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What To Do About The Snark


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My new girl, Jenny, appears to be a snarker. She's given my son's dog a couple of warnings. I've never owned a snarky dog before. What, if anything, do you do about the snark? Do you correct or let it ride as long as it doesn't go any farther? I'm guessing corrections might result in a bite without a warning, right?

Irene ~ Owned and Operated by Jenny (Jenny Rocks ~ 11/24/17) ~ JRo, Jenny from the Track

Lola (AMF Won't Forget ~ 04/29/15 -07/22/19) - My girl. I'll always love you.

Wendy (Lost Footing ~ 12/11/05 - 08/18/17) ~ Forever in our hearts. "I am yours, you are mine".

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Yes, you're spot on regarding the corrections.

Sounds like she's actually being quite appropriate. If the other dog respects her requests to back off and it's not happening often, I probably wouldn't do anything. If she's having to do it a lot, or the other dog isn't respecting her and it's escalating, then I would restrict the other dog's access to her. It could be the other dog had more energy and you need to tire him out more before they interact so things are more "even" or she may just not want to interact with him, which is fine. I don't like and want to be friends with everyone I meet. We shouldn't expect that from our dogs. Peaceful coexistence is the name of the game as far as I'm concerned 

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Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart

"The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong."

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Yes.  Depending on the situation, snarking is almost always appropriate, IMO.  Like growling, it's one of the only ways a dog has to express her opinion and offer a correction.  If the other dog listens after a snark or three, it's a moot point.  But if the other dog continues to bug the snarker then I step in to protect both of them.  No animal gets to bully another, but they also don't get to terrorize another dog either.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

52592535884_69debcd9b4.jpgsiggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly

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my daughter's rescue- a street dog- is snarky. she just down right attacks for no reason that any of us humans can conjure up. they always correct her- it hasn't helped. what did help was jamie went after her. yup- she screamed, no skin torn- just a nip. she ran into the closest crate which happened to be jamie's and hid! after that she kept her space from jamie. she has gone after the other dogs in the house for no reason like walking past annie in close quarters. basically maggie acts like a bully since she still has street dog mentality and is fearful. there was only one incident that drew blood in the 8 years she has been around. she picked on poor decrepit felix and tore his ear. 

watch, this might escalate, might not- the dogs are finding their place. 

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2 hours ago, NeylasMom said:

Yes, you're spot on regarding the corrections.

Sounds like she's actually being quite appropriate. If the other dog respects her requests to back off and it's not happening often, I probably wouldn't do anything. If she's having to do it a lot, or the other dog isn't respecting her and it's escalating, then I would restrict the other dog's access to her. It could be the other dog had more energy and you need to tire him out more before they interact so things are more "even" or she may just not want to interact with him, which is fine. I don't like and want to be friends with everyone I meet. We shouldn't expect that from our dogs. Peaceful coexistence is the name of the game as far as I'm concerned 

 

3 minutes ago, greysmom said:

Yes.  Depending on the situation, snarking is almost always appropriate, IMO.  Like growling, it's one of the only ways a dog has to express her opinion and offer a correction.  If the other dog listens after a snark or three, it's a moot point.  But if the other dog continues to bug the snarker then I step in to protect both of them.  No animal gets to bully another, but they also don't get to terrorize another dog either.

Thank you both. Your comments echo exactly what I was thinking. My son's dog is very mild-mannered and submissive so I'm guessing she'll get the message pretty quickly. Now it remains to be seen how Jenny will interact with my MIL's little dog who is a major snarker. Double-snarks.  Eeesh!

Irene ~ Owned and Operated by Jenny (Jenny Rocks ~ 11/24/17) ~ JRo, Jenny from the Track

Lola (AMF Won't Forget ~ 04/29/15 -07/22/19) - My girl. I'll always love you.

Wendy (Lost Footing ~ 12/11/05 - 08/18/17) ~ Forever in our hearts. "I am yours, you are mine".

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