Teeth Snapping..what does it mean?

[j***@gmail.com]

I have an 18 month old female pitbull terrier that exhibits a strange
behavior. This dog is smart and is a fast learner. While my wife and I
were playing with our dog, we noticed she bites the air making her teeth
make a snapping sound. We initiated the same teeth snapping behavior at
another time to see what she would do. Our dog responded (no barking
sounds) with the same teeth snapping behavior. The dog also "grooms" us for
fleas whenever she wants us to play with her. My question is this: In the
world-o-the canine, What does the snapping of teeth mean???

my dog does this , she snaps and i snap back at her and she nuzzles her face into my chest . i believe it's an attention thing ,but i could be wrong .

[cshenk]

Post by j***@gmail.com

I have an 18 month old female pitbull terrier that exhibits a
strange behavior. This dog is smart and is a fast learner. While
my wife and I were playing with our dog, we noticed she bites the
air making her teeth make a snapping sound. We initiated the same
teeth snapping behavior at another time to see what she would do.
Our dog responded (no barking sounds) with the same teeth snapping
behavior. The dog also "grooms" us for fleas whenever she wants us
to play with her. My question is this: In the world-o-the canine,
What does the snapping of teeth mean???

my dog does this , she snaps and i snap back at her and she nuzzles
her face into my chest . i believe it's an attention thing ,but i
could be wrong .

Good question and as you might guess, there are several possible
answers.

Now, it's a post from 1999 so the person asking is doubtless long gone
but generally it's a warning and should be curbed. at 18 months, it
shouldn't be happening. At *young puppy* (up to 7 months or so) it may
be mock 'learning to fight' behavior and fairly normal.

Here's 2 relatively decent articles:
http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/why-does-my-dog-snap-at-the-air

https://dogcare.dailypuppy.com/dogs-snap-2422.html

It is often normal in dogs with a strong 'herding instinct'. Common
herding breeds include the Border Collie, Australian Shepherd,
Australian Kelpie, New Zealand Huntaway, and Australian Cattle Dog.
Other breeds with herding instinct include Corgis and Shetland
Sheepdogs. These types tend to not make good family dogs overall
though with proper training, can be great (especially the Border
Collies who are less difficult to train).

Like with anything, individual dogs will vary by temperment just like
we do so this isn't meant to say that these dogs are 'bad', just that
you should be aware on adoption of general traits most apt to be strong
in a breed and prepare training to match what they need. Mother dogs
teach their puppies to not do this once they are big enough to hurt
another but allow it as normal learning when very young.