# Puppy growls over bone



## clr0722 (Jan 24, 2008)

I have a 6 month old lab/pit mix puppy and a 2 year old whippet/pit mix dog. They get along very well. 

The puppy has recently started growling whenever the 2 year old or I come near him when he is chewing on a special treat (today, for example, it was over a cow ear). He will also pick up the item and move away from us like he is guarding it. I do the thing where you take the food up and then put it back down - he is not aggressive over his food though. He has never shown any aggression towards adults, children or other dogs except for this bone thing. 

I realize that this behavior is not tolerable and that I need to do something right away to stop it. My older dog never exhibited any behavior like this, so I'm at a loss for what to do. I have read that teaching puppies the "drop it" command by using treats and positive reinforcement is one option. Does anyone recommend anything else? Or perhaps can you share your similar experience with me?

Thank you!


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## klip (Jul 22, 2008)

> I do the thing where you take the food up and then put it back down - he is not aggressive over his food though. He has never shown any aggression towards adults, children or other dogs except for this bone thing.


I am unsure from your post what exactly is going on. You seem to be saying he is not growling over food. But he is growling at your other dog when he has a bone. Does he growl at you or your children over a bone?

In my (possibly uninformed) opinion,  unless there is other vicious behaviour in other situations, merely growling at another dog when he has a bone is very normal and not neccesarily a indication of a problem.

Growling at you or any other human certainly is, as you point out 

You say you do the thing where you take his food away and give it back. Have you done the same thing with a bone? How does he act when you hand him a bone - has he learnt to take it gently from your hand? 

I would get him to take a bone gently from your hand, then you take it gently back, and give it to him again immedeatly. Without putting any emotional heat into the situation, if that makes sense.


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## RikkusAlpha (Aug 26, 2008)

Agreed with Klip.

If your dog growls at you, then that is an issue. Make sure you are implementing the "nothing in life is free" idea; that your dog has to work for the bone first, say a series of commands. Then you can try and take the bone back, ask for a few more. Maybe even keep the bone for a minute or two. 

If the dog is growling at you and it doesn't involve the bone, then that's another situation. My dog was VERY dominant when I first got her at 9 weeks. As soon as she growled, I would roll her over, but she'd go even crazier. I would just let her squirm. Sometimes I would grab her muzzle and say "no growl, bad dog". And whisper it with umph, idk why but whispering seems more intense to them. I also would isolate her when she would growl at me. It showed her that she doesn't get to be with the pack, safe and sound, when she misbehaves. It it got really bad, I'd get her by the scruff, put her in her crate, and cover the crate with a sheet (that way she didn't associate the crate negatively).

I wrote an article about my dog growling at me--it's on go articles: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1034973

Good luck


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

RikkusAlpha said:


> Agreed with Klip.
> 
> If your dog growls at you, then that is an issue. Make sure you are implementing the "nothing in life is free" idea; that your dog has to work for the bone first, say a series of commands. Then you can try and take the bone back, ask for a few more. Maybe even keep the bone for a minute or two.
> 
> ...


Uh, I don't know that I would go to you for dog training. Everything I have read, says do NOT use the crate for punishment, yet you do...and the way that you do it is unacceptable to me, especially for a 9 wk old puppy! How in the "bleep" can a 9 wk old be DOMINANT?  And how does a sheet over the crate keep her from associating the crate negatively. 

I hope someone can explain this to me.


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## Pepper (Jan 27, 2008)

Maybe he just learned a little differently, but I also do not believe a 9 week puppy has much guarding issues, and putting him in the kennel wasn't the right thing, sheet or not, he knows that it is the same place...

Now to help the OP:

Make him sit, or lay down, or lay down, stay and walk away, and make him work for the bone, not just give it to him because it is for him. 

Also teach him the drop it command, that way he will know he will have to give it up to you when you want it, and good luck! It may take some time to show some improvement but it'll help resolve the dominance issues. And him growling at the dog is okay, but at you is not because you are the alpha, the other dog is merely a member to him.


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

Pepper said:


> Maybe he just learned a little differently, but I also do not believe a 9 week puppy has much guarding issues, and putting him in the kennel wasn't the right thing, sheet or not, he knows that it is the same place...


Sorry CLR, I didn't mean to get so carried away and to not even offer advice (which in this situation I had none). Pepper said it "much more better" than I did. I hope you find the help you are looking for.


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