I have a 14 week golden retriever who is not aggressive and will always give up toys for a tasty treat.  However, when I gave him a rawhide bone to chew he wouldn't let me take it away when I tried and he growled and snapped at me and anyone else who went near him.  I resorted to putting on thick gloves to take it away and haven't given it back to him yet as I am worried that he will bite me or one of the children.  A similar thing happened at a friend's house when he picked up a piece of pork rind and when my husband and son tried to remove it he snapped at them and growled and bit them.  He eventually ate it!!  Any ideas? 

I think you need to nip this in the bud at this early age! or he may possibly carry on with what he considers acceptable behaviour where foodstuffs are concerned.
We have an 8month old border collie and from the very first we would give her treats,for training and as rewards,whenever she receives anything that I consider a larger treat such as a rawhide chew or carrot etc.we often allow her to take it,examine it,even start to chew it and then both myself or my husband have approached her saying " Let's have a look at that Spice",we don't treat it as a game!just take the item pretend to 'examine' it and hand it back,giving her lots of praise for 'being a good girl'.She knows she will get it back and has always happily allowed us to remove both treats,foodbowls and water bowl at any point.
It is also very important that he/she learns to leave an item when told to do so,for safety reasons,as not all dogs will choose what is 'safe' / 'pleasant' for them to eat :(
Spice used to eat horse poo when she was first taken on country walks ,but all we now have to say to her is "leave" and she will happily continue her walk without devouring even the tiniest morsel :D
I'm sure lots of other champdoggers will be along with further advice shortly and hope you come to a successful result with your puppy.
Jacqueline :)

I think Porkie's advice is excellent. Yes, that practicing taking something and giving it back. Practice with something he likes but doesn't care as much about. Play retrieve with him. He'll get the idea that it won't be gone forever. When you play retrieve, don't take it away immediately. You can trade too, treat for toy....whatever.

Do you work every day on some obedience skills? That's really useful to let the dog know you're the one who's the leader, not him. You're partners, but not equal. It should be lots of fun and lots of praise and/or treats....never unpleasant.

I'd also show the dog in other daily things that he has to earn (sit, sit/stay, down, down/stay, come....whatever)everything that he likes.... everything, from a scratch behind the ears, dinner, toys, to going outside. Don't leave toys at his disposal all day long. Take out one or two at special times and make him do some trick or command. Let him play for 20 or 30 minutes and then put the toys away. And pour on some obedience training if you aren't already. This shows the dog that you're in charge, that you're the leader.

Also, unlike a lot of people here, I'd let the dog know that that growling and biting is NOT OK with you, regardless of the reason. I'd speak sternly to him. And then say, "leave" or "drop it" or "give" (whatever your word is) and then after a few seconds, if he doesn't leave it, try to distract him away from it with something else that's a whole lot better, a chunk of cheese or something. Then when he does leave it....praise and treats. But do wait just a couple (2 or 3)  seconds after he leaves it before giving it to him, so he doesn't think of the thing you're trying to distract him with as a reward for his past guarding/growling behavior. But don't wait to tell him, "good leave it." Let him know with your voice or a clicker that leaving it was what you wanted. Then give the treat.

Carrie

Be careful when taking food from a dog who has taken the courtesy of warning you.  It's far better IMHO to get his used to thinking that humans around his food mean GOOD THINGS so that when that time comes that you do need to remove that chicken bone he's stolen he's thinking 'great - humans near food only mean even better things to come' and not 'I've advised them I'm not happy with this situation time and time again - stuff the warnings, here come the sharp pointy teeth!'..........
To do this, offer him something even BETTER than his chewy, or only give him half his dinner, and add the rest, spoonful by spoonfull whilst he's still eating ;)

your dog needs to learn that you can and will take whatever you want away from it and he should not retaliate.  i don't think my dog thinks anything good can come when i take away his tenis ball, however, he wouldn't dream of biting or growling at me.  he just lets it go.  i don't ask his permission, sometimes i just have to take it and put it away or the fetching game will never stop.

anyhow, i agree with carrie and the poster before her.  nip this in the bud and don't stand for any growling at you.  that should never be acceptable.  i don't believe that warning growl stuff should be acceptable.  a dog shouldn't be warning you not to take something away, because it shouldn't be okay that it would bite you.......my dog wouldn't warn me about anything accept an intruder in my home. 

i do like the positive reinforcement you speak of digger.  adding the food is a great idea.  i also think it should be okay with your dog to pick up his bowl halfway through and move it to a new spot.  i want my dog to let me take something out of his mouth without getting bitten or growled at. 

