What would you do? ( Agression?)

[lilliesmomma]

Okay, Lillie is an EM 11 months old. Some friends of my nephew just came in the house (they have been here before.) Lillie was barking at them, the girl went over to her to pet her. She is determined to get Lillie to like her. Lillie barked, and growled for a minute but she continued to pet her. She walks away into another room, Lillie follows her and she starts petting her again she puts her face down to Lillies like to get a kiss and Lillie barked and jumped up at her face. I yelled at Lillie and told her she was a "BAD DOG". She came over to me and laid beside me. I didn't pet her or talk to her except to tell her she was bad.
We start obedience classes in 3 weeks. What would you all have done if this happened to you?
I should add that the girl is 22 yrs old.

 

[Ripsmom]

well, to be honest after the growl i would have told the kid (adult) to leave her alone and separated the dog. lillie was pretty clear by my standards that she didn't want this person near her, the growl was the warning. the dog did the right thing by growling first but the girl did the wrong thing by continuing to pet her and put her face in front of lillie which the dog may have seen as a challenge, if lillie is lacking some confidence she may have felt threatened by this person being so persistent with her in spite of her warning signs... not that this is acceptable behavior from the dog but it's not like she just lunged at her right off the bat, she was trying to communicate that she was not comfortable with this person and my bet is that her body language was probably saying the same thing as well but it may have been overlooked and the girl needs to learn that you shouldn't continue to pet or put your face in front of a growling dog...not too swift

 

[Sabrina]

I agree...this wasn't aggression...it was: "I dont want you to touch me leave me alone....ok please leave me alone....leave me alone!!!!" If I were you, I would try to respect my dog's signals...if there is someone who she doesn't want to pet her, let them know and provide her that comfort...she expects and trusts you to do that for her...

 

[Bentley]

I have to agree this isn't stereotypical agression, its a dog saying, for whatever canine reason, I don't like you and warning her a couple of times before giving her a proper warning. There doesn't have to be rational or even a good reason for lillie not liking her but its there. I would have taken her out of the room and left her out for a while. She came to your side for both reasurrance and validation and one needs to avoid validation of what can be seen as an agressive act. If the lass still wants to befriend the dog have her offer lillie treats to get her to come to her, therefore changing her from potential threat to food giver.

 

[lilliesmomma]

Thank you, I just needed some other opinions. I have to say, I'm not fond of this girl and maybe Lillie picked up on that...and this girl has just started working at an animal clinic (3 months) and she is all of a sudden the expert on dogs. I have a chow/shepard mix and you can "clearly" see both breeds in him and she says he looks nothing like a chow. We have a Yorkie/Poodle and she says the same about him. There are kids coming in and out of my house all the time and if they just ignore her she seems to do better. I have had dogs for years and would NEVER walk up to a growling/barking dog and put my face in theirs!!

 

[moose]

I agree with what everyone said, and lillie could be picking up on your feelings like you said.
Moose does not like strangers loves his family but no strangers. If i invite people into the house he will ignores them, doesnt like beingpet by them wont come if there doing the baby noises at him, so I know my dog and i will tell people to leave him alone or take him out of the room. Safer that way the to try and force anything,

 

[Cody]

Most mastiff breeds are not overly social outside of their family, they will tolerate or ignore until they accept as a member.
Her getting in your dogs face is a threat in dog language, is not a smart move especially with a working breed.
They are highly sensitive to their people. If you don't like the girl she could very well be picking up on it, compounding the issue.
She didn't bite the girl, that showed good bite inhibition, however when the girl comes over, I would keep her away from Lillie, I would also be sure to do training and lots of socializing with her.

 

[Ripsmom]

let me tell ya...if this girl is working in an animal hospital...she better learn quickly how to pay attention to dog signals and quit doing stupid things like putting her face in front of a very large strange dog (or any dog for that matter) or she's gonna end up with plastic surgery in a hurry!

 

[chris410]

let me tell ya...if this girl is working in an animal hospital...she better learn quickly how to pay attention to dog signals and quit doing stupid things like putting her face in front of a very large strange dog (or any dog for that matter) or she's gonna end up with plastic surgery in a hurry!

AMEN! There's a big difference between a vet tech and a dog trainer. As others said, your dog picked up on the fact that you are not fond of this person. Dogs, pick up on things we would never think of like how your body reactions are towards the person, any type of pheremones you may be giving off, your eye contact, they pick up on every small detail.

My male Rott is very protective of me and if I do not acknowledge someone, he will pretty much stand between me and the person until I give the OK or acknowledge the person in a welcoming member...then he'll be happy to give you his belly.

I hope for that person's sake that she learns how to greet a dog properly before she ends up being bitten.

 

[lilliesmomma]

How flippin stupid can people be?! The boyfriend of the girl I have been talking about just came in, he was let in by my nephew no door bell or knocking. Lillie barked, which is fine. I told him to walk by and ignore her!! What does the dumb a$$ do? He puts his hand down to pet her and up she comes nipping at his fingers. I told him again just to ignore her.
Then right after that 3 of his friends leave and they had to walk right past Lillie, I told them to act like she wasn't even there. She is laying here in the living room about 4 ft from me. What does she do?? Nothing, absolutly nothing. She just lays there. Now after they left and the door was closed she did bark once

 

[moose]

People still amaze me, just goes to show you that you have to be on your toes when people come over because some wont listen and will not just leave the dog alone.