# growling over rawhide bone



## littlefairy (Oct 8, 2009)

storm is normally very laid back and is not at all food possessive, however tonight he had a raw hide bone on the settee and growled when I tried to move him off the settee onto his bed.
should I not give him these bones or just leave him alone when he has one ?


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2009)

Some dogs get naturally possesive over a high resource item that they love i personally would not tolerate growling at myself under any circumstance u need to teach ur dog some basic manors again reinforce this with non high resource items at first and move on from there for now i would reframe from high resource items. :thumbup1:


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## slicksps (Oct 11, 2009)

I can't comment on the bone but Shadow got possessive over his spot on the sofa which lead to a bite (from a Labrador of all breeds) so do be careful. Our solution was to make all furniture out of bounds.

We do invite him up sometimes while watching TV and have to face the consequence that it will take him longer to understand that the rest of the time it's a no-no. We've not had a problem since.

He still jumps up when we go to bed, but as long as he's off when we're around, he's lower than us physically and in the pecking order.


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## moboyd (Sep 29, 2009)

Teach exchange, start off with a less prized item, and swap with something of similar value, then return 1st item in another swap ie same type treat, reward and praise each time the dog gives up the item they are in possession of, , if you do this on a regualr basis the dog learns giving up does not mean he wont get a reward, the rawhide is very valuble to him at the moment, I would never take from a dog that you have not taught exchange to, the dog gave a warning by growling, in future you may not get that warning, and the dog just goes into the snap mode, it wont take long to teach that if you need to take something from him, you are not stealing it.

mo


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

What mo said 
Also teaching the leave command is good. 
I allow my pair to guard food from eachother -Dave is too stupid for me to teach him not to go into Dixie's bed! Dixie never botheres with his stuff tho, she gust gives him a warning growl and he looks puzzled and walks off.
I don't allow them to do it with me but thankfully bar one incident with Dave when he had a friends dog to stay, I haven't had any problems.


I did however look after a collie with severe food guarding issues even if her bowl was empty she rushed to it, crouched over it and snarled, growled and snapped if anyone was anywhere near it- but teaching her that Me = Better stuff happens, combined with the leave command worked well


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## littlefairy (Oct 8, 2009)

thanks for all the advice


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

hey, fairy! :--) 
check out the booklet, MINE! by Patricia McConnell - very good info. 

it is not at all unusual for pups on the cusp of adolescence/puberty 
to begin to feel possessive - he is a bit ahead of the curve, but not much. 
5 to 6-Mo is prime time for this sort of testing to begin, esp in intact Ms. 

has he been desexed yet? 

as *mo* said - i would concentrate on teaching trust, and show that U 
GIVE things / food / treats / toys... U are not a thief, he will not starve. 

growling is always a GOOD thing - warning that he is growing upset 
is a very important, valuable social-signal. good dog! :thumbup: 

cheers, and happy training, 
--- terry


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

re charlie -



> i personally would not tolerate growling at myself under any circumstance


hey, charlie! :--)

if U do not EVER want a dog to growl at U, then U had better be a very very 
VERY good handler, and an excellent reader of dog stress-signals, too. 
then U may be able to get thru Ur whole life without triggering a growl... 
but the odds are not good.

if OTOH U mean to say that U do _*Not PERMIT growling at U... *_ 
then U are very very VERY likely _*to be bitten at some time, + possibly soon.*_  
dogs who growl are simply letting us know that they are getting upset - 
many Asian breeds are NOTORIOUS for silent-warnings, and groomers bitch about 
them All The Time... Chows, Akitas, Shibas, Shar-Pei... they ALL have a strong 
tendency _*NOT To Growl - they just freeze and stiffen - and most groomers 
are in such a doggone hurry, they Never - Even - Notice! *_ that the dog is getting 
really upset... _*then the dog snaps, and the groomer instantly says, 
*that dog BIT * ME without any WARNING! *... 
ah, but they DID, ya know -- thats what that freeze MEANT - 
Pay attention next time! *_ :nono:

Ian Dunbar DVM refers to punishing growls as *pulling the pin on the grenade* -- 
now we cannot tell when the dog is highly-stressed, and they tend to blow-up, 
rather than warn - WARNINGs having been punished into extinction. 

since i work with dogs who have Bite-Histories, i do my level BEST! not to trigger 
any growls - if i have, i know that _*i screwed-up... and i APOLOGIZE, warmly, 
fully + freely, To That Dog. (yup - out loud, in English, and sincerely.)

it rarely happens - but when it does, >> I << and no one else, am at fault. 
i made the dog anxious - got too close, moved too fast, they felt cornered, 
SOMEthing - and they felt threatened. 
whether the THREAT was real is immaterial - the dog == Felt threatened,== 
thats all that matters - the dogs POV.*_

emotions are facts, and dogs are highly emotional - their feelings matter, 
and their perceptions of threat and safety are usually pretty valid, if the dog 
in Q is well-socialized and habituated.