The problem with not standing for any growling at all is that you can get a dog who goes straight from the 'stare' to the snap - and that's no fun to live with - I've done it with a rescue who'd learnt growling got her nowhere :(

{I've done it with a rescue who'd learnt growling got her nowhere}

In my 40 plus years of working with dogs, they have learned that growling, biting or any other pushy behavior or trying to get their own way got them nowhere either. And they never tried it a second time.

Carrie

But the problem as I see it is that not everyone that reads these posts is as experienced and in my opinion Diggers method is much safer for people with first time puppies and dogs than the other method which may well work but more because you have the experience to read the situation more accurately than a novice owner. JMHO Gillian

Of course they don't try it a second time. The first bite, because the growl was ignored, means a one-way trip to the vet. :(

Not necessarily. I've had a dog of mine snap at me once when he was young. He learned that that will NEVER, EVER, EVER be an option. He never did anything close to that again. There's a third option. And that is that humans call the shots, not dogs. My dogs know way ahead of time that I will not back down under any circumstances and they never even attempt anything close to trying to dominate me or have their own way. They don't get the chance to learn that growling teaches humans to back off, afraid of them so that they can keep their bone or their toy. They also, at the same time learn that my way is always better and to follow my rules because that gets them much further. It gets them wonderful things. They learn to work for those things. They are not afraid or stupid.

I'm sure it's better to be safe if one's afraid of their dog. But better yet to teach them from the beginning about life with humans and where their place is. And how much more beneficial it is to have no questions about where their place is.

Carrie

i think there is a big difference between a 14 week old puppy and a rescue dog.  a rescue dog comes into a home with his/her own set of experiences.  i would indeed listen to a rescue dog's growl and try pos. reinforcement to stop or curb that behavior. 
however, with a 14 week old puppy, that only i have had, i would nip out the growling right away.  from day one, the puppy would know that growling, biting, any of that behavior is not acceptable to me.  they will always know that, as my dog does.  my dog will never have a 1 way trip to the vet because of a growl or a bite on me.

When my Terv was a pup, i inadvertently and mistakenly almost taught her to be possessive because she took a sock from the washing machine and ran off with it; stupidly i was in a rush and ran off after her to grab it. I knew even at the time not to do it but i just thought "oh, it won't do any harm just this once!"

There was no way she would give up her prize, as i was demonstrating how omportant that sock was :D My OH has a photo of the youngster on my lap looking decidedly grumpy. She never growled though, i have never had a pup or dog of mine growl at me because the basics of trust are always there from day 1 and grow all the time.

Anyway  i used swapsies, taught her to fetch and bring stuff, and her toys and bowls, and if she ever nicked anything, never panicked, always swapped or took and gave back etc. I had to be careful not to put her off as i needed her to want to enjoy retrieiving for later trials stuff. My patience was rewarded when one day she found a ribby bit of sharp cooked lamb bone, and actually brought it in to show me and give to me! It could have saved her from a perforated gut. The method means also that i can take anything from her if i need to.

Just my 2 pence worth :)

You hit the nail on the head. You are so right! Trust. That's the key. The dog must develop trust from very early on....day one. That trust comes from being treated kindly, and fairly. It is developed through affection and companionship. And the dog learns to trust when it has a clear, concise understanding of what it may do and what it mustn't do. When disciplined (taught or shown) in a way where there is no question about what is acceptable, no wondering...then the dog knows how to trust itself as well as the human. It can be secure in knowing what course to take in every situation. There's never a challenge to the owner then because that's all been sorted out. All that stuff doesn't even come into play. That's the way it's been with my dogs anyway.

The trading things in early stages is good and the other conditioning to touching their food, moving them over on the couch, taking things, giving them back  etc. I did that too and still do IF I happen to have a toy or something to exchange. But there are lots of times where I don't and I need to ask the dog to give me something or take something from him. He wouldn't dream of growling at me. He loves and respects me as the one who makes everything good in his life. He believes that what I do or what I take from him has to be the right way because I am the leader of the group of dogs here. He knows that nothing terrible is going to happen when I do take something from him. He also knows that he isn't the one who decides that we are going to barter for things, that the things I give him when I take something from him are not a negotiating tool or a bribe, but rather a prize or a party favor given to him by me.

