Hello,

A few times now our dog has barked at me when i have aproched her bed, it has made me jump as she is usually very friendly. A couple of times i have said a firm 'NO' but she seems to ignore me.  It has made me very wary of her as i feel she may bite me if i was to go any closer.
She has a bone sometimes when we go out, so she may be guarding that, but she has also barked and growled when she hasn't had a bone.
On boxing day she did it to my partner, he was firm with her and held her fir on the back of her neck and told her 'no' but she continued growling!

What can we do she is a small dog, just under a year old, we cannot have an aggressive dog as we also have a young baby. How can i stop this behaviour?
Please help!

Set the basket on another place where no or calm traffic is.

Go and sit in it then call her to you and make a fuss of her then tell her to go away do this a few times and she will soon understand that it is not just her bed.

Please get your dog checked out by a vet - medical conditions can cause a change in behaviour - she may be feeling sore or her eyesight may not be all it should be.  If this is clear, ask your vet to recommend an APDT member with an interest in behaviour, or a UKRCB or APBC registered member (pet insurance will often cover a vet referal)

Your dog is resource guarding which is a perfectly normal, if not socially acceptable, behaviour.  Please do NOT use confrontational techniques with your dog which will only exacerbate the situation.  Your dog is warning you with a growl, if you push it, it may snap or bite. 

I would get in touch with a professional KIND trainer such as one on the APDT site, preferably one experienced in dealing with this problem.  Alternatively your vet can refer you to a member of the APBC.  Until then I suggest you do not allow her any bones so that she cannot guard and, either call your dog out of its bed instead of going to it, or remove the bed altogether; this is not a long term measure or a "cure" but a temporary stop gap to avoid problems.

An excellent book to read would be Mine! A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding by Jean Donaldson; which gives a step by step approach to handling this situation.

Please do not over worry, this problem can be easily eradicated with correct professional help; please do not adopt the "you are not going to do this to me" approach as this is threatening to the dog and may trigger an aggressive response.

HTH