When Sadie’s in a bad mood and wants you to stay away, or when she has a treat and she’s afraid you’ll take it from her, my little pup has a predictable pattern of behavior. In the following photos, you can see the typical steps of a Sadie temper tantrum from start to finish.

It begins with “the look”.  Sadie gets a certain look in her eyes that clearly says “stay away”.

If you ignore “the look” and approach Sadie anyway, she begins to growl quietly, showing her teeth a little.

If you still persist and reach out towards her, she snaps. She doesn’t actually bite or even try to grab you, she just tries to snap in your direction to scare you away.

The final stage of the temper tantrum is guilt. Sadie immediately feels sorry for snapping and tries to lick you. It’s hard to be stern and reprimand my little pup for snapping when she insists on licking your face and apologizing.

This post is part of the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie, Love Is Being Owned By a Husky, and M.K. Clinton.

This post is also part of the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog.