loggerboots Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 ETA - subject should read - "was it ok to leave this behavior uncorrected". So we were in the off leash area and a big goofy lab came running up to Emmie. They greeted fine, did the little sniff ritual and both dogs had their tails up and wagging and it was fine Emmie isn't much into playing, but they did seem to hit it off. They played a little, but then the other dog got a little excited and tried to mount her, and her hackles went up and she did this interesting maneuver. She didn't bark, didn't growl, but instead turned quickly and lunged in his direction, snapping the air just in front of his face 3 times, with a really loud clacking sound. She was clearly "pulling her punch", not trying to land a bite, but rather backing him off each snap of her jaws. It seemed perfectly appropriate and he did backpedal quickly out of her space (though he wanted to continue playing, but his owner called him off). Anyway, is this 'normal' dog communication and appropriate? I liked that she moved him off without resorting to biting him or making those loud, aggressive noises that dogs usually make when they get in a scrap, so I didn't chastise her for it. My thinking is that she's probably pretty good at dog to dog communication, given that she lived with 12 other dogs at her previous home, so she had lots of practice. But what do I know... Second, is this a border collie thing? I've seen dogs have altercations before, and it's usually loud and growly - this was silent, other than the snapping of her teeth together which was surprisingly loud, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurae Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 Completely appropriate. No need for you to get involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rufftie Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 yep, good for her. my nova does the snap thing whenever a dog gets in her personal space inappropriately. dogs know just what it means and those who haven't learned before, will now get a lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 This is precisely what our Megan does when Dan gets in her space. Very appropriate in this case, and the "offending" dog responded just as he should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 Yep, that's a typical bitch telling a dog to keep off. No intervention needed. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 I would go so far as to say it would be bad to correct that behavior. You don't want her thinking she has to put up with being mauled until she can't take it anymore and then she attacks. That's like a person who doesn't say you are annoying them and all of a sudden they punch you. Encourage the warning first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 No correction needed for your dog. If they Lab had not got the message I would have corrected him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smalahundur Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 Just one thing to add, this is not "typical bordercollie behavior", it is normal canine behavior. I´ve seen our (sadly departed) female gs/lab mix use this warning to great effect on some occasions. It would have to be a brave (or very stupid) creature indeed to ignore those snapping jaws.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loggerboots Posted June 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 Thanks! Good to know. I suspected it might be typical canine behavior, but I've always lived in the suburbs and the dogs I'm around tend to be pretty clueless, so this appropriate behavior was something I hadn't seen before. Emmie had lived on a farm in a pack before I adopted her a few weeks ago. I had assumed it might be a BC trait,but apparently it's just a non-clueless dog trait I have seen dogs that were so submissive that they pretty much just took anything that another dog wanted to do with them and I've seen dogs where they'd just instantly fly into a snarling, growling fit if they got their dander up, but this kind of calm, quiet, deliberate but pretty obvious communication was something new to me. The other dog seemed to think it was 'play' (he did back off, but got even more bouncy and excited), so it's probably good that the owner called him off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red russel Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 I might have intervened while she was being mugged so it didn't have to get to that point. Especially with an unknown dog. Some dogs won't take no for an answer, become offended, and then things can escalate in a hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthfieldNick Posted June 29, 2013 Report Share Posted June 29, 2013 After hearing all sorts of stories about dumb owners who don't call their dog off & get angry when your dog tells their dog off for being an idiot, it was nice of the lab owner to call their dog off when it became apparent that it was too much for Emmie. If you see them again, I'd make a point to thank them for understanding & controlling their dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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