my 911 domestic-violence alert patrol - 
*my Akita was a one-dog Neighborhood Watch organization - *
_*my Akita used to ALERT on domestic violence - 
the 911 operator was skeptical when i called to say that my DOG told me there 
was a problem at a particular address.  she changed her mind, after the first 2 calls - 
both valid. :thumbup1: 
i never TAUGHT my dog to do that; it was instinct, plus the fact that she lived 
in a home where shouting, especially deep, angry shouting, was nonexistent. 
she therefore knew abnormal when she heard it... 

i made 6 different 911 calls over the year that i lived there - 
the worst was the guy who spilled out of his house with a KNIFE in his hand, 
into their side yard - their 9-YO daughter was crying + screaming hysterically. 
i found out later that her father had threatened to STAB the family-dog, 
but luckily could not find him, in the dark yard; then he got in the car, 
+ took off. 
MY * DOG alerted on their house a full 45-mins earlier - she refused to let 
me walk past it, but stood broadside across my path, worriedly pointing 
the house... and at that time, it was still daylight; there was NOTHING 
to indicate (to me) that there was a helluva argument going on, 
inside that apparently peaceful house.  
ordinary people did not have cell-phones back then - 
we walked back home and i phoned 911 - more than 20-mins later, 
the fight spilled outside, and finally became audible + visible to me. 
the dog had been following it by ear, all along. *_

to get back to growling - 
i would far rather have a dog growl at me, then have no warning - 
and be bitten, possibly severely. a growl is * information *. 
it is not a palace coup, an insurrection, or a petty rebellion. 
this is of course, IMO and IME - Ur mileage may vary...

all my best, 
--- terry


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## Guest (Dec 7, 2009)

leashedForLife said:


> re charlie -
> 
> hey, charlie! :--)
> 
> ...


Just to point out i would not tolerate any of my dogs growling at me as a dog trainer/behaviourist myself i deal with dogs like this all the time so in answer to ur point i do know how to handle dogs that exicibit these behaviours its just not a behaviour i would tolerate from my own dogs and i can happily say they have never done so over food or any other item :thumbup1:


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

re charlie -



> i would not tolerate any of my dogs growling at me -
> as a dog trainer/behaviourist myself i deal with dogs like this all the time...
> i do know how to handle dogs that exhibit these behaviours...


hey, charlie! :--) 
now i am intrigued!  
how do U handle a growl from a clients dog - and if that varies by circs 
(RG of food, self-defensive + fearful, or other), what are some various responses?

i am not expecting a huge detailed protocol - i would LOVE to see an outline, tho. 
_wagging in hopeful anticipation, pant-smile, _
--- terry


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## Guest (Dec 7, 2009)

leashedForLife said:


> re charlie -
> 
> hey, charlie! :--)
> now i am intrigued!
> ...


Hiya Terry 
As i am sure ur aware its not just training the dogs and working out where everything has gone wrong between owner/dog but also training the owners and looking at the dynamics within the home environment.
Every case is different for so many reasons where aggression has taken place either human/dog or other fear responses or rescue dog, i then work it out from there.
I can happily say that i have only encoutered very little aggression toward myself :thumbup1:

Most of my cases do consist of dog aggression, fearful responses toward stangers or family aggression i dont use any gadgets or force to gain desired behaviour from any dog to resolve the issues that have occured.:thumbup1:


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## fun4fido (Jul 22, 2008)

littlefairy said:


> storm is normally very laid back and is not at all food possessive, however tonight he had a raw hide bone on the settee and growled when I tried to move him off the settee onto his bed.
> should I not give him these bones or just leave him alone when he has one ?


Hi,

What your dog did is called "resource guarding" and it is a perfectly normal behaviour, even humans resource guard!

However, resourcing guarding can not only make life stressful for dog and owner, but it can also lead to potential injury. So what you need to do is slowly work _*with *_your dog (not against him), so that over time he knows that human hands approaching even when he has a rawhide only means good things i.e. trading up for something better, or an exchange for something of similar value.

I can highly recommend Grisha Stewart's article on Resource Guarding which I hope you will find very helpful.

Resource Guarding | Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle | Dog and Puppy Tips from Seattle |

This is another great article Playing the devil's advocate to prevent resource guarding by Casey Lomonaco

And last but by no means least is Dr. Ian Dunbar's Guarding valued objects

Also as leashedForLife for life has already kindly suggested the book MINE! by Patricia McConnell is great.

Regards

Angela
MSc CABC


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## Liz1 (Dec 2, 2009)

Now I am totally confused, I put a thread on today about puppy growling, and in the responses I got it says not to discourage growling as it is a warning but to continue to teach drop and leave etc, yet on this thread people say they would not tolerate growling in their dogs nor their clients dogs!! Help first time dog owner confused. !!!!


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## lemmsy (May 12, 2008)

Liz1 said:


> Now I am totally confused, I put a thread on today about puppy growling, and in the responses I got it says not to discourage growling as it is a warning but to continue to teach drop and leave etc, yet on this thread people say they would not tolerate growling in their dogs nor their clients dogs!! Help first time dog owner confused. !!!!


Liz- IMO the people who have said that you should not scold your dog for growling are correct. 
Below I have copied the contents of an article that I wrote on resource guarding which is from my website (currently under construction  ). 
I hope this helps you 

Edited to add:

Link to my article below

http://sites.google.com/site/lucysdogblog/articles/resource-guarding


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