's excited. If I have a toy and pretend to throw it she'll air snap. She also does it to be a bit demanding like if I'm not throwing the toy fast enough or if I'm doign something else and she wants me to play with her. She'll come up to me and snap at me and then wag her tail and make growly noises. I don't really like her being demanding so I just tell her to go lie down. When Hannah plays, you can hear her snapping a lot at Turbo but she rarely touches him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INU Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 When she was still a pup Jazzy did this one at my face and she never learned not to ever do it again. It took one correction. I was on my four feet playing with her and approached her and blew rasberries at her face. Either she didn't like it or she wanted to catch it, she snapped right in front of my face - very close. I got up really fast and gave her body pressure and told her no once. She turned her head and never did that again. After a while, I blew more rasberries at her face purposely, she licked my face out of submissivness. I praised and rewarded. Since then, if I approached her in her face or blow air at her, she'd just kisses me to death. I would try a simple correction with good timing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloRiver Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Neither of mine does this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maedog Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 One of my dogs, Mae, does this. She does it when she's excited or guarding a toy from another dog. It's never been a problem, and I think it's cute! We call her the snapping turtle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pax Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 I am currently BC-less, and living with three corgies. My corgies all do this. There is a tradition that corgies are saddle horses for faerie. When we see them do this we say the faerie have been riding with spurs. I think in reality they are itching spots by rubbing around that they would normally chew on, but can't reach with their mouths because their backs are so long. The snapping is just....residual itch chew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie_Girl Posted December 19, 2006 Report Share Posted December 19, 2006 None of mine have done this! They get upset if their teeth acidently come in contact me during play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mic1 Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 My daughters dog does this I was wondering if was a breed specific and it appears it is my question answered, it is painfully obvious that it is a communication thing it concerns me that people can't identify simple yet direct dog language and their attempt to get your attention some considering it aggression which it so obviously is not, a bite snap is so very different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Vishoot Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 No, it's NOT "just the breed." I've never had a border collie do it and I can't remember how many I've had from all different lines. I've never "blown raspberries" in their faces, either, though. My JRT does it when playing. If she came up and snapped in my face while I was falling asleep on the couch, I would have concerns about her temperament. I sure wouldn't find it cute or endearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 I'm actually working on teaching Gibbs to do this on command. He does it on his own when he's rolling around on his back so I decided to try and put it on cue. Gibbs is 12 and I've had him for a while, he's never snapped at me for anything. As far as blowing in any dog's face I simply can't think that's a good thing for any reason. It would annoy the heck out of me, so I figure it would annoy the heck out of a dog. And no, it's not 'breed specific'. I've seen other dogs snap at flies or other flying insects. Not acceptable when the snap is aimed at a human. Ruth & Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted May 11, 2020 Report Share Posted May 11, 2020 Agreed. Nothing breed specific about it. In most, perhaps all, cases it's simply communication. Probably in all instances it's a dog deliberately giving a warning with no real intention to bite. If a dog wants to bite, it will bite. They have enough control to decide whether their teeth make contact or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawgirl Posted May 12, 2020 Report Share Posted May 12, 2020 On our fifth BC, we have one who will air snap so much we started calling him "Snappy Tom" (not sure if the joke translates across countries - it is the name of a catfood brand here in Australia!) Basically, when you are patting him, and he is excited, but then you stop and start walking away, he will snap his teeth in the air in the direction of your hand (but inches away). If you walk with him and keep a hand on his head, he does not, so we have worked out he is protesting you stopping the pats. It genuinely is a form of communication for him. Of course, we do tell him no snapping, and ignore him if he snaps, and he has significantly improved, to the point where he rarely does it, and he has NEVER made contact with skin. Being a rescue dog, who came to us at over 2 years old, we expect some bad habits that we have to work to fix. The previous four have only ever air snapped when other warnings to leave them alone have been ignored, and that has been probably on fewer occasions than rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted May 12, 2020 Report Share Posted May 12, 2020 It can also be something that a dog will do when very excited, probably a form of play where the dog would like to grab in a play biting way but stops short of it. The dog I adopted last December does it to me fairly often. I'll actually feel her teeth on my hand, but it's the front of the teeth, not actually the points. That's how close she gets. I've been discouraging it mostly by either ignoring it or if it's too much contact with a gentle "ah, ah" and she's learning not to do it. It doesn't bother me but I'm sure some other people would misunderstand her intentions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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