My dog showing teeth at me!?

Question

I have a little 12 lbs dog. She is very loving and gentle and always shows a lot of submissive behavior such as rolling over onto her back.

She is a total lap dog and loves being around people and sitting next to them sleeping.

She is now 18 months old and I have noticed that if I try to stop her doing something ie sitting on the bed she showes her teeth.

Just a tiny bit but I notice, my response is to slap her straight away with a "NO".

What is the best and most productive way to train this out of her.

Thanks

Answer 1

this is a challange to you for leadership of the pack you need to roll her on her back and hold her for a while to let her know that this is still YOUR pack

Answer 2

My pit bull does this - pulls back his front lips just enough to show his tiny front teeth - not his fangs. He also adopts a burly submissive posture - bearing his belly.

He does this right before he leaps vertically and licks my face.

Funny, I have a big, broad, toothy smile - and he only started to do this when he would see me smiling at him. He looks like he's smiling back.

He only does this when he's happy - as in, invitation to play, when I get home from work, when he rides in the car, etc. etc.

However I may enjoy this - it's offensive to others. SO, rather than a slap in the face - consider rolling your dog on her back and holding her there for 60 seconds or so? That will show that "smiling" isn't acceptable.

If there is any growling involved - grab her sternly by the scruff of the neck and hold her tightly while telling her "no."

Answer 3

Not slapping her would be a start. That's just cruel, and there are other ways of disciplining your dog. She is a tiny thing, and a smack from you could do a lot of damage, so don't be heartless, be patient.
You are doing the right thing by firmly telling her no. However, when she shows you her teeth is she also growling, or is she staying silent? It sounds to me, based on how you've described your dog, that she probably thinks you trying to stop her jumping on the bed is a game.
I had the same issue with my Wheaten, and what I did was accompany my "NO" with a loud noise. I clapped my hands really hard. This made him realise that I was serious, as the loud noise brought his attention back to me and what I was saying. He now comes into my bedroom all the time, and does not jump on the bed. Be consistent. It took me about 2 weeks to get the message across.
Good Luck with it, and PLEASE, PLEASE, stop hitting your dog. One of these days she'll defend herself when you hit her, bite you, and you'll end up putting her to sleep. Is that really what you want?

Answer 4

Well the first thing you are doing wrong is slapping her. This will just lead to aggression. If she is doing something that you do not approve of tell her with a firm NO, and guide her off the bed, or put your knee up if she is jumping on you. If she is showing her teeth out of anger than you need to firmly put your hand in front on her face (you can't appear to be afraid since dogs can sense fear) and show that YOU are the dominate one and not her. She might be showing her teeth just to show off, I have seen where this is a way of playing around and because most people think it is funny (when not in an aggressive manor) the dogs will continue to do it because they like humans, like the attention. Also, if you put something up to your dogs nose and they do not like the smell of it they will make the same funny face. It just all depends on the situation and what is making her gnarl.

Answer 5

I am glad you didn't punish your dog for his behavior. He would not have understood at all. You did a couple of things you shouldn't do with a dog: first, you should not feed your dog table scraps, second, you should be careful giving treats when there is a strange dog present-it upsets the pecking order, and never stick your hand out to a dog who is concealed under something. His behavior was natural under the circumstances. You gave him some food-he saw competition, so he ran to a safe place to eat it. Then you tried to take it away. He naturally tried to protect what you had given him. To avoid this behavior in the future do not give your dog table scraps or treats when there are other dogs around, and never reach under something to take food away from your dog. A very Good way to be bitten, and you should congratulate your dog for having the sense not to bite the hand he loves.

Answer 6

I know this might sound stupid but rather than smacking her you should start shouting "arrgh!!" really loud when she does it as the smacking thing dosent always work and she will see it as aggression towards her and do it even more.The other one to try is having a squirty gun with water in it and everytime she does something you dont like squirt her with it.
My huskie started doing this and it worried me that she would turn on my kids.I eventually took her to dog training and the guy who did the training said never to smack.A sound of dislike like i said shows then you are not happy.Also,if she snarls at you to put her in a room making that noise and leaving her there for a while,it gets repetative but eventually works and she will realise that you are the boss.Never let her sit above you on a chair or sofa as they associate this with being above you in the pack,which she isnt.
Dont allow her into the bedroom if she carries on doing it and let her know that there are certain areas in the house that she is allowed.The mistake we all make is allowing them up onto furniture and then they want to control where they sit etc.
If she has a bed make sure you say "in your bed" really firmly until she realises this is where she belongs not where she wants.

Answer 7

She is in need of knowing you are the boss not her. It could be a fear thing also. Try verbal commands such as "get down" rather than slapping altho I can see the reason for it but it's obviously not working. Reward "get down" everytime she does. She'll soon stop. Good luck.

Answer 8

You don't say what kind of dog she is. My shih tzu has such a bad underbite that she always looks like she's snarling. Is she growling and looking like she wants to bite while she's showing her teeth? Saying "NO" or "STOP THAT" the minute she does it is good. She needs to know that it's unacceptable behavior before she takes a bite of someone. Sounds like she's a bed guarder!

Answer 9

same as other answers she thinks shes higher up in the pack because she's always being treated like the leader ie. bonding/grooming/etc
you basically need to stop her getting on the bed/sofas/chairs/ your place is your place and she has hers. She should come to you not the other way around. She's possibly confused about who's leading, you need to be the "leader". dont have a staring competition or hit a dog though. they need to trust you not be intimidated by you. show her want you want her to do.

Answer 10

you are doing the best way; pop her sharply on the nose and tell her NO very loudly while making eye contact. this should help and if it doesn't improve after a while then take her to an dog training or a class that will teach her not to do that. sorry that I can't make a suggestion about where to take the training class. anyway, good luck!

Answer 11

Of course she shows her teeth even a little bit when you correct her, because she doesn't like it. The first thing I learned when I took our little dog to obedience class was to correct them, but not with a "No." It may seem silly, but if you correct her with a word, she'll associate your voice with being a bad thing. We were told to correct her with an "uh uh." It has worked for us, and she loves the sound of our voice, but knows when we "uh uh" that she's been bad and she stops. As for breaking her of the habit of showing her teeth, I would suggest correcting her for that as well, but you don't need to slap her. As long as you are stern with the "uh uh," she should understand after a while. I hope this can help you, and good luck!