Hello, I have a 4 month old golden retriever and he has been perfect since I got him at 8 weeks old. But recently he has been agressive towards other dogs when there is something he really likes, or if there is food around. Furthermore, today I gave him a real bone to chew on, which he has never had before, and when I got near it he growled. Should I be worried about leadership issues? I can still take his food away, and put my hands in the bowl while he is scarfing it down without any reaction. Thanks!
Taking food away
- Thread starter Gold_Digger
- Start date
R
This puppy needs to learn the wonderful TRADE game.
1) put your other dogs away.
2) give puppy the high resource article. (bone, favorite toy, etc)
3) Arm YOURself with something EVEN better. Cheese. Peanut butter. Pieces of steak....
4) Go up to the puppy and show him your marvelous goody. Smile and be jolly about it. The instant the puppy makes a move toward you and the goody, let him have the marvelous tidbit. He will have to drop his bone to do that, of course. As the bone is falling out of his mouth, say DROP IT, and give him the reward. If he grabs the bone again, no worries. Just play the DROP IT game again. Do this several times, and then go away and leave him to enjoy his goodie. When it's time to put it away, go again, get him to drop it, give him a goody that will take him a moment to chew, and put the bone away.
Do this on a daily basis until you can reach out and take the bone and then treat the dog.
If you are not in training class with this pup, I would get there immediately. He's smart, and he's going to keep you jumping.
1) put your other dogs away.
2) give puppy the high resource article. (bone, favorite toy, etc)
3) Arm YOURself with something EVEN better. Cheese. Peanut butter. Pieces of steak....
4) Go up to the puppy and show him your marvelous goody. Smile and be jolly about it. The instant the puppy makes a move toward you and the goody, let him have the marvelous tidbit. He will have to drop his bone to do that, of course. As the bone is falling out of his mouth, say DROP IT, and give him the reward. If he grabs the bone again, no worries. Just play the DROP IT game again. Do this several times, and then go away and leave him to enjoy his goodie. When it's time to put it away, go again, get him to drop it, give him a goody that will take him a moment to chew, and put the bone away.
Do this on a daily basis until you can reach out and take the bone and then treat the dog.
If you are not in training class with this pup, I would get there immediately. He's smart, and he's going to keep you jumping.
First off, he is a dog, part of a pack....he is showing his alpha status over the others. And if he is doing it a 4 months old, then, I would have to say, he may be alpha. He is not human, he is a pack animal... that's how I train. If I train a dog, I become one of the pack, parrots - a part of the flock, monkeys - part of the troop, lions - a pride and so on... See the world through your pets eyes, and always make it positive.
Your dog (as a pack animal) will show his leadership towards your other dogs. As long as they don't draw blood, then they are just doing what is natural. If he is getting overly aggressive, (like drawing blood) then consult a trainer that deals with aggression.
Otherwise, you may just have an alpha in YOUR pack, and that is fine among them,, as long as THEY know YOU are the REAL alpha there. He is either going to "set the standard" to a point (as much as you allow), or he will get over it, or you may need a pro. to stop it. I would keep them socialized, not seperated, because like in the wild, they are together...but as they become domesticated more and more, you may need further advice.
I wouldn't take away food or cover it, don't confuse his natural sense of being... Again, if it gets worse consult an expert.
Your dog (as a pack animal) will show his leadership towards your other dogs. As long as they don't draw blood, then they are just doing what is natural. If he is getting overly aggressive, (like drawing blood) then consult a trainer that deals with aggression.
Otherwise, you may just have an alpha in YOUR pack, and that is fine among them,, as long as THEY know YOU are the REAL alpha there. He is either going to "set the standard" to a point (as much as you allow), or he will get over it, or you may need a pro. to stop it. I would keep them socialized, not seperated, because like in the wild, they are together...but as they become domesticated more and more, you may need further advice.
I wouldn't take away food or cover it, don't confuse his natural sense of being... Again, if it gets worse consult an expert.
Yup, all of the above. He's trying to be your leader, too, which is not acceptable in your family pack. It's okay for him to be alpha over the others -they'll sort this out for themselves anyway, and their doggy pack needs an established heirarchy, but YOU are the real alpha in your home.
Your dog should surrender anything to you that you want, without argument. When you are teaching this, though, as mentioned above, you need to trade - because the pup will go and find something else to chew if you take away what he already has and don't replace it with anything.
Now my pups trust me enough to know that if I say `give' they'll give it up, because it only ever leads to good things, not bad. This is a very important command, and will help in countless different situations.
Your dog should surrender anything to you that you want, without argument. When you are teaching this, though, as mentioned above, you need to trade - because the pup will go and find something else to chew if you take away what he already has and don't replace it with anything.
Now my pups trust me enough to know that if I say `give' they'll give it up, because it only ever leads to good things, not bad. This is a very important command, and will help in countless different situations.