Not sure why but this evening just after I had gone to bed my girlfriend went to have a kiss and cuddle with our ddb pup as she does every night and he turned and snarled at her..at first she thought maybe she had woken him but he then done it a second time...so she (rightly or wrongly) proceeded to make a fuss he turned away so my girlfriend left him and led him to the kitchen for the evening which he did without fuss..this is very out of character for him and I have just been down to see him and he was fine with me..he is 9 months old..any ideas for why he done this greatly appreciated..I have 2 young kids and obviously want to nip things in the bud...thanks in advance

If its out of character I'd first of all suggest a vet check for him, to rule out any physical problems. A vet check will rule out anything obvious, but do bear in mind that some medical problems which cause problem behaviour may need more indepth checking eg blood tests.

A lot depends on what actually happened, but most dogs to be honest don't enjoy a kiss and a cuddle, nor hugging :) as it's a human (primate) thing, not a dog thing, and some dogs can find it actually threatening. He may have always disliked it, but now have found the confidence to say, "gerroff!"

Do the kids often hug and cuddle him by the way? If so I'd ensure he does have his own space and can get away from them or anyone else if he wants to.

If nothing comes up in the vet check, it would be a good idea to get him assessed behaviourally so that you can get a home training programme going :)

Lindsay
x

I agree with Lindsay.  Many dogs find this quite threatening - to have another dog/person's face shoved into theirs.  Some dogs are ok with it, and if he has always been ok with it in the past then I agree you should get him checked out at the vet's as there might be a physical reason for this (ie pain) when touched somewhere.

thanks for the replies..he has never shown an adverse reaction to us doing this in the past..I think he snarled before she even touched him..he had been out for a walk a little while before and was flaked out on the couch maybe this was the reason..he was at the vets a couple of weeks back and he had blood tests etc done whilst he was in everything is fine in that respect..he isnt a very cuddly dog but he has never reacted like this..

Stu, I have a bitch that 'growls' if she doesn't want to be cuddled. It's a fact of life. She is just a grumpy so and so at times. Other times she will 'beg' for a cuddle ;) The grump lets us know and we just have to respect it. Thankfully I have her son who would do cuddles 24/7 :D 30 kilos of male dog trying to cuddle up on your lap isn't very funny when you are trying to watch your favourite TV programme :)

:) thanks lindylou..he has been fine today maybe as you say he was just in a bad mood and wanted peace and quiet..hope so anyway!.