Toy and Food Possession

[Thistle]

Hi Guys,

Im sorry I know this topic has come up alot but i have read through them and the advice seems to differ as it is tailored to the specific situation.

As you know we rescued Mollie a few days ago and have been told she is 4years old. When we rescued her we were told she growled and snarled when ever anybody went to take her food bowl away from her. Now this is not a big issue for us as we are getting her into a routine with her food, and know we need to let her settle and trust us, at least before we start taking food away from her. So the routine we have is after her walk(morning and evening)she is made to sit and wait while we prepare her food it is then put on the floor while she is still waiting. If she moves we start again. Once the food is on the floor and Mollie is still waiting we will either have a drink or a biscuit, once we have finished our food/drink and she has not moved she will be told to go and eat and we leave her alone in the kitchen. The left over food is only removed once she has walked away. (if this is wrong please advise)

The problem is we have found that she is possessive over her toys, and she will growl, snarl and snap at us when we try and take her ball off her (ie. when we are playing fetch) Sometimes she will listen to the leave command and others if I say leave that just entices her to growl louder. When she is playing with her toys we tell her to leave and if she growls in response she is told No. I have taken the ball from her mouth before while she was growling and then she will just bounce around playing waiting for me to throw it for her again. However she became very aggressive earlier and started snarling with her teeth showing and snapped at me so I grabbed the scruff of her neck and pinned her to the floor telling her very firmly No I kept her pinned to the floor until she relaxed and stopped growling. Was this the right thing to do, I was taught it years ago in a training class it was to assert my position in the pack when misbehaving but it was with a staffy not Husky so am unsure if this is wise for me to do, especially as I have never seen anyone mention it on here???

Also earlier today Mollie came upstairs with me and when hunting in the bedroom, She found a box that was not hers and as soon as i told her leave the same behaviour began she growled and snarled at me. As i was on the other side of the bed I climbed over and stood next to her repeating the leave command, However she snapped at me and caught my arm (no blood nothing serious) I am not sure if this was caused by me moving closer to her. But she continued to snarl with the box firmly in her mouth. Again I told her Leave but she continued to snarl, at this point my brother came upstairs and she dropped the box and was quiet so I just sent her downstairs. My brother didnt give Mollie any commands or say anything to her, He just walked into the room and asked me if i was ok.

Sorry I know this is long i just wanted to give you as much information as possible.

Any advice to stop this behaviour would be great.

Thanks

Amy

[Removed #5]

Again, at the risk of getting into the "dominance" discussion, imo, what you're seeing is a dog who's trying to find her place in your pack. Which, given the situation - new dog, new place, new people - is completely normal. (( and she's a beautiful dog!! ))

Basically, what I'm seeing is a case of "this is mine" and if you're higher in the pack then you can have it but "you'll have to take it from me!"

The fact that she grabbed, rather than bit, suggests that this is not a serious issue with her, but just one of learning. Obviously your brother gives the impression of "superiority" just by his presence - the fact that he walked in and she submitted pretty much follows that logic.

When you're playing and she snaps when you try to take the ball then obviously "No!" and go away. If it's her just holding onto it, I'd try my best to determine if it's "just play" or if she's seriously possessive. The fact that she will normally "leave" it suggests that, once again, it's a not so much a matter of "possession" as it is a matter of trying to find out where her role lies in your pack.

Sasha and I have had a few of those discussion and she's gradually "granted" me the seniour role, but it hasn't been without some missteps on both our parts. On that same note, while I do free feed, I won't pick up her food bowl while she's eating - I *think* I could now, but I don't see any sense in stressing things.

You said that you've only had her a few days, maintain your stance "I want it, you will give it to me!" and the way you're feeding her, will in (probably) fairly short order "put her in her place" and you'll all be happy.

edit: I think in general "pinning" (alpha roll, whatever you want to call it) is generally frowned on here, I wouldn't and haven't used it - I think, in my mind, the potential for taking physically aggressive actions with a dog who is displaying aggressive behaviour is putting yourself into a situation that you really don't want to try to handle. She's big enough and strong enough that she would probably win in that situation; she's smart enough that you can work with her and she'll learn.

Edited August 23, 2012 by Al Jones