How to Respond
If your dog is baring his teeth at you or someone else, take a look at his other body language.If you are uncertain of the cause or it appears that the teeth are bared in an aggressive manner, you should carefully remove yourself and/or your dog from the situation. Then seek the help of a dog professionals which may include a combination of a dog trainer, behaviorist, and veterinarian to rule out a pain related/medical issue. Its important you act quickly before your dog bites someone.
If you are unsure whether your dog is exhibiting a submissive smile or becoming aggressive when he bares his teeth, your best bet is to call in the help of a professional dog trainer or behaviorist. These experts are specially trained to detect the most subtle clues in your dogs body language and behavior. Its always a good idea to put safety first.
If you feel absolutely certain that your dog is simply smiling and his body language otherwise appears submissive, you probably dont need to be alarmed. However, it is important that you keep watching your dog determine if he becomes uncomfortable or nervous in his current situation. You should also keep observing to make sure you are not misreading the signs.
How to Respond to a Dog Showing Its Teeth
Your response to a dog showing its teeth should depend on the situation. If the dog has issues going out on a leash, try keeping it away from other dogs. When another dog appears in the distance, distract your dog by getting their attention, then rewarding them. That helps them learn not to view other dogs being in their space as negative or dangerous.
If your dog consistently shows its teeth or shows other aggressive behavior in the home, look at what you can do to adjust their environment. Remove anything they might perceive as threatening. Keep in mind that dogs who show hostile behavior toward other family members are not necessarily doing it to establish dominance. They may be afraid of something, and that anxiety can cause them to react in an antagonistic manner.Â
In conclusion, its critical to provide a safe, loving, and comfortable home to prevent and/or remedy aggression. For example, you can get the best pet grass available to help your dog go to the bathroom regularly to prevent them from becoming stressed and therefore developing aggressive tendencies. Contact us today if you have a friend who has an aggressive dog that you think could use a break. Or better yet, use this link to send them a discount on their first lawn!
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When you notice your dog is in a relaxed posture with their tongue out, this typically means your dog is content. But sometimes, just looking at the smile or the baring of the teeth may not be enough to reveal what your dog is thinking or feeling. Youll have to pay attention to your dogs overall body language. Don’t just assume that your dog smiling means everything is okay. Facial expressions can be misunderstood and a smile might in fact be a sign of frustration. It could even be something as simple as your dog feeling hot and therefore stressed. So its best to always look at the bigger picture before coming to a conclusion about your dog baring their teeth.
When most people talk about their dogs baring teeth, they simply mean that their dog is showing their teeth. When you notice your dog curling their tongue to reveal their teeth, you should be aware that this is reflexive and can be the result of a variety of situations.
Occasionally, your dog will show their teeth as a sign of submission. Submissive behavior is accompanied by lip licking, crying or whining, rolling, averting their gaze, putting their tail between their legs, ears lying on the head and relaxed body posture among others. In most cases, the submissive smile is usually an attempt to calm a situation down. You might notice your dog giving you a submissive grin when theyre uncomfortable about a given situation. Puppies also use this expression when they want something or when they feel theyre being treated aggressively by older dogs. These sorts of submissive generally do not progress to aggressive behavior.
Dog Loose Tooth! What to do and what to expect.
Q: We have a very friendly Golden Retriever who always shows her teeth when people first arrive at the house to visit. We know she is being friendly, but some people become scared when they see her showing her teeth like this. We think it is cute, but how can we convince people she is being friendly and not mean.
A: Most of us were taught that you should never approach a dog that is baring its teeth at you because it’s a pretty clear canine body language cue to back off. So it’s easy to understand why your company would be leery of your dog.
What most people don’t know is some dogs bare their teeth in what’s called a submissive grin. This sounds like what your girl is doing.
Often during an initial greeting these dogs will pull up their front lip to expose their front teeth. It is often misread as aggression because we are so conditioned to back off when we see a canine’s teeth, but in reality it is anything but with these dogs. What your golden is doing is showing your guest she is no threat. Submissive grins are a way for a dog to show humble submission and respect to another individual. The dog is actively soliciting attention in a nonthreatening manner.
I am familiar with dogs who grin. When I was a professional groomer sometimes a new client would bring their dog in for a haircut and forget to mention they were a smiler, as we called them in the business. It was always a little scary when I went to go get them out of their cage and there they were baring their teeth at me. Once I was able to determine this was a non-threatening gesture, they usually turned out to be the nicest dogs.
For those of you who are lucky enough to meet a dog who grins (because they really are cute and not very common), just make sure you are reading the whole dog before you assume they are being friendly.
The dog will hold its head down, the body will be loose and tail wagging. They may lift a paw and squint their eyes and, of course, have a big toothy grin.
It would be a good idea to explain to visitors before they come over and meet your beloved canine that grinning is a part of her greeting behavior and she is not being mean, so they won’t misinterpret her intentions.
A submissive grin has nothing to do with aggression, but some people will still feel intimidated until they get to know your dog, because as I said earlier we’ve learned not to approach a dog that is showing their teeth, and in most cases for a very good reason.
Sally Salopek is the owner and operator of Attend-A-Pet pet sitting services in northern Door County. She has also worked professionally with animals in health care, pet grooming, training, wildlife rehab and rescue. Send your pet-related questions to her at [email protected].