Q: At the vet the other day, my nine-year-old dog snapped at a puppy who sniffed him in his face. He didn’t bite the puppy though. Is this normal behaviour? Why did he do it?
A: Let’s look at this situation from your dog’s point of view, bearing in mind that a series of events, stacked on top of each other, may have made him feel quite stressed and anxious, resulting in him snapping at the puppy.
Maybe your dog wasn’t feeling well or was in pain, which is why you went to the vet. Feeling unwell or being in pain is stressful enough as it is.
Travelling in the car can also be stressful for some dogs. Most dogs find vet visits stressful. Waiting in the vet’s rooms with strange dogs, strange people and unfamiliar smells would also increase his stress levels.
The ‘final straw’ could have been a strange puppy sniffing his face. He snapped at the puppy to communicate that he was feeling uncomfortable and to tell the puppy to leave him alone.
Puppies are still learning how to politely socialise with other dogs, and many adult dogs find pups irritating and rude at the best of times without adding the stress of all of these events on top of this.
Your dog didn’t bite the puppy, but instead showed self-control in ‘snapping’ to communicate his discomfort and to get the puppy to leave him alone.
I’m not surprised that he reacted this way and don’t feel that it’s anything to be concerned about, especially given the context in which this happened.
Alyson Kingsley-Hall, behaviourist
