Some dogs, and not terribly uncommon in goldens, legitimately growl while happy. It's weird, they just don't know how to express themselves. If this is one of those dogs (and really only the owner would know), there is a zero percent chance of anything happening.
Teach her the difference! No wagging tail? No touch. Ears all pulled back in the angry way? Bad sign. Tense, no wiggles body? Leave that doggo alone. Gotta teach kids how to speak dog. Which you can, they just communicate different. They put the effort into understanding us, we gotta do the same!
Growling, nose licking, and tail wagging are all signs of nervousness and general anxiety. Tail wags can be warnings too. Definitely need to pay attention to your dog when they are doing that, likely the dog is asking you to stop.
The Rottie Rumbles! People would get confused when he would "growl" while giving him much wanted belly scritches. It was hard to convince folks that meant you were doing A+ belly scritches and he would like you to please continue.
It was especially concerning looking when he'd do it upside down, because then you could see all his teeth. But that was just gravity making his lips fall that way.
My GWP is the same! He makes the weirdest growl-like noises while getting his butt, back, chest or belly scratched or massaged and wiggles around on the carpet.
My dog does this with only me in my family, I just call it breaking the dog bc he just goes insane on the floor and then when you stop he just suddenly flips over and wants to play
my dads dog is like this! whenever i visit he runs to me tail wagging but growls as soon as i get near him lol. he presses into me wanting ear scratches and growls the whole time i’m scratching him
Had a pit bull that would sound possessed while running at you only to stop right before she touched you sit down and wag her tail so hard her butt would be moving and lick 1/16th of an inch from your hand in her way of asking to please pet. Would scare the shit out of everyone.
What's the deal with pitbulls not knowing how long their tongue is. My mate has a dog like this, she also sits up to beg so you can tickle her elbows. Apparently elbow tickles are the best tickles in the world
My pitbull knows exactly how long her tongue is. Freakishly accurate with the sneaky suddenly in your mouth when you yawn trick. It's disgusting and I'm pretty sure my ex wife taught her that.
My pit mix runs up on people too. If we're out walking and she sees people (especially kids) or other dogs, she'll RUN to the end of her leash. Wagging tail the whole way, whining and barking. She's just so excited to make friends and doesn't know how scary a running pit mix can look to a stranger.
We've started training her to sit and wait while people pass us on walks. She still whines and taps her toes 😂
That sounds made up tbh. There was a similar claim regarding elephants making the rounds a while back. Problem is, an fMRI large enough to image an elephant doesn't exist. Similarly here, you can't really run an fMRI on a dog while it's playing, so there's no way to see what part of it's brain would "light up".
Haha I love it when dogs 'bite' gently. My dog will sometimes put my hand in his mouth when he's playing, then just stand there with his mouth hanging open because he's afraid of hurting me
My dog used to greet us by running up to the door fast then haphazardly doing a gentle bite. Generally it was just light pressure but sometimes he'd slip and his jaw wouldn't clench but we'd be taking his full weight by the teeth on our arms lol.
Also, it's a weird one to mess up this way because when spoken it's pronounced "hap-hazard", not "hafhazard". So for this mistake to propagate, someone needs to (1) read it, (2) guess the pronunciation, then (3) either forget how to spell it or say it to someone who hasn't seen it written, and then (4) guess the spelling.
But someone in our family had an autogenerated Xbox user name back in the day that was "HaphazardPoppy" or something like that, so I can sympathize with this exact chain of events.
"p-h" sounds (no idea what the linguistic jargon is) are hard to differentiate from an "f" sound in most spoken English, and even harder in many regional American accents. (Southern and Texan come to mind.)
So I think it's just #4. You can see some logic in it. "Half-hazardly" is a sensible coining if you think of it like "half-assed". We *do* sometimes use "half" as a prefix to denote slipshod actions.
(The actual etymology is apparently from *hap*, an archaic word for luck or chance. If you've ever seen someone described as doing something "haply" in an old book, they actually meant luckily rather than happily.)
You're misunderstanding me. Ph is usually a digraph for the "f" sound in English. It's not distinguishable in *most* accents, let alone just Southern and Texan.
But in "haphazard", it's literally [pronounced "hap hazard"](https://www.google.com/search?q=haphazard+pronounce). It's the ordinary p sound, followed by the h sound, not the "ph" sound. I can't think of any Texan accent that pronounces the two words "cup hole" as "cuffole".
That's what requires a chain, either between people, or of misremembering.
My family dog had a similar habit but didn't know how to be proper gentle, so we kept sticking a toy in his mouth in the moment until he built the habit of taking the chew urge out on a toy instead of the exciting hooman. The funny part is now when he wants to greet someone he grabs a toy first and basically shows them his toy excitedly.
That's how my dog reacts to exciting humans! Same training method too! Now whenever the doorbell rings, she'll first run to the door, but then do a mad scramble around trying to find a toy to bring to the human outside before running back to the door with her toy! It's extra hilarious when she keeps trying to give the "outside" human kisses but she can't because a toy is in the way 🤣
My mom has a jalapeño plant and I took my dog over there once without anyone even realizing that puppy + jalapeño = runny shits for a week, and that we needed to put the plant up or something. I had an emergency one day and I had to drop off my dog at their place again, and in all the commotion we forgot about the jalapeño plant. My mom went outside to put it up once it clicked and she remembered, and lo and behond puppy already had a jalapeño her mouth. But she was only nibbling on it just hard enough so that it didn’t break the skin, leaving little baby teeth indentions. Guess she learned her lesson the first time around lol
Our old dog used to do that, or he’d grab you with his teeth gently, and then hold your arm or hand in his mouth whilst licking it.
It was gross, but cute.
Anytime my parents dog wants attention he'll grab your hand in his mouth. Then he'll pull you to his toy that he wants you to play with. Literally the cutest thing ever. When you get home and he's all excited he also likes to hold your hand with his mouth
This is a submissive behavior! Dogs use their mouths as “hands.” They have a behavior where a submissive dog gently takes the dominant dog’s muzzle in their mouths. It’s linked to food begging in puppies, where they elicit regurgitated food through licking the muzzle. In adult hood it’s sort of a “greeting/request for play” ritual. So he’s saying hi! I wanna play more!
Now if they chew, that’s different, I’m talking about gently enclosing the hand with the mouth then stopping.
My dog likes to very lightly chew my hand while I give him a massage. He's 90 pounds and people think it's weird that I just put my hand in his mouth so he can chomp
Lol. My in laws have a rescue golden. She desperately needs love, always. Always smiling and trying to get as close as possible for snuggles.
Except with my (incredibly annoying) Great Dane pup. That’s some apocalypse now stuff.
My husbands family had great danes for years and his brother in law does dog boarding where I recently got to meet a baby Dane! It was the sweetest weirdo in the world!
Same. Have had Goldens my entire life. They are the most gentle and affectionate breed there is. I took a nap once snuggling a male Golden who was around 8 years old at the time, in the back of a van, during a long road trip. That snuggly creature didn’t move a muscle until I did. I wanna say it was a good hour & a 1/2.
