Before a dog reaches the age of 6 months, she will begin to show whether she’s feeling aggressive through various signals. She will also use those signals to indicate how aggressive she’s feeling.
- Growl. The least aggressive of the signals in her warning arsenal, a growl means “knock it off.” Heed that warning, and teach your children to as well. There’s no need to test your dog’s forbearance.
- 1a. Growl + vertical lift of the lip. “I mean it now.”
- Snap. A dog is at this point a very short step away from becoming physical. Really, keep away, as she is feeling quite antagonized.
- Bite. “I warned you. Now I have to physically disarm you.”
