HELP!! We have a problem!

**Sophiesmama** · 07-17-2011, 09:52 PM

Sophie is 3 months old. Today for the first time we gave her a bone a real one. She at first was trying to figure out how to gnaw on it. She was working it over and my husband walked up to pet her and she snapped and growled at him. She has never done this before. I kept talking to her and telling her it was her bone, we weren't going to take it away. I did this several times, and twice she growled at me. I kept reassuring her. We had my son do the same thing. She kind of growled at him as well. We keep reassuring her. I am afraid if we scold her and take it way she will be even more protective. Finally she got up and left it. Any advice? We can't have her becoming agressive toward food or possessions.

**Tanya** · 07-17-2011, 09:59 PM

Yeah - I would NOT reassure a dog that snaps at me. I take the bone away. You are in effect encouraging her growling doing that.

**Dio's mama** · 07-17-2011, 10:06 PM

What I do with dogs that growl over bones, food, etc. is to stand over the prize and look at the dog. It's a dominance thing. I am the alpha, you give up the bone to ME. Once the dog backs away, I take it. I give it back a while later, and repeat. Once the message goes through that I am the owner of that prize, there's no more growling. You need to establish your alpha position to ensure that you are the one in control of what goes on in your home and not your sweet pup!

**Sophiesmama** · 07-17-2011, 10:47 PM

My first impulse was to take it away. I scolded her and took it. Then I got to thinking maybe she needed to trust that I was not going to steal her prize. So then I reversed and kept encouraging her and petting her. Well that didn't work so well. I am still surprized at her behavior. She has been such a perfect little dog till now...except for being mouthy when she plays, which we have worked on and she is getting better. I was so shocked when she snapped and growled! So you think she'll get it if I scold her and take it away? After she got up and left it, I took it and put it up. Its weird, she doesn't act this way even with her rawhide stick. I wonder if i should let her get older before I give a real bone back to her, or should I keep working with her?

**Dio's mama** · 07-17-2011, 10:54 PM

Keep working. It's only with a meaty bone? How is she if you stand by her while eating her meals? There are a few things to try but it depends on her issues.

**BauersMom** · 07-17-2011, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by Dio's mama

What I do with dogs that growl over bones, food, etc. is to stand over the prize and look at the dog. It's a dominance thing. I am the alpha, you give up the bone to ME. Once the dog backs away, I take it. I give it back a while later, and repeat. Once the message goes through that I am the owner of that prize, there's no more growling. You need to establish your alpha position to ensure that you are the one in control of what goes on in your home and not your sweet pup!

^^ This. My dog owns nothing, everything comes from the humans and humans have the right to take them back. Dogs do not understand reassuring words. They do understand tone, but in this case speaking in a soft voice reinforced that it was ok to growl at you. That behavior needs to be stopped immediately. It is a behavior that can be corrected. Good luck!

**Sophiesmama** · 07-18-2011, 02:32 AM

Thanks for your input! Sophie is fine with her food bowl, all her toys and even her treats and rawhide chew roll. The business with a real meat cow bone must have brought out the primal in her! It was sure a shock! I am going to try the real bone tomorrow and see what happens. If it does, she loses it again. Its tough being a puppy parent. Our sweet Maggie died in May after having her for 12 yrs. I seem to have forgotten all the puppy trials and tribulations!

**BigBrownDog** · 07-18-2011, 05:50 AM

Originally Posted by Tanya

Yeah - I would NOT reassure a dog that snaps at me. I take the bone away. You are in effect encouraging her growling doing that.

Absoultely. You are in control of her resources and she can't argue. What you are doing is an awful lot like when humans negotiate with toddlers. The rule is the rule and your dog needs to understand and accept limits.

Unceremoniously take the bone from her and don't allow her any more high value objects for the moment. If she escalates she needs a firm verbal rebuke.

I'd also work on trading items with her. Take an item from her and give her a better item in return. She'll associate giving things up with a positive outcome.

And - in case you got this idea about trust from what I posted in a different thread - dealing with a recently rehomed adult dog who is aggressing is way different that how you handle an uppity small puppy. Nip it in the bud.

I'd also suggest you think hard about your practice of sleeping with this puppy since she is acting like this. If she were mine, I'd be crate training her starting today.

**dweck** · 07-18-2011, 09:01 AM

There is nothing -- NOTHING -- that you should be fearful of taking from your dog. Whether you give it or not. But ESPECIALLY if you give it. You are in charge. You're #1. Or should be. Play starts when YOU say and ends when YOU end it. Mealtimes consist of what YOU giveth and therefore what YOU can taketh away. Without discussion. Same with treats and things like bones.

I'll sidestep the issue of whether I think raw bones and rawhide are good for a 3-month old and just advise you to fix this now, please, while she's young. Resource-guarding can escalate without you even realizing that it's happening. And that can bring about a whole other set of issues that are best avoided.

**Dani** · 07-18-2011, 09:21 AM

I would start by hanging onto the bone while she chews on it. Which she can only get when you are hanging onto it. And it get's taken away when you want. She gets it when you want, and it's gone when you want. Pretty simple. She growls, it gets a firm NO, and the bone goes away.