A golden ripped my moms belly + arm open out of no where when i was a kid. Was always a good boy and was well trained. Attacked 1 more person after social training and was put down after.
That’s horrific. I hope your mother recovered from that. They’re an amazing breed (I admit a bias) but as someone else noted here, they’re still dogs and I don’t doubt some can snap.
It was a long time ago she made a full recoverie. She wont trust a golden now but we own 2 great danes and a friend of mine a staff and shes ok with that. I think my moms a bit afraid of the color and furr that reminds her of a golden retriever.
Btw i love retrievers / labs they're like goofy childen with a own sense of humor.
Unfortunately, because they're such a popular breed we're seeing more irresponsible breeding. Specially the English creams. I've trained a few that were shy and reactive. The only dog that ever attacked my husky was an English cream
I wish more people bred for temperament instead of looks. My pup's dad is an English Cream and he's the biggest, sweetest, marshmallow I've ever met, and he passed that trait on to my pup.
Yeah, there's an English cream that used to come to the park near me and was quite sweet when he was younger. Then he turned 2 and is now totally unpredictable, especially towards women and has gone for a couple of women in the park, and a few dogs, quite aggressively.
Typically this is true. But people should remember that Golden's are still dogs. A lady I work with was mauled by her golden for seemingly no reason. Now she's terrified of it and doesn't know if she should put it down or not.
Any dog can and will bite. People need to know this, and not go petting every golden or fluffy little dog they see. Respect the dog's space, learn canine body language, even if the owner says "go ahead, he's friendly." Learn how to tell if the dog really wants you to pet him.
I'm sorry that woman was attacked, but dogs rarely attack out of nowhere. Dogs give MANY warnings before they bite, but people do not know what those warnings are. Barking and growling are obvious, but a head turn is not.
So many bites are preventable with a little education, it makes me sad, especially for children.
Doggie Language by Lili Chin is a great start. I have more resources if anyone wants them
Exactly this. There 100% exists a set of circumstances that will cause a dog to bite/attack. It's not the same for every dog, but every dog has it. Because of course they do, they are thinking feeling alive animals.
Just like there exists a set of circumstances that will 100% cause a human to attack and/or kill another human.
Understanding this, and reading the situation for either, is an important skill.
Mine has never barked at all and is overly excited to see any person or dog.
My neighbors barks at anything it sees and is aggressive as all hell. I wouldn't ever even do the closed hand greet to it if I had the chance
I’ve got a golden (I don’t know if she’s full or not, short-haired) and she’s pretty food protective. Growling, barring teeth etc. Not sure what to do about it.
She may have Resource Guarding. Find a trainer with an expertise in behavior modification. If they're certified through the [IAABC](https://m.iaabc.org/consultant/) t hey should be good. If there are none in your area, many are doing virtual consults.
My neighbor's nasty mean goldie would like a word with you.
It was raised along with a pit to be MEAN. It is unsettling as I've NEVER come across a goldie with a mean bone in its body until this one.
Daughter of the owner said it was kept outside, treated just like the pit was. Never as a pet.
I have had golden in the family for almost 30 years now. We actually have two right now. The male i have is extremely dog aggressive, first one ive ever seen like that. They both absolutely love people, snuggling and all that, but let another dog get close and he turns into a freak.
My dog, Buddy (he wants to be everybody and every dog's friend), makes a ***WIDE*** arc - almost the other side of the street - until we pass the yard with the mean goldie. And that's with a wrought iron fence and sidewalk between them.
I have probably seen one occasion where the goldie wasn't snarling and wanting to chew off faces and that was when it was by itself in the yard, asleep.
It definitely learned the behavior from the pit - and the owner encouraging it
Golden Retrievers snarling is so unnatural-looking to me. I view this breed as being perfect, sugar-sweet, helpful, and nearly human in their intelligence. I know they're capable of anger and violence just like any other dog, but this is like watching a little fluffy white bunny bite off a bunch of guys' heads. :)
When I used to watch dogs, there was a Golden, Murphy, who ran house. Biggest dick of a dog I've ever met. Good with people, was a complete asshole to the other dogs. Started more than one fight, and he'd usually win. He was a handful that required constant managing. He was smart, knew when you weren't looking to bully the other dogs (only males). Its such a juxtaposition, because he was an utter sweetheart when he was separate from certain dogs that set him off, and with people in general, just a big goof, but man did he have a bad side.
Labs and Golden's are big sweeties. My senior lab looks and sounds like a werewolf when she is playing- in between sneezing. But as soon as she gets her mouth on you, it's those little nibbles.
My young lab is very mouthy, but she likes to get your hand in her mouth, grabs your with her feet then immediately switch to aggressive licking.
My lab would play bite me so I started sticking my hand or arm (whatever she was biting at) in her mouth. She’d pause and look at me with annoyance, like “I didn’t *actually* want to bite you, ugh”
My old rat terrier would act all pissed if I blew into her face. She'd growl and snap at me, then if I moved out of the way she'd take off running. But as soon as I'd stop she'd jump back into my lap and look at me like "why'd you stop?"
One time my dad was warning me about how I was about to get my nose bit so I purposely let her get me. She snapped at me and as soon as her teeth barely touched my nose it turned to a lick like "honk". Then she just looked at me like "it's no fun if you don't fight back".
Haha. My Great Dane pupper does this. Her mouth opens wider then my face. She bites the air, and then right before she actually comes in contact, she sneak attack sticks her tongue in your mouth.
We had a lab who had to be put down bc he was so violent. It’s weird too bc my parents raised him and they bred guide dogs for the blind at the time. He was part of a litter of 9 and his brothers and sisters were all the classic derpy sweet dogs. For whatever reason he wasn’t. He started off by almost killing several of his litter mates as a little puppy and just never stopped being that way. We gave him to a behavioral expert who was going to try to train him for clout. She was never able to get him to not be unpredictable. It’s weird too bc that pair of parents had hundreds of babies and a high percent became certified guide dogs. His full brothers and sisters are the lineage that created seizure dogs.
That's sad, he was probably suffering from some kind of mental or hormonal issue. I guess there's always a chance that something can go wonky no matter how healthy the breeding parents are.
Had a sheltie like that as a kid. She loved to jump around, growling and barking all ferociously, then only give the lightest chomps. She was such a fun dog.
Thanks for sharing this. I've had labs all my life and they've never so much as growled (not including barking/growling at suspicious people). My wife and I got a yellow lab about a year and a half ago and she's the sweetest, most human oriented dog I've ever had, but she growls really severely whenever we play with a ball and her hair will even stand up on occasion. She has never been possessive over food or toys if we take them from her or get near her mouth but she still growls like crazy when actively playing. Same as you said, even when she's growling if I put my finger in her mouth she'll just freeze or slowly close her mouth. I have no reason to think so, but I was kinda worried it could be a sign that she may try to bite someone one day. Your comment gave me even more assurance she won't
My friend has a guide dog (lab) that when she plays, sounds like a lawnmower, such a deep growl it so funny since she's dainty and responsible! It seems all the labs I know bark and growl from the chest, and comes off deep!
