ok chance has always played with dogs great, he is a rough sometimes becuase he doesnt realize how big he is, but he has always loved playing with other dogs.
when we went hiking last weekend and we were almost done, another dog came up to chance and they sniffed for a while then the dog started towards chances back end, i was trying to keep them from being tangles, it was an 8 month old napolean mastiff. chance growled at the dog, that was the first time he had EVER done that. i thought maybe its becuase he just hiked 3 miles and was hot and tired and sore.
just now i took chance out to potty and a little puppy came up to him, she was about 8 weeks old, she peed she was so happy to see us. they sniffed each other, chances tail was wagging, his hair wasnt up and he had positive body language, she jumped on him and he nudged her with his nose, then he layed down in the grass and let her crawl on him, she kissed him on the snout then went towards his ears. i dont know if she licked his ears or nibbled on them but he jumped up growled and snapped as i quickly pulled him away from her! he didnt touch her, he sat down. he didnt try to go after her again at all. he is sinsitive about his ears but has never snapped if i touch them, but you can tell he is sinsitive to them.
could it just be that he was tired and didnt want to be messed with after the hike, and that he was protecting his ears from this puppy? or does it sound like my dog is becoming dog aggressive?
he never pulls me to go after another dog, or person, he never growls at anyone or anything.
i am not letting my guard down and i always watch him with other dogs, this has never happened before. please let me know what you think.