Why is my dog growling and snapping only at night?
If your dog is snapping and growling at you, it’s irrelevant that it takes place only at night. Assuming the dog’s health is good, you need a serious trainer. With dogs, “why” is a pointless question. You may be doing something that triggers this behavior but only a knowledgeable dog person observing you can tell you what it is. “What” and how to correct the behavior are where you want to go now. Good luck.
Why does my dog growl/snap when awakened, and how can I curb this behavior? (1.5 yr old Lab, this started a few months ago)
There's no way of knowing for sure why your dog is growling or snapping upon awakening. Has anything happened recently that startled your dog awake? That's a possibility, but there may be no obvious reason.I'd contact a positive reinforcement-based trainer in your area for help. Failing that, I'd get on the Karen Pryor website and see if she has anything to say.I'd also take the dog in for a vet checkup; I do that whenever one of my dog's behavior is a change from baseline.I would absolutely not punish the dog for growling and/or snapping. Start throwing cookies (good ones, like pieces of hot dogs or cooked meat) when you wake him/her up. Make waking up yummy snack time and get in touch with a trainer and a vet!
Why does my dog enjoy doing this?/Do your dogs have any odd behaviors or habits?
My dog is the wierdest dog in the world. He is a whippet. I could fill a whole book of wierd habits. When he wakes up in the morning, his tongue literally starts FALLING out of his mouth and he yawns to scoop it back in making the stupidest face while doing it. Whenever I do something "wierd" like yawn, snort, cough etc. He comes to me, puts his nose on my face, sniffs, and jumps away, again and again and again. When I am lying in bed, he thinks my legs are prey under the blanket and he attacks them. When he is biting his fur and grooming, his nose is in the way and he makes the stupidest face. When I come up to him while he's sleeping on his side, he twitches his paws up and then stretches by joining his front and back legs. Then he turns onto his back 4 a belly rub and stays that way the whole time while he sleeps. When he is frustrated (happens alot), he stands back and barks the most hilarious, ridiculous, bark that makes everyone in the room laugh their heads off. He has the stupidest "tired face" When he sleeps in a ball, he tucks his LONG LONG nose in his legs, being as compact as possible. I find at least ten chewed up objects a day. He grooms the cat. His favourite spot to put his stuff is the bin. When he lies on the carpet, he puts his nose in various places to test when it stops him breathing. When he can't breath, he sniffs out and backs away, then tries again. Sorry, I'd keep on typing but my hands hurt :p
My 10 year old yorkie snaps at me if I wake him up, biting and growling like crazy if he is woken up abruptly?
I wonder if your dog is suffering from hearing loss. Deaf dogs sleep very soundly and when startled out of deep sleep can snap and bite. Do a few tests to see if he reacts to loud noises. When my vet was testing my dog's hearing (age 12 at the time), he dropped a clipboard on the floor behind my dog who was on the exam table facing the opposite way. No reaction, so my dog was deemed deaf. The definitive test is a BAER test. Signs that my dog was going deaf included sleeping in front of closed doors when I left the room. Sleeping more deeply and being difficult to wake up. Growling when I would startle him from his deep sleep (he never tried to bite me). Not coming when called, even when offered a cookie. Now my dog hid his deafness very well. He would react with my other dog and follow her lead. He watched for shadows when I would walk up behind him and respond to vibrations on the floor. He also read my hand signs I used for certain commands (see his leash, know he was getting a walk). Investigate this. Link to help you below:
Why is my dog biting, if he is woken up?
You said it yourself: he's spoiled and treated like a child. Enough to make him want to test his limits a bit further. Whether it's food, certain spaces in the house, or certain pieces of furniture, dogs will often 'claim' it. I'm guessing the snapping is more about you invading whatever space your dog is occupying while they sleep than it is about being woken up. Beds are a biggie. It's warm and comfy up there, and quite common for a dog to claim it as theirs once they get settled in and find out how nice it is. "MY SPACE! I'M COMFY! DON'T DISTURB ME!' Indulge it further and they can get so ballsy as to stretch their paws out and try to shove you further to the side to give themselves more space. Mine got 'forgetful' about the 'off' and 'come' commands while curled up in bed, and also got into the habit of nipping me from time to time when I reached for her while she was settled in on it. I don't hit or anything but I'll grab her snout and force her head down on the bed kind of forcefully and hold her body still til she stops moving then drag her *** off it. My bed, not hers. If it's time to get off, it's time to get off. IF I get attitude it gets unpleasant for her rather quickly. She would often come back to get into the bed later and be told no, just to remind her I control it and not her. Now the rule is she doesn't sleep in bed with us but she's allowed to join us once we wake up. She gets it...she normally catches herself before she exercises that nipping reflex now. And when I call her she gets out of the bed and comes. The bed doesn't have to be completely off limits but they have to know it's just another goodie you allow them to enjoy sometimes, not anything they can take over. If you say off, they get off. If you reach for the dog or crawl into bed next to them, no bared teeth or growling will be tolerated. In your situation the bed should become off limits for the forseeable future. People often make the mistake of not exercising enough discipline and structure on the smaller, cuter, cuddlier dogs, which is why some of them end up being the most vocal and misbehaven.
My dogs growls and bites when you wake him up...?
He sleeps in our bed with my wife and I along with another dog. When one of us rolls over or even moves a foot, he gets angry and growls, He has even bit me before (a light nip). Sometimes he will fall asleep in my lap and start to slide off onto the floor, when I pull him back up he gets angry and growls. Any other time, he is as sweet as he can be. I assume he is afraid that he is going to get kicked or rolled over when he's in the bed so he growls to let us know he's there. This seems like a difficult thing for a behavior expert to fix since he has to be asleep in order to see the problem. It was just a funny quirk of his until he started biting. Now we are worried that it could turn into a problem. We want to have kids some day. Does anyone have a suggestion how we can fix this?
My dog was deeply sleeping but wouldn't wake up?
Older dogs get tired easier and you are starting to see that more in her. I recommend taking shorter walks. She might be becoming more deaf so just use treats and get louder. If you think it is a MAJOR problem consult with your vet because she might be sick(fell her nose and make sure her nose isn't dry, because that shows she is dehydrated) Also she if she is eating and all the obvious stuff. She is getting older and you might need to get her a check up at the vet such as no arthritis. here is a link below and it talks about older dog things. http://www.old-dog-treats-and-rawhide.com/ Hope this helps, best of luck.