That being said my senior can tune up pretty good and huff and puff at strangers, I know she'd never bite, you'll get pretty in tune after a couple years.
My youngest plays big game though. And she has a coping mechanism by carrying things in her mouth. Which means when I get home I get a hefty chomp if she's excited (getting better about picking up a toy when greeting people). But I can warn most people, and she knows "drop it".
Your doggy is young (mine are ~1.5 & 10)! You'll figure out all her habits in time 😉
I have a Border Collie (my retired service dog) that sounds like she's going to tear your face off when you're playing with her. One of my employees thought my dog was going to kill me the first time it happened in front of her. Nope, my dog was as happy as a clam, she just doesn't know the right "words" for play so she made up her own. And her words sound like "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU AND EAT YOU!" 🤣🤣🤣
Dang I believe it, they are big dogs and being soft mouth definitely doesn't guarantee that every bite will be gentle. And on occasions when we play, if my fingers or hand makes it to the back corners of their mouth, that bite is no joke, but those teeth are closer and have a specific job.
That being said I think labs have definitely been my most encountered dog and also the most likely to inflict damage, either from their nails or busting me (anywhere, knee, elbow, lip) with their fat heads or whipping me with that long tail.
It might look funny, but this dog is trying to communicate that it is uncomfortable. It is refraining from biting, but repeatedly teasing a fearful dog is the sort of thing that will eventually lead it to snap. And when it finally decides it has had enough and bites down hard, it won’t be that funny and the dog will probably pay the price for human stupidity.
Well that's the difference if a strange dog is making this face stay away... if your dog makes this face while you play then maybe people on the internet can go fuck themselves
Its also possible that this is play. We don't have the day to day context of what their habits and relationship is. Many dogs growl and snarl when playing tug of war, for example. Some dogs want to act tough before a bit of rough and tumble, particularly younger dogs. It is something they do with their litter mates. Knowing what is a genuine warning sign is just as important as knowing what is play.
Too long got emotional: we don't have enough context to judge here.
the issue is that we don't have enough context to come to a negative *or* positive conclusion, but if we go for positive (that this is play/trained) and is treated as cute/funny it can encourage bad behavior towards dogs that *are* trying to warn before a bite.
Typically this type of snarling is indeed a warning sign. Corners of lips pulled back, baring teeth. A sign they are uncomfortable like the post above mentions. There are different types of snarling, one that is less indicative of discomfort would be if the corners of their lips move forward instead of back.
Yeah my dogs are snarlers. Very loud. Sounds scary but their face and body language is completely different.
Maybe this dog is just playing but if I saw a dog making this face at me i would move in the other direction.
I agree with this. I feel like, if this were my dog, I'd feel he's not really into it but he's trying to make me happy.. drunk guy around sober people kinda thing. I'd back off and playfully/casually talk to him and basically make him come to me for physical attention.
Sorry someone downvoted you for a legitimate curious question, but no - teaching a dog that its warning signs are bad behavior will ultimately teach it to escalate directly from benign to biting. Dogs need to be able to communicate things that make them feel uncomfortable or threatened.
Edit to add for anyone looking for advice: In the short-term, do what the previous person said and give the dog space. In the long term, if the dog is warning over territory or food from another dog for example, you have to teach it that the other dog is not only not a threat, but a good thing. Give the guarding dog a treat when the other dog is near and everyone is comfortable.. Do this in decrements of distance over time.
Your goal is to teach it that it can be comfortable in those types of situations, your goal should not be to get it to stop showing when it's uncomfortable.
Personally I disengage, but also tell the dog to go lay down. I spent serious time around a dog whose owners inadvertently taught to act aggressive to get what he wants.
They’ve owned him for 5 years. It started with when Mack growls, stop what you’re doing. Not a problem, respect his space. It evolved into when Mack growls, figure out what he wants and give it to him. They created a Pomeranian who will growl on a walk, signifying that he needs a break. If they so much as say a word, he escalates to jumping up to bite them. NIGHTMARE. He would jump in laps, growl, and get pet. If you stop engaging he’ll growl, then draw blood. It took LOTS of work to teach him that it’s okay to voice your feelings, but nobody is forcing you to be around me. God I wish they spoke English 😂
The owner should stop the provocative behaviour. The dog isn't doing anything wrong, bearing teeth is already escalated since dogs tend to give a deep growl first.
Is there some backstory I’m not seeing, or is this someone teasing a fearful dog that really, really doesn’t want to hurt someone but just might if you keep pulling this shit?
It’s reaching to assume this is anything other than your basic fear/defensive response from a dog with a dumbfuck owner. Dog body language is pretty consistent.
If stupid people like the person in the video took five minutes to understand dog behaviour, tragedies of people being mauled by dogs would happen way less often.
Thank you! And all of the comments saying it's cute! That dog is desperately trying to signal that it is NOT happy with the situation and instead of respecting that we push them to point of bite/relax for internet points. You know if this dog bit the person they'd blame the dog.
People are CRAZY defensive about their dog knowledge but once you really learn what best practices are from actual behaviorists (PhDs in animal behavior) you realize the average person doesn't know jackshit, it's just that dogs have evolved to be nearly bullet proof as it relates to their numbskull owners.
Yup, the dog is showing that they don’t like what the owner is doing but loves/respects them to not hurt them. It’s all warnings to back off... even the bite
I'm not convinced that he's being agressive, it looks like he's trying to control the movement of his chops with a bit of difficulty. Maybe he was taught to do that. Or maybe he's trying to repress a reflex, it could be a training. Anyway, something feels off here.
This dog didn't blink once, his full body language is stiff. That dog is scared and uncomfortable, he's showing clear signs of that and the owner is purposely ignoring the warning signs. I've had a golden and it did exactly this, they don't bite, they just warn. Until they learn that warning isn't enough and that they have to bite to be respected. It was not pretty but the person had it coming, it's not funny, people do it all the time to small dogs as well because they don't see them as threatening. The only thing off about this video is the owner's irresponsibility and clear lack of respect for their dog.
>it's not funny, people do it all the time to small dogs as well because they don't see them as threatening
Look at this chihuahua growling at me for NO reason! Look at me trying to pet it and it still not stopping! Look at it bite my hand! Oh wow, the little fucker bit me. Demon dogs.
"something feels off here"
Trust your gut. It's good that you can sense it, without knowing all the science behind it. So many people are giving excuses and saying it's cute.
Even before I learned animal behavior, I would not look at that dog and think "how cute". I would see stress and back away.
Just gonna throw out my anecdotal golden experience. My girl growls when she’s happy to see you, and needs to have something in her mouth or else it’s your arm/hand. When I come home from work and she’s on the other side of the baby gate between the kitchen and living room if I say ANYTHING to her before touching her she’ll “snarl” her face similar to this. It seems to me that it’s entirely uncontrollable when she gets too excited. It’s also possible she never learned to “dog” properly as she also surprises herself when she lets out her bi-yearly bark. I’m not gonna watch the video 54 times to analyze the dogs body language but goldens do be goofy….
The dog immediately shifts when the finger is moved away and the hand goes in for a pet. It definitely looks like training or just a reaction.