Lots of times if my pup takes something of mine, a sock or whatever, I need to take it from him. Since I've been trying to teach him to retrieve, I call him to me and say "give" and take it and tell him what a good boy he is to "bring it here." Then I put it away. And we go do something else to change the subject. Sometimes he takes something and I have to hurry and go get it lest he breaks it AND I have to let him know that that object isn't for him to play with. So, I say "No" (can't have that) (firmly so it's clear to him)  and take it, saying "give". Then I say, "good boy" and hand him something else and tell him good for chewing on that. It just takes them a while to get a feeling for what is ok to chew or take and what isn't. It just comes with maturity and by showing them that your stuff is not toys. But, they have to respect you and learn that what you do (taking things included) is  for their own good....(mother knows best) LOL. But there's a firmness or a confidence in my actions that exudes an attitude that doesn't give room for a thought of challenge from the dog. It just doesn't enter their minds. I don't know how to describe it any better. I only know that I've never had aggression problems and in my case, I think it's because I think they know without consciously thinking about it, that Mom would come down on them as their own mother did, not more...not less.

Carrie

Hi Carrie, 

Thank you for your help.  I haven't had a dog before so it is all a big learning process for me as well.  I understand what you're saying about trust and kindness and I definitely give Buster a lot of attention and companionship and I would never dream of being unkind to him.  I have been doing some obedience training with him today and he has been excellent.  We are attending puppy training classes as well which I'm sure will help.  I have been giving him toys and then asking him to drop them in exchange for a treat.  I always give him something else in exchange for something that he is not allowed to have and praise him for chewing his own toys.  I have a box with all his toys in and I take one or two out at a time and give them to him when I decide.  I can put my hand into his food bowl and sometimes I pick it up and put a tasty treat in there and return it to him and he doesn't growl at me at all.  I think I will just have to continue with what I am doing and be more assertive with him so that he knows who is 'boss'!!  I still haven't tried the bone again yet!

Hi guest

Dogs are "hard wired" to resource guard it is a normal part of their behaviour. Obviously however, it is not acceptable in the dog/human interface.  The best advice I can give you is to buy yourself the book Mine! A practical guide to resource guarding by Jean Donaldson where she explains in extremely good detail how to prevent it occuring in the first place and a programme of how to change the behaviour.

Of course your dog will give up toys, they are nowhere near as valuable as bones etc :D

You could steal my cabbage any time but you won't get to my chocolates :D

If someone tried to take your steal your purse would you not hold on to it very very hard?

Same thing with the dog and its prized posssession. The trick is to train a dog by GIVING things and EXCHANGING things instead of trying to take them away!

Cchappo,

It sounds like you'll get this pup going on the right track. I didn't mean to imply that you weren't kind to your dog when I was talking about all that stuff that trust comes from. It was more of a general overview of my take on it. And my point was too, that one can be kind, companionable and loving, but also be assertive, confident and firm with discipline.

And yes, that trading things is a great way to get them started when they're pups. I should hope by the time they're older though, that they understand their position and won't require that every time. My dogs do. They are perfectly happy dogs with lots of leaway in many areas, but certain things they understand they can't have their own way....bones included. I could take a juicy, steak bone (which they don't get to have, splinters) out of their mouth and they'd give it up because they know that "mother knows best." They know that whatever I do in a positive, decisive way....without hesitation, they don't have the upper hand or say so in. And that in the end, things will turn out OK. LOL. I'm fair though. If a dog doesn't get to have anything that is natural for it to want ever.....I suppose it would be a depressed dog or a dog that is insecure and might lash out. This again is a general going off on a tangent. It's not about you and your dog. (I tend to ramble...sorry)

I can tell from your writing that you care so much and are good with your dog. Some of that conditioning just hasn't been done enough and you can do it now because your dog is still young. And I think that's a good idea to practice with it's food and other things for a while and then when things have become more established as to the dog's idea of it's place in the family, you could try the rawhide again. He should learn to give you anything because of two reasons. One: because you are his "mother" and he needs to follow your rules for his own 'survival' (as he would if he were in a dog pack) and two: because it makes it worth his while to follow your rules...good things happen when he follows your rules.

Keep us posted on how he's coming along. I think he's going to be great. It takes a while sometimes for puppies to find their niche in the family.

Carrie

Carrie