She sounds like an alfa dog who is keen to take charge, but happy to take second place without too much of a fight, if she has respect for the dog/human telling her to step back, she does. This sounds a nice sort of dog, clever enough to sort things out without a fight. Bella is a bit like this, she will sometimes try to mount other dogs, not in a sexy way, just trying to be dominant (not so easy when your a short ass like Bella) but I am not put off by this because there are no scraps between the three dogs and things are sorted out by subtle means. Although Bellas 'eyeballing' can cause dramatic reactions in some dogs, she does not get violent, but does not back down either.

Don't worry, all dogs are nuts, that's why we love them

Mason does a similar morning thing when he's ready to get up, he rolls on his back, tail wagging and snapping his mouth. Its just play, he does a similar thing if he's roaching and I blow a raspberry on his stomach - don't know if that makes him weird or me
Same with the Lab, sounds like Misti was waiting for the Lab to make a move. Mason does that sometimes with other dogs, they both stand perfectly still until one makes a move and then he'll try to run with it (of, course he forgets he's on the lead) Best advice I have is plant your feet firmly and get ready!
I'm always cautious when a small dog rolls over in submission at Mason's feet. Not long after I brought him home a small Norfolk terrier who was being chased by one of Mason's park pals did exactly that and he lunged towards its tummy mouth open.
I shrieked No at him and jerked him back in a panic, he hasn't done it since, but I still remain wary. I found that if I relaxed when we met other dogs and fought my instinct to pull Mason's lead tight or short, he was much more relaxed and is fine now...still pull him up when we meet the offlead chihuahua with the squeaky toy though, there's only so much temptation a boy can take
Marie

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I think fridays mystic is spot on about the difference between dogs brought up in packs of dogs and dogs brought up in a very small pack containing one dog and a human or two. The signals must be very confusing.

 

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I totally agree with the pack thing. The girl at dog daycare says she never worries about Mason with the puppies because he tells them off or puts them in their place with a growl but would never hurt them. She reckons he has dog etiquette down to a tee and I'm sure its because he would have grown up in a pack
Marie

She sounds like a dominant dog who will see how far she can get. The trick is not to let her get so far as to dominate you. What I tend to do with a dominant dog is keep a very close eye on body language. Ceaser Millans book opened my eyes a lot to the body langauge of dogs and the energies and to be honest I can see what he means. You can see the immediate change of a dogs behaviour when the energy or atmosphere around it changes. A quick example of this is, say someone is out with their dog and the dog is off the lead, the owner tries to get the dog back on the lead and the dog just continues going about its business of sniffing. The owner gets frustrated, a dog can read this so easily, the frustration of the owner is read easily by the dog and the dog avoids it. Patience is the key, be patient, stay calm and stay assertive.

As for the snapping, when you do come down in the morning. I know this is hard, I found it hard when doing it with my own dogs. Completely ignore them, no touch, eye contact or voice. Do not say a word. If she snaps at you a sharp sound should deter her. She will soon learn that affection and touch is on your terms.

I hope this helps. The best book I found was Ceaser Millans "Ceasers Way". I have been around dogs for years and found this book a real eye opener.

I think Caeser Millan must be the guy on the Sky programme called 'The Dog Whisperer'.  I have watched this programme with interest, especially regarding body language and signals.  So, glad to learn he has a book.  Must get it!