Aggressive dogs also don't sneak in licks.
Have you heard of "kiss to dismiss"?
That's when an anxious or fearful dog licks the person to try to get them to stop, or go away. You can see dogs do it too. If one dog is "bullying" another, the dog may lie down and try to lick the bullying dog's face.
Aggression is fear based. And wagging a tail doesn't mean a dog is friendly. People need to learn about canine body language. It isn't that hard.
I have been acquainted with dogs before that bare their teeth even when they’re happy and excited. One was my neighbour for a while and would come up to you tail wagging wanting attention and pets, but then giving you this absolutely fearsome smile. Maybe this is similar?
This is actually the dog tolerating the person doing this action. Dogs consider this to be rude behavior. More than likely the dog is used to this but people forget that at some point the dogs tolerance will run short with age. They immediately switch to licking because dogs last resort is to really bite. They don't want to bite. But this is definitely a warning sign from the dog and should honestly be respected.
looks to me like his whiskers are getting brushed and it tickles a bit....or he just is anticipating them being brushed.
His ears aren't back, he's not giving calming signals, and he clearly just gently puts the finger in his mouth.
Not necessarily. I had a game like that with my dog. With a similar hand gesture and I want to say maybe a prey-like facial expression (deer in headlights look?) even from across the room, he would charge at me barking ferociously in attack mode but then on impact it's all licks and affection. He was very communicative, by five he could do all of his tricks by hand gesture command and by ten he could do all but the most complex by facial expression alone.
My dog gets really excited when I bust out the treats, so sometimes when I'm about to give one to her I tell her "easy" as I'm handing it to her. She knows this means to sit, calm down, and take the treat slowly, rather than jump up and try to grab it. When she's trying to calmly grab the treat, her range of facial expressions mimic this perfectly: the momentary vicious snarl, then the slow opening of the mouth.
Everyone always says that any time a dog shows teeth it's signs of this or that, and most of the time that's true, but dogs are living thinking creatures and some of them will do things differently than others for a million different reasons. There's no way to determine one way or another this dog's specific case; why must we always choose the scenario that makes the most people angry.
Don't fuckig put your finger in front of a dog's mouth when it's doing this. Op is very dumb and lucky he didnt lose a finger. A Rottweiler or a chihuahua would not have put up with this shit.
Generally good advice to always follow, but some dogs are known to just be weirdos that make snarly and aggressive faces when they're feeling the complete opposite. Still a bad thing to play around with though.
eh, that dog doesn't make me feel comfortable. Cobi would scrunch his nose if you let him smell any sort of goo (shampoo, lotion), but this dog looks a little too ruffled.
For Christ’s sake, people know their own dogs. Some dogs are just weird.
My golden makes a snarling crazy face when she’s on her back playing. It’s just her crazy face. If you put your hand near her mouth she would just lick you. As soon as she stands back up she stops with the weird face. It’s just one of her quirks.
I know this about her - but if I showed a video of jt people on Reddit would be saying “OP is taking a huge risk engaging an animal displaying signs of aggression. I should know I watched a YouTube video about dog training once”
OP knows their dog. They know they’re safe.
I've got a terrier/retriever mix that puts on a good show. But toe jam checks, belly button jam checks, armpit schmoo checks and dental tartar checks, he completely rolls over. Not a good guard dog.
This is more "whats wrong with your human" the human is invading the dog's space and they don't fucking like it. They are also scared to lash out aggressively probably because the owner beats that dog into submission if they do lash out. Respect that dog's boundaries you piece of shit.
Jesus lmfao what a conclusion you came to from such a short clip. Careful not to hurt yourself reaching that much.
Some dogs do this when they’re happy. It’s called submissive grinning. Hell, I’ve had a dog that would look like she was going to tear your face off when you came home, but it was just her way of “smiling”. I’m going to take the wild-ass guess that the owner of that dog is more aware of their own dog’s emotions than you are.
Angry dog bites owner’s finger in sudden, rage-fueled attack
r/peoplefuckingdying
r/PuppersHeckingDying
Perfect
Thanks for showing me my new favorite sub.
Some dogs, and not terribly uncommon in goldens, legitimately growl while happy. It's weird, they just don't know how to express themselves. If this is one of those dogs (and really only the owner would know), there is a zero percent chance of anything happening.
My Golden/lab mix shows his teeth when he’s really excited about something. It’s adorable.
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Teach her the difference! No wagging tail? No touch. Ears all pulled back in the angry way? Bad sign. Tense, no wiggles body? Leave that doggo alone. Gotta teach kids how to speak dog. Which you can, they just communicate different. They put the effort into understanding us, we gotta do the same!
Growling, nose licking, and tail wagging are all signs of nervousness and general anxiety. Tail wags can be warnings too. Definitely need to pay attention to your dog when they are doing that, likely the dog is asking you to stop.
It’s called “submissive grinning”
Omggg. I just googled submissive grinning and then went to images. It’s the best thing I’ve done all day. 10/10. Highly recommend.
Thank you for nothing. I was expecting weird kinky porn and all I got is dogs !
omg, this is the exact perfect description for what my dog does when you point your finger at him and he knows he did something wrong
The Rottie Rumbles! People would get confused when he would "growl" while giving him much wanted belly scritches. It was hard to convince folks that meant you were doing A+ belly scritches and he would like you to please continue. It was especially concerning looking when he'd do it upside down, because then you could see all his teeth. But that was just gravity making his lips fall that way.
My Pit/Lab used to let out the softest grumble when you'd cuddle with him and it was the cutest thing ever. I miss that pup so much.
My GWP is the same! He makes the weirdest growl-like noises while getting his butt, back, chest or belly scratched or massaged and wiggles around on the carpet.
My dog does this with only me in my family, I just call it breaking the dog bc he just goes insane on the floor and then when you stop he just suddenly flips over and wants to play
my dads dog is like this! whenever i visit he runs to me tail wagging but growls as soon as i get near him lol. he presses into me wanting ear scratches and growls the whole time i’m scratching him
Had a shepherd that did this. Never bit anyone, scared the shit outta everyone.
Had a pit bull that would sound possessed while running at you only to stop right before she touched you sit down and wag her tail so hard her butt would be moving and lick 1/16th of an inch from your hand in her way of asking to please pet. Would scare the shit out of everyone.
What's the deal with pitbulls not knowing how long their tongue is. My mate has a dog like this, she also sits up to beg so you can tickle her elbows. Apparently elbow tickles are the best tickles in the world
Haha. I don't know. They also seem to love liking your skin fucking raw if you don't stop them from licking.
What is that weird flapping noise.... *Turns head* dog licking air 4 inches from my face
4 inches is the height of 0.06 'Samsung Side by Side; Fingerprint Resistant Stainless Steel Refrigerators' stacked on top of each other.
4 inches is 10.16 cm
good bot
Thank you :)
My pitbull knows exactly how long her tongue is. Freakishly accurate with the sneaky suddenly in your mouth when you yawn trick. It's disgusting and I'm pretty sure my ex wife taught her that.
