My cavalier bitch is 11 months old and absolutely gorgeous.  However my daughter dropped a piece of toast whilst eating breakfast.  My cavi got it, I went to get it from her, and she went to bite me.  She has never done this before?  Advice please??

Very uncharacteristic of cavaliers Is she due a season or just had one ? Why would you want to take it from her ? Had see been fed before it happened or was she waiting for her food ?

Please Join so that you can give a bit more information there are sevral reasons why she might do this

Must admit my lot love their toast(granary & very small bits)ina morning. They do not get theirs until I have had mine.

How old is your daughter? If she is very young and drops food, the dog may think the food is dropped for her.

I would try to avoid food being dropped (eg you could keep dog and daughter separated whilst she is eating) and clear up any dropped food before the dog comes back into the room). Also set up training situations where the dog is rewarded for "give" and "drop" with high value rewards such as liver. Also do  a swop with her for low value toys/food for really high value toys and food. All of this creates almost a habit of obedience and also trust between you :)

I suspect the dog meant to warn rather than bite (you don't say you were actually bitten).

I would work on this problem and be proactive in your training :)

Lindsay
X

One of my Cavs used to growl and snap if I went near when she was chewing a treat or denture rask. I told her "no" and took it from her, after afew attempts she stopped and if I take it from her now she lets me.

but i thought if you do that it makes the dog even more determined to not let it go the next time, or have i got that wrong? did you give it back to your cav each time, or just remove it totally?  thanks for any advice

I cannot understand why people want to give a dog food & then take it away What is it meant to achieve ? Showing your dog that you are the boss?

Much better to show your dog that you are a supplier of food & no threat by holding the dish whilst feeding a little at a time. In the wild the pack leader s the source of food. Never seen any wild dog allow a lower dog to have food & then take it away, especially not with Adults & younger dogs. The pack leaders eat first but the others are allowed to eat afterwards & not driven off after the Alpha has eaten

If it is to make the dog feel insecure & threatened it is an excellent method.

This is totally different to getting your dog to release soemthing it should not have especially if that something could be dangerous to the dog, this is where the exchange for a toy or titbit should be used along with a leave command

one of mine can be possesive over chews at times and i agree with the above comment...your Cav was prob warning you that the toast was hers....although i would discourage this i doubt any harm will come from it... some Cavs are scroungers (Like all dogs) ....if mine ever growl over a toy then i take it away they just forget about it in time...

/Bobo it can depend on the relationship between dog and owner, some owners are successful with telling the dog off and taking the chew but, it is not recommended generally because most owners do not have the knack and will make the problem far far worse in the way you mention. It happens time and time again and the problem usually escalates.

Lindsay
X

I still do not understand why people give a dog say a chew & then want to take it away-dogs do not understand this sort of action. Now if you train your dog to retrieve & use this for getting things from your dog that it should not have that is  a different matter. Also teaching a drop command is also useful

Are people still wanting to show the dog who's the boss ? Very Barbara Woodhouse(saw her in action once giving a dog a chew & then taking it back poor dog ended up terrified of touching anything whilst she was around)

your dog is still a pup really . does your cav know what no means ? if not try teaching her it .my dog a cocker is taught drop it .
its useful not only when she's giving you a ball or somthing but if she gets things shes not suposed to .

Id teach her drop with a toy everytime she drops the toy when you ask she will recive a piece of chicken or ham ect... you do this by taking the toy off her to start and replacing with the treat a kind of exchange if you like .then you teach her to drop things she shouldent be chewing . by this time she will know exactly what drop means sometimes you have to have a firm voice , but if she did get somthing that was dangerous you could get it off her alot easyier . if you see her running for what evers dropted you should say no she should at least look up you can then tell her to drop it . it should work its worth a try anyway .

most dogs growl with bones , i too take away but always give back when the growling has stopted it works . if you have a really agressive dog i dont think thats a good idea :P . sometimes you need to be firm or they will walk all over you . but always reward for good behavour they soon learn ;)

Can you explain to me why you think most dogs growl when they have bones I've never had this with mine & I would never give food & then take it away What exactly does that acheive ? Other than teaching your dog to bolt food when given in case it is taken away again ?