growling/snapping at odd times

Question
QUESTION: hi there,
Teddy is an aprox 3 yr Golden/Choc Lab (maybe a bit of Aussie) neuter male, pretty typical light framed golden size.  He's a rescue rehomed with us, unknown background, was happy but very undisciplined when he arrived about 2 months ago.  Teddy's smart, catches on fast, eager to please, seeks contact, a bit insecure, prone to whine, sometimes reacts fearful (garden hose/running water makes him cower and hide.) We've been working basic obedience, sit, stay, down, walking without pulling, heel, hand feeding, wait, recall, not jumping up... all are coming along well except reliable recall which is taking some time.   
I've had quite a bit of experience working with intense and fearful dogs, but need a little help with strategy on this one.
The problem is that he has unexpected (to me) bouts of fear/aggression growling and snapping.  First one was food defensive growl and snap... we started working with hand feeding, giving and taking treats (bones), waiting for food, feeding in my space rather than his... had two incidents in the first week and none since.
Second incident was a snap/growl during grooming, combing undercoat out of his haunches... have worked with tugging, brushing, scratching all over and have had a little worried head whipping, but most of that's gone and no further snap/growl.
Yesterday, teddy jumped up in my car and wouldn't call out, so I reached in to take his collar and pull him out and got a face full of barking and growling... spent some time yesterday and today in-and-out of the car (on a leash) with rewards, so far no further incidents.

Here's the problem... I've been caught off guard 3 times, didn't expect to have issues in these sorts of situations, got no warning behavior (defensive posture, ears, etc.), just straight to snap and growl.  Not sure what the common theme is here, but I'm looking for a strategy to reduce this idea that snap/growl at me is ok, rather than just stumbling across these situations one at a time and fixing them as they occur.
any thoughts on a more general approach?
thanks for your help. Megan

ANSWER: Dear Megan,

What a great dog owner and rescuer you are!  You obviously know a lot about positive reinforcement training, desensitization, counterconditioning, etc. so I have to say I am puzzled that YOU call these incidents "unexpected" happening at "odd times".  The food guarding, grooming, and collar grab are all very usual times for a dog to be upset -- and I truly believe you already know this, having worked with rescues and tough cases before.  

The unexpected growl and snap is probably evolved from what we hope is only a growl in most dogs, but it's very possible that some previous owner or caretaker ignored the growl and so he learned to incorporate a snap to get his way because a snap usually works.  However if he's still growling and snapping and not connecting with you (meaning not actually biting you), he's considering this behavior your warning.  And of course it works so it's being reinforced.

It might be a little difficult to train the snap out of him but not the growl (we want dogs to growl so they have a way to communicate discomfort before biting), but in time the snap should fade away when he gets more comfortable with you.  

My advice to you is this:  Keep doing what you're doing, because it's the right thing to do and because it's working.  Think harder about what a dog might have issues with, and/or treat him a little more like he's a more difficult dog than he really is.  The snaps have probably already made you more cautious but they're also teaching you where he needs desensitization and classical conditioning.  Just go a little slower with him and try your best to anticipate these actually predictable discomfort zones for him, working with them as you have.  I think he just needs a little more time to trust humans, and even if he does trust you most of the time, some of the things that happen are reminding him of previous abuse and he's reacting the way he did then.

Thank you for writing and good luck!
Suzanne Harris, BSc, CPDT
http://www.dogdaysUSA.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hmmm.... considering why I find them unexpected.  

The first wasn't really, the growl-part anyway, since the dog was new and food aggression is common.  I guess the other two seem unexpected because Teddy is so easy going / happy / eager to please.  Mostly I think it's because I'm not seeing any transition signs.  On the out-of-the-car incident, he was standing in the driver seat, wagging & happy-dog-panting until I reached for his collar... then in my face snapping and growling. No head lowering, ears down, tail tucked or lowered, stance change, eye and mouth tightening... none of the signs I look for that tell me we're shifting gears.  I'll be watching to see if there are more subtle signs happening here that I simply missed before.  

I'm mostly self-taught, so I don't have a lot of structural theory to go with my skills.  Hadn't really conceptualized "usual times for a dog to be upset" as a class of things to consider.  I wouldn't have put collar-grabbing in there, but I can see how it fits and I'll give the general concept a bit more consideration.  Maybe there are some "generalizing" ideas here that will help me anticipate Teddy's trouble areas better.

Interesting thought about wanting them to growl, hadn't considered it that way before, but it makes sense.  So far, I don't think he's actually tried for a real bite, so that's good, but the snapping thing concerns me a bit.  Given that he doesn't show any signs (or at least not what I'd expect and notice) before he goes off, it makes me a little concerned about his general-public-safety potential.  

I will definitely have to consider him as a more difficult dog than he generally appears to be, and not get lulled in by his happy-dog demeanor.  He's quite quick in tracking along and learning and seriously eager to please, but he shows a fairly strong insecure streak so I think you're right and I do need to slow down a bit with him... maybe he's not really coming along as fast as I think.

Your answers have given me several new things to thing about.  Any further thoughts on what constitutes "usual times to be upset" and on body language / signs I might be missing would be appreciated.

Thank you for your help, Megan

Answer
Dear Megan,

You really can trust your instincts Megan -- you have good ones.  As I said before, try to think of Teddy and treat him as if he's not quite so happy-go-lucky most of the time.  Try to remember that he's a rescue, possibly with a history of abuse, so don't take anything for granted with him.  Dogs generally don't like to be handled, particularly in the area of the ears, mouth, collar area and paws.  Dogs are possessive over food, treats and toys, particularly animal-based toys like rawhide and smoked chews.  Dogs don't like to spit out things that are in their mouths.  There are lots of other common natural dog behaviors which I can't list here but you get the picture.  And Teddy may have certain fears that DON'T come under the common category.  Just keep watching for signs -- remember, you don't know him as well as you will in a few more months, either.  Keep doing your confidence building and desensitizing and you and Teddy should be fine.

Suzanne Harris, BSc, CPDT
http://www.dogdaysUSA.com