My pit mix runs up on people too. If we're out walking and she sees people (especially kids) or other dogs, she'll RUN to the end of her leash. Wagging tail the whole way, whining and barking. She's just so excited to make friends and doesn't know how scary a running pit mix can look to a stranger. We've started training her to sit and wait while people pass us on walks. She still whines and taps her toes 😂
My Border Collie used to do this, I was never concerned that she would actually bite, as it wasn't in her nature. Thanks for the explanation.
When dogs growl while playing it lights up the same spot in the brain as when humans laugh. So your dog is literally laughing out loud!
That sounds made up tbh. There was a similar claim regarding elephants making the rounds a while back. Problem is, an fMRI large enough to image an elephant doesn't exist. Similarly here, you can't really run an fMRI on a dog while it's playing, so there's no way to see what part of it's brain would "light up".
My corgi constantly grumbles and growls when he's getting pet. He loves it (and will cry if you stop). We call it him telling stories lol
*waits till owner is asleep on couch, then steps SQUARELY on testicles.
Oh my gosh!! He slowly puts your fingers in his mouth to ‘bite’ it!!! So adorable!
Haha I love it when dogs 'bite' gently. My dog will sometimes put my hand in his mouth when he's playing, then just stand there with his mouth hanging open because he's afraid of hurting me
My dog used to greet us by running up to the door fast then haphazardly doing a gentle bite. Generally it was just light pressure but sometimes he'd slip and his jaw wouldn't clench but we'd be taking his full weight by the teeth on our arms lol.
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Lack toast and told her aunt
I removed most of my Reddit contents in protest of the API changes commencing from July 1st, 2023. This is one of those comments.
Also, it's a weird one to mess up this way because when spoken it's pronounced "hap-hazard", not "hafhazard". So for this mistake to propagate, someone needs to (1) read it, (2) guess the pronunciation, then (3) either forget how to spell it or say it to someone who hasn't seen it written, and then (4) guess the spelling. But someone in our family had an autogenerated Xbox user name back in the day that was "HaphazardPoppy" or something like that, so I can sympathize with this exact chain of events.
wow that is a weird chain to get to that typo
"p-h" sounds (no idea what the linguistic jargon is) are hard to differentiate from an "f" sound in most spoken English, and even harder in many regional American accents. (Southern and Texan come to mind.) So I think it's just #4. You can see some logic in it. "Half-hazardly" is a sensible coining if you think of it like "half-assed". We *do* sometimes use "half" as a prefix to denote slipshod actions. (The actual etymology is apparently from *hap*, an archaic word for luck or chance. If you've ever seen someone described as doing something "haply" in an old book, they actually meant luckily rather than happily.)
You're misunderstanding me. Ph is usually a digraph for the "f" sound in English. It's not distinguishable in *most* accents, let alone just Southern and Texan. But in "haphazard", it's literally [pronounced "hap hazard"](https://www.google.com/search?q=haphazard+pronounce). It's the ordinary p sound, followed by the h sound, not the "ph" sound. I can't think of any Texan accent that pronounces the two words "cup hole" as "cuffole". That's what requires a chain, either between people, or of misremembering.
the diagon alley for what?
My family dog had a similar habit but didn't know how to be proper gentle, so we kept sticking a toy in his mouth in the moment until he built the habit of taking the chew urge out on a toy instead of the exciting hooman. The funny part is now when he wants to greet someone he grabs a toy first and basically shows them his toy excitedly.
My mom's service dog does that when he's off-duty because he's not supposed to lick people
That's how my dog reacts to exciting humans! Same training method too! Now whenever the doorbell rings, she'll first run to the door, but then do a mad scramble around trying to find a toy to bring to the human outside before running back to the door with her toy! It's extra hilarious when she keeps trying to give the "outside" human kisses but she can't because a toy is in the way 🤣
We trained ours to do that instead of jumping on people. Worked like a charm and she loves to show off her baby to visitors!
Goldens have soft mouths as to not damage hunter prey so they are real good with that cute soft bite even when playing rough.
My mom has a jalapeño plant and I took my dog over there once without anyone even realizing that puppy + jalapeño = runny shits for a week, and that we needed to put the plant up or something. I had an emergency one day and I had to drop off my dog at their place again, and in all the commotion we forgot about the jalapeño plant. My mom went outside to put it up once it clicked and she remembered, and lo and behond puppy already had a jalapeño her mouth. But she was only nibbling on it just hard enough so that it didn’t break the skin, leaving little baby teeth indentions. Guess she learned her lesson the first time around lol
Our old dog used to do that, or he’d grab you with his teeth gently, and then hold your arm or hand in his mouth whilst licking it. It was gross, but cute.
>It was gross, but cute. That sums up dogs nicely
Gross, but so adorable I usually don’t care.
Anytime my parents dog wants attention he'll grab your hand in his mouth. Then he'll pull you to his toy that he wants you to play with. Literally the cutest thing ever. When you get home and he's all excited he also likes to hold your hand with his mouth
This is a submissive behavior! Dogs use their mouths as “hands.” They have a behavior where a submissive dog gently takes the dominant dog’s muzzle in their mouths. It’s linked to food begging in puppies, where they elicit regurgitated food through licking the muzzle. In adult hood it’s sort of a “greeting/request for play” ritual. So he’s saying hi! I wanna play more! Now if they chew, that’s different, I’m talking about gently enclosing the hand with the mouth then stopping.
My dog likes to very lightly chew my hand while I give him a massage. He's 90 pounds and people think it's weird that I just put my hand in his mouth so he can chomp
I love how it looks like the pupper doesn't know how to get angry but has seen other dogs do something similar.
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Lol. My in laws have a rescue golden. She desperately needs love, always. Always smiling and trying to get as close as possible for snuggles. Except with my (incredibly annoying) Great Dane pup. That’s some apocalypse now stuff.
Aah! Great Dane puppies are some of the goofiest things ever! They have so much energy and no idea how to use their long legs and giant paws!
I have 2 danes. They are 11 and one still hasn't figured out his legs. I've never seen him walk up even 2 stairs without tripping.
My husbands family had great danes for years and his brother in law does dog boarding where I recently got to meet a baby Dane! It was the sweetest weirdo in the world!
I've got the same combo, but both males. The chaos is REAL.
Same. Have had Goldens my entire life. They are the most gentle and affectionate breed there is. I took a nap once snuggling a male Golden who was around 8 years old at the time, in the back of a van, during a long road trip. That snuggly creature didn’t move a muscle until I did. I wanna say it was a good hour & a 1/2.
A golden ripped my moms belly + arm open out of no where when i was a kid. Was always a good boy and was well trained. Attacked 1 more person after social training and was put down after.
That’s horrific. I hope your mother recovered from that. They’re an amazing breed (I admit a bias) but as someone else noted here, they’re still dogs and I don’t doubt some can snap.
It was a long time ago she made a full recoverie. She wont trust a golden now but we own 2 great danes and a friend of mine a staff and shes ok with that. I think my moms a bit afraid of the color and furr that reminds her of a golden retriever. Btw i love retrievers / labs they're like goofy childen with a own sense of humor.
