what type of behavior is this??

[cfuh]

My Maggie is a black lab mix and when she sees another dog, she sits and lets the dog sniff her but only for a short period of time. Then she gets all aggressive with the dog. Does anyone know what's happening? She's normally a friendly dog. I'm just baffled. Thanks.

[stacwase]

I thinks saying "You may sniff me, but only long enough to know what the scent of the Queen is. Then just back off!"

[heinz57_79]

It happens a lot with dogs at the dog park here. Even my Chloe will act like that sometimes. Basically, it's setting boundries. Chloe will let a strange dog come up and sniff... once. If the dog gets too pushy and wants to keep sniffing, she'll snap at him, and tell him to get the hell away. I think she's saying, "I said you could sniff me... once! You know what I smell like, now back off!" If the dog backs off, she's fine and will keep playing.

[Fallon]

That behavior is normal for most dogs. Some dogs may be a little more leniant but others can be more aggressive, It mainly matters on the dog. Most dogs probably just let a little sniffing happen to find out who each other are then they get territorial.

[cfuh]

yeah, i figured she was telling the other dog to lay off but when she was a puppy, it wouldn't bother her. i guess when we all get older, we're more incline to set boundaries.


thanks for the responses!!