Last night, I experienced for the first time a dog snapping at me right at my face. My initial reaction was shock. This happened while clipping Milo's nails. Having her board for the first time, there were plenty of new experiences for her.
While turning in for the night, I was sitting by her and giving her some pets before I let her be. Affectionately, she pawed at me for more pets, her long claws scraping at my face for more attention. That's when I noticed that her nails were really long, clicking away at the floor. At that point I decided to take the clippers out, and see how she would respond to it.
She seemed unaffected by the sight and touch of the clippers as I was gauging her behaviour towards it. I went in for a small clip finding that she was unbothered by the experience. A few more clips and it seemed that her reaction overall was rather neutral. Taking this as a good sign, I decided to go in for a sizable clip. This was when she snapped defensively. What was shocking was how there was no built up to her discomfort, and not even from previous observations of her behaviour that would have indicated that she might have reacted this way.
In that moment, I held her collar at a controlled distance to prevent her from making any further unwanted advancements. A quick read of the situation and I registered that I was in a really vulnerable position, sitting on the floor backing the wall while Milo was seated right in front of me. She was on the edge and nerved while I regained composure and observed her mannerisms - I remembered to stay calm, steadily breathing out, watching her as she too nervously read the situation. Feeling the tension dissipate a little, I reassured her verbally that things were okay and let her go.
Moments like this, it is so important to have control and be aware of your energy as that easily affects nervous dogs.