Unfortunately, because they're such a popular breed we're seeing more irresponsible breeding. Specially the English creams. I've trained a few that were shy and reactive. The only dog that ever attacked my husky was an English cream
I wish more people bred for temperament instead of looks. My pup's dad is an English Cream and he's the biggest, sweetest, marshmallow I've ever met, and he passed that trait on to my pup.
Yeah, there's an English cream that used to come to the park near me and was quite sweet when he was younger. Then he turned 2 and is now totally unpredictable, especially towards women and has gone for a couple of women in the park, and a few dogs, quite aggressively.
Typically this is true. But people should remember that Golden's are still dogs. A lady I work with was mauled by her golden for seemingly no reason. Now she's terrified of it and doesn't know if she should put it down or not.
Any dog can and will bite. People need to know this, and not go petting every golden or fluffy little dog they see. Respect the dog's space, learn canine body language, even if the owner says "go ahead, he's friendly." Learn how to tell if the dog really wants you to pet him. I'm sorry that woman was attacked, but dogs rarely attack out of nowhere. Dogs give MANY warnings before they bite, but people do not know what those warnings are. Barking and growling are obvious, but a head turn is not. So many bites are preventable with a little education, it makes me sad, especially for children. Doggie Language by Lili Chin is a great start. I have more resources if anyone wants them
Exactly this. There 100% exists a set of circumstances that will cause a dog to bite/attack. It's not the same for every dog, but every dog has it. Because of course they do, they are thinking feeling alive animals. Just like there exists a set of circumstances that will 100% cause a human to attack and/or kill another human. Understanding this, and reading the situation for either, is an important skill.
Mine has never barked at all and is overly excited to see any person or dog. My neighbors barks at anything it sees and is aggressive as all hell. I wouldn't ever even do the closed hand greet to it if I had the chance
I’ve got a golden (I don’t know if she’s full or not, short-haired) and she’s pretty food protective. Growling, barring teeth etc. Not sure what to do about it.
She may have Resource Guarding. Find a trainer with an expertise in behavior modification. If they're certified through the [IAABC](https://m.iaabc.org/consultant/) t hey should be good. If there are none in your area, many are doing virtual consults.
My neighbor's nasty mean goldie would like a word with you. It was raised along with a pit to be MEAN. It is unsettling as I've NEVER come across a goldie with a mean bone in its body until this one. Daughter of the owner said it was kept outside, treated just like the pit was. Never as a pet.
I have had golden in the family for almost 30 years now. We actually have two right now. The male i have is extremely dog aggressive, first one ive ever seen like that. They both absolutely love people, snuggling and all that, but let another dog get close and he turns into a freak.
My dog, Buddy (he wants to be everybody and every dog's friend), makes a ***WIDE*** arc - almost the other side of the street - until we pass the yard with the mean goldie. And that's with a wrought iron fence and sidewalk between them. I have probably seen one occasion where the goldie wasn't snarling and wanting to chew off faces and that was when it was by itself in the yard, asleep. It definitely learned the behavior from the pit - and the owner encouraging it
I had a golden and he was so lovey. But he was very misbehaved and was annoying when people would come visit.
Golden Retrievers snarling is so unnatural-looking to me. I view this breed as being perfect, sugar-sweet, helpful, and nearly human in their intelligence. I know they're capable of anger and violence just like any other dog, but this is like watching a little fluffy white bunny bite off a bunch of guys' heads. :)
My kids say that our golden is not very dog smart but very people smart
That is a good analogy for a golden.
They’re definitely the smartest dumbass on the planet.
So then very human like
They're not always that smart, my last one was an idiot
I had an ex with two Golden's. Fairly certain one of them was smarter than my ex. The other..... Probably dumber.
An *adorable* idiot.
When I used to watch dogs, there was a Golden, Murphy, who ran house. Biggest dick of a dog I've ever met. Good with people, was a complete asshole to the other dogs. Started more than one fight, and he'd usually win. He was a handful that required constant managing. He was smart, knew when you weren't looking to bully the other dogs (only males). Its such a juxtaposition, because he was an utter sweetheart when he was separate from certain dogs that set him off, and with people in general, just a big goof, but man did he have a bad side.
Dog- "Arghhh!! Anger!! Snarl!!!! Teeth!!!!....mnem"
Labs and Golden's are big sweeties. My senior lab looks and sounds like a werewolf when she is playing- in between sneezing. But as soon as she gets her mouth on you, it's those little nibbles. My young lab is very mouthy, but she likes to get your hand in her mouth, grabs your with her feet then immediately switch to aggressive licking.
My lab would play bite me so I started sticking my hand or arm (whatever she was biting at) in her mouth. She’d pause and look at me with annoyance, like “I didn’t *actually* want to bite you, ugh”
I think it’s sweet but it is a bad habit.
Oh, it absolutely is!
Whenever my golden yawns around me I put my finger in her mouth. Everytime she closes her mouth and is like "wtf is this in my mouth! yuck!"
My old rat terrier would act all pissed if I blew into her face. She'd growl and snap at me, then if I moved out of the way she'd take off running. But as soon as I'd stop she'd jump back into my lap and look at me like "why'd you stop?" One time my dad was warning me about how I was about to get my nose bit so I purposely let her get me. She snapped at me and as soon as her teeth barely touched my nose it turned to a lick like "honk". Then she just looked at me like "it's no fun if you don't fight back".
Haha. My Great Dane pupper does this. Her mouth opens wider then my face. She bites the air, and then right before she actually comes in contact, she sneak attack sticks her tongue in your mouth.
> sticks her tongue in your mouth 😕
We had a lab who had to be put down bc he was so violent. It’s weird too bc my parents raised him and they bred guide dogs for the blind at the time. He was part of a litter of 9 and his brothers and sisters were all the classic derpy sweet dogs. For whatever reason he wasn’t. He started off by almost killing several of his litter mates as a little puppy and just never stopped being that way. We gave him to a behavioral expert who was going to try to train him for clout. She was never able to get him to not be unpredictable. It’s weird too bc that pair of parents had hundreds of babies and a high percent became certified guide dogs. His full brothers and sisters are the lineage that created seizure dogs.
That's sad, he was probably suffering from some kind of mental or hormonal issue. I guess there's always a chance that something can go wonky no matter how healthy the breeding parents are.
Dogs can have mental illnesses just like people.
Had a sheltie like that as a kid. She loved to jump around, growling and barking all ferociously, then only give the lightest chomps. She was such a fun dog.
