[Dailydrool] Murphy snapping

[Menzie Campbell]

Charmaine, about Muraphy, you wrote:  "talking to Murphy and petting
his head  and down his back that he starts with a low warning growl
and on one occasion escalated to him actually baring his teeth and
snapping at me, throwing his head back towards my hand resting on his
back."  (Sorry this response is long).

OK, so I have a couple of questions.  1. Do he only do this with you,
and not your husband?  2. Does he only do it when you two are home
alone, and your husband is not there?  3. And, do he only do this when
you pet him in that particular way?  (In other words, does he do it
when you are petting him in other ways/places?  (when you are rubbing
his belly?  scritching his ribs? snuggling on the couch?))

If the answer to all three of thsoe questions is yes, then it might
not be ana ggression problem per se, but a fear problem.  He may have
had unpleasant things happen to him in the past that he associates
with women in particular, and/or with that particular form of petting
- whether it's approaching his hind end, or because you are standing
leaning "looming" over him, and so on - you see where I am going with
this.

As an example. I have Hector, who we rescued at 18 months old from a
bad situation.  Hector is a lovebug; we can snuggle wtih him, drape a
leg across him, haul him around the bed into new positions without
complaint, tug his ears, play with his feet.. on and on and on.  There
is ONE thing we canNOt do with him, however:  we cannot lay our head
on him - you know, use him like a pillow?  If you lay your head on his
body anywhere, he will growl at you then get down and move away.  Once
or twice, he's snapped at us when we've done it.

So, since this behavior ONLY happens with this one particular form of
touching him, I am assuming it's from something that happened in his
past, and is a fear-based behavior, rather than something aggressive.
If I thought it were some attempt to be dominant-aggressive, or
rage-aggressive, I would correct him for it.  But with him, I think
it's fear-based, so I just avoid touching him in that particular way.

So... here are my suggestions:  sit down when you pet his back, so you
are not looming over him.  If he still growls when you perform that
particular touch (down along his back), then just try petting him in
different ways/areas instead (scritch his ribs, or his chest, for
example) and see if that resolves the problem.

BUT- if this behavior is taking place other than in this specific
circumstance or form of petting, then you might have a different
problem.  Anyway, that's my (long) two cents.  :)

-- 
Menzie Campbell
Save a Life - Don't Shop, ADOPT!
www.ombr.org
Owned by Pw. Annabelle, Hector TVL, Barney TPP, and Bozlee TOS