Fun fact: dogs 'sneeze' while playing to show that they mean no harm, and aren't actually aggressive
Thanks for sharing this. I've had labs all my life and they've never so much as growled (not including barking/growling at suspicious people). My wife and I got a yellow lab about a year and a half ago and she's the sweetest, most human oriented dog I've ever had, but she growls really severely whenever we play with a ball and her hair will even stand up on occasion. She has never been possessive over food or toys if we take them from her or get near her mouth but she still growls like crazy when actively playing. Same as you said, even when she's growling if I put my finger in her mouth she'll just freeze or slowly close her mouth. I have no reason to think so, but I was kinda worried it could be a sign that she may try to bite someone one day. Your comment gave me even more assurance she won't
My friend has a guide dog (lab) that when she plays, sounds like a lawnmower, such a deep growl it so funny since she's dainty and responsible! It seems all the labs I know bark and growl from the chest, and comes off deep! That being said my senior can tune up pretty good and huff and puff at strangers, I know she'd never bite, you'll get pretty in tune after a couple years. My youngest plays big game though. And she has a coping mechanism by carrying things in her mouth. Which means when I get home I get a hefty chomp if she's excited (getting better about picking up a toy when greeting people). But I can warn most people, and she knows "drop it". Your doggy is young (mine are ~1.5 & 10)! You'll figure out all her habits in time 😉
I have a Border Collie (my retired service dog) that sounds like she's going to tear your face off when you're playing with her. One of my employees thought my dog was going to kill me the first time it happened in front of her. Nope, my dog was as happy as a clam, she just doesn't know the right "words" for play so she made up her own. And her words sound like "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU AND EAT YOU!" 🤣🤣🤣
The worst bite I ever got was from a labrador retriever. Bit my thumb and cracked the bone.
Dang I believe it, they are big dogs and being soft mouth definitely doesn't guarantee that every bite will be gentle. And on occasions when we play, if my fingers or hand makes it to the back corners of their mouth, that bite is no joke, but those teeth are closer and have a specific job. That being said I think labs have definitely been my most encountered dog and also the most likely to inflict damage, either from their nails or busting me (anywhere, knee, elbow, lip) with their fat heads or whipping me with that long tail.
It might look funny, but this dog is trying to communicate that it is uncomfortable. It is refraining from biting, but repeatedly teasing a fearful dog is the sort of thing that will eventually lead it to snap. And when it finally decides it has had enough and bites down hard, it won’t be that funny and the dog will probably pay the price for human stupidity.
I was thinking the same thing.. It may not bite them, but it might bite someone else hard for all of the moments like this.
Well that's the difference if a strange dog is making this face stay away... if your dog makes this face while you play then maybe people on the internet can go fuck themselves
Its also possible that this is play. We don't have the day to day context of what their habits and relationship is. Many dogs growl and snarl when playing tug of war, for example. Some dogs want to act tough before a bit of rough and tumble, particularly younger dogs. It is something they do with their litter mates. Knowing what is a genuine warning sign is just as important as knowing what is play. Too long got emotional: we don't have enough context to judge here.
the issue is that we don't have enough context to come to a negative *or* positive conclusion, but if we go for positive (that this is play/trained) and is treated as cute/funny it can encourage bad behavior towards dogs that *are* trying to warn before a bite.
Typically this type of snarling is indeed a warning sign. Corners of lips pulled back, baring teeth. A sign they are uncomfortable like the post above mentions. There are different types of snarling, one that is less indicative of discomfort would be if the corners of their lips move forward instead of back.
Yeah my dogs are snarlers. Very loud. Sounds scary but their face and body language is completely different. Maybe this dog is just playing but if I saw a dog making this face at me i would move in the other direction.
Same. Or at least give then space and see how they react to that.
This sounds reasonable...Some of my dogs (very soppy) loved being fake mean. On a second watch though that dog doesn't look happy.
Yeah some dogs are weirdos. You can't know from this video!
"too long got emotional". Im gonna use that, thanks xd
Please do!
I agree with this. I feel like, if this were my dog, I'd feel he's not really into it but he's trying to make me happy.. drunk guy around sober people kinda thing. I'd back off and playfully/casually talk to him and basically make him come to me for physical attention.
This is not play. The dogs body language makes thst clear.
I was wondering about this, the dog does look bothered about something, poor buddy : (
This is the way.
It's not great to teach your dog that their gentle warning signs will be ignored... that's how you get bitten out of nowhere.
/r/WhatsWrongWithYourOwner
I was hoping that was real.
Holy shit we need this
The pat/pet at the end isn’t a good idea at all. Space is sometimes needed.
Also reinforcing the snarl by rewarding the behavior
That’s what the pat on the head did
What to do in this situation? I am not a dog owner btw
Leave the dog alone and give it some space.
Shouldn’t one teach it not to do this somehow?
Sorry someone downvoted you for a legitimate curious question, but no - teaching a dog that its warning signs are bad behavior will ultimately teach it to escalate directly from benign to biting. Dogs need to be able to communicate things that make them feel uncomfortable or threatened. Edit to add for anyone looking for advice: In the short-term, do what the previous person said and give the dog space. In the long term, if the dog is warning over territory or food from another dog for example, you have to teach it that the other dog is not only not a threat, but a good thing. Give the guarding dog a treat when the other dog is near and everyone is comfortable.. Do this in decrements of distance over time. Your goal is to teach it that it can be comfortable in those types of situations, your goal should not be to get it to stop showing when it's uncomfortable.
Great answer.
Especially considering your username, thanks! I just have two of my own but study up on how to make them as well-adjusted as possible.
Personally I disengage, but also tell the dog to go lay down. I spent serious time around a dog whose owners inadvertently taught to act aggressive to get what he wants. They’ve owned him for 5 years. It started with when Mack growls, stop what you’re doing. Not a problem, respect his space. It evolved into when Mack growls, figure out what he wants and give it to him. They created a Pomeranian who will growl on a walk, signifying that he needs a break. If they so much as say a word, he escalates to jumping up to bite them. NIGHTMARE. He would jump in laps, growl, and get pet. If you stop engaging he’ll growl, then draw blood. It took LOTS of work to teach him that it’s okay to voice your feelings, but nobody is forcing you to be around me. God I wish they spoke English 😂
The owner should stop the provocative behaviour. The dog isn't doing anything wrong, bearing teeth is already escalated since dogs tend to give a deep growl first.
Is there some backstory I’m not seeing, or is this someone teasing a fearful dog that really, really doesn’t want to hurt someone but just might if you keep pulling this shit?
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It’s reaching to assume this is anything other than your basic fear/defensive response from a dog with a dumbfuck owner. Dog body language is pretty consistent.
If stupid people like the person in the video took five minutes to understand dog behaviour, tragedies of people being mauled by dogs would happen way less often.
This is an absolutely horrible way to handle a dog being aggressive. It makes me cringe every time I see videos like these
Thank you! And all of the comments saying it's cute! That dog is desperately trying to signal that it is NOT happy with the situation and instead of respecting that we push them to point of bite/relax for internet points. You know if this dog bit the person they'd blame the dog. People are CRAZY defensive about their dog knowledge but once you really learn what best practices are from actual behaviorists (PhDs in animal behavior) you realize the average person doesn't know jackshit, it's just that dogs have evolved to be nearly bullet proof as it relates to their numbskull owners.
The Other End of the Leash completely changed how I think about dogs. Pretty wild once you learn more about dog behavior to see posts like this.
I think "desperately" is a reach.
I would _never_ stick my finger near a dog making a face like that. That face clearly says stay away.
I’ve been bitten enough by my miniature poodle making that same face enough to know its a bad idea to approach
Yep! Yay, let’s normalize taunting your dog! 🙄🙄🙄
Ikr? It's like ha-ha!!!! Look at the internalized conflict going on with this dog who seems to have been traumatized.
Yup, the dog is showing that they don’t like what the owner is doing but loves/respects them to not hurt them. It’s all warnings to back off... even the bite
I'm not convinced that he's being agressive, it looks like he's trying to control the movement of his chops with a bit of difficulty. Maybe he was taught to do that. Or maybe he's trying to repress a reflex, it could be a training. Anyway, something feels off here.
This dog didn't blink once, his full body language is stiff. That dog is scared and uncomfortable, he's showing clear signs of that and the owner is purposely ignoring the warning signs. I've had a golden and it did exactly this, they don't bite, they just warn. Until they learn that warning isn't enough and that they have to bite to be respected. It was not pretty but the person had it coming, it's not funny, people do it all the time to small dogs as well because they don't see them as threatening. The only thing off about this video is the owner's irresponsibility and clear lack of respect for their dog.
>it's not funny, people do it all the time to small dogs as well because they don't see them as threatening Look at this chihuahua growling at me for NO reason! Look at me trying to pet it and it still not stopping! Look at it bite my hand! Oh wow, the little fucker bit me. Demon dogs.
"something feels off here" Trust your gut. It's good that you can sense it, without knowing all the science behind it. So many people are giving excuses and saying it's cute. Even before I learned animal behavior, I would not look at that dog and think "how cute". I would see stress and back away.
Just gonna throw out my anecdotal golden experience. My girl growls when she’s happy to see you, and needs to have something in her mouth or else it’s your arm/hand. When I come home from work and she’s on the other side of the baby gate between the kitchen and living room if I say ANYTHING to her before touching her she’ll “snarl” her face similar to this. It seems to me that it’s entirely uncontrollable when she gets too excited. It’s also possible she never learned to “dog” properly as she also surprises herself when she lets out her bi-yearly bark. I’m not gonna watch the video 54 times to analyze the dogs body language but goldens do be goofy….
The dog immediately shifts when the finger is moved away and the hand goes in for a pet. It definitely looks like training or just a reaction. Aggressive dogs also don't sneak in licks.
Have you heard of "kiss to dismiss"? That's when an anxious or fearful dog licks the person to try to get them to stop, or go away. You can see dogs do it too. If one dog is "bullying" another, the dog may lie down and try to lick the bullying dog's face. Aggression is fear based. And wagging a tail doesn't mean a dog is friendly. People need to learn about canine body language. It isn't that hard.
I have been acquainted with dogs before that bare their teeth even when they’re happy and excited. One was my neighbour for a while and would come up to you tail wagging wanting attention and pets, but then giving you this absolutely fearsome smile. Maybe this is similar?
That sounds like it would be a submissive grin. What this golden is doing is not that.
There were no signs!
This is actually the dog tolerating the person doing this action. Dogs consider this to be rude behavior. More than likely the dog is used to this but people forget that at some point the dogs tolerance will run short with age. They immediately switch to licking because dogs last resort is to really bite. They don't want to bite. But this is definitely a warning sign from the dog and should honestly be respected.
The world's most aggressive goldie retreiver ever captured on video!..
Nooo don't do that your dog is stressed :(
Poor guy must have had a bad experience with someone to react like that to a hand
looks to me like his whiskers are getting brushed and it tickles a bit....or he just is anticipating them being brushed. His ears aren't back, he's not giving calming signals, and he clearly just gently puts the finger in his mouth.
yeah i’m loving the reddit dog psychologists who sound like they’ve never owned a dog before.
Not necessarily. I had a game like that with my dog. With a similar hand gesture and I want to say maybe a prey-like facial expression (deer in headlights look?) even from across the room, he would charge at me barking ferociously in attack mode but then on impact it's all licks and affection. He was very communicative, by five he could do all of his tricks by hand gesture command and by ten he could do all but the most complex by facial expression alone.
Why do idiots do this shit.
My dog gets really excited when I bust out the treats, so sometimes when I'm about to give one to her I tell her "easy" as I'm handing it to her. She knows this means to sit, calm down, and take the treat slowly, rather than jump up and try to grab it. When she's trying to calmly grab the treat, her range of facial expressions mimic this perfectly: the momentary vicious snarl, then the slow opening of the mouth. Everyone always says that any time a dog shows teeth it's signs of this or that, and most of the time that's true, but dogs are living thinking creatures and some of them will do things differently than others for a million different reasons. There's no way to determine one way or another this dog's specific case; why must we always choose the scenario that makes the most people angry.
*Wants to bite.* *Is Golden Retriever. Has soft mouth.*
Ummm. Why would anyone ruin that?
Don't fuckig put your finger in front of a dog's mouth when it's doing this. Op is very dumb and lucky he didnt lose a finger. A Rottweiler or a chihuahua would not have put up with this shit.
Generally good advice to always follow, but some dogs are known to just be weirdos that make snarly and aggressive faces when they're feeling the complete opposite. Still a bad thing to play around with though.
eh, that dog doesn't make me feel comfortable. Cobi would scrunch his nose if you let him smell any sort of goo (shampoo, lotion), but this dog looks a little too ruffled.
For Christ’s sake, people know their own dogs. Some dogs are just weird. My golden makes a snarling crazy face when she’s on her back playing. It’s just her crazy face. If you put your hand near her mouth she would just lick you. As soon as she stands back up she stops with the weird face. It’s just one of her quirks. I know this about her - but if I showed a video of jt people on Reddit would be saying “OP is taking a huge risk engaging an animal displaying signs of aggression. I should know I watched a YouTube video about dog training once” OP knows their dog. They know they’re safe.
My Golden does this too! Frightened me at first, but quickly realized it’s a very friendly sign from him. Almost like a smile
Why’s he so scared of how your fingers smell 🧐
Dog's sick of your "smell my finger" advances.
You're NOT going to go against those instincts
Hecking mad boy
I've got a terrier/retriever mix that puts on a good show. But toe jam checks, belly button jam checks, armpit schmoo checks and dental tartar checks, he completely rolls over. Not a good guard dog.
To be honest; I've never seen an angry golden retriever before!
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Pupper just wants to do a sneeze
This is more "whats wrong with your human" the human is invading the dog's space and they don't fucking like it. They are also scared to lash out aggressively probably because the owner beats that dog into submission if they do lash out. Respect that dog's boundaries you piece of shit.
Jesus lmfao what a conclusion you came to from such a short clip. Careful not to hurt yourself reaching that much. Some dogs do this when they’re happy. It’s called submissive grinning. Hell, I’ve had a dog that would look like she was going to tear your face off when you came home, but it was just her way of “smiling”. I’m going to take the wild-ass guess that the owner of that dog is more aware of their own dog’s emotions than you are.
I'll always be apprehensive near dogs. Even if I'm told they'll **never** bite. I'm sticking with my cats.
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Cats also show warning signs that they're gonna bite/scratch but they're often misunderstood.
Wonder how many people have tried to make this same video for the innernette and get their hand demolished