The Switch

Wow, I could never do that at my house.  Benjamin, Henry and Luna are amazing.

Carla, that video is absolutely precious…they are so gentle with one another.  Too sweet…

Love the pic of Henry too…it does look like he’s taken a little nap mid chew.  LOL

I always give them each a bone, two (I’ve got two pugs) but they always want the others bone. They’re so silly!

Sue VDB, sound like you’ve got your hands full, but a time will come when you will be able to have a second pug and it’s truly a joy!

What a great shot! how sweet is that?
“Ugh…I just can’t chew one more bite!“zzzz

Oh that would not fly in my house. When I dole them out they are always looking at what the other one got. They may drop there’s and run to the others and switch but I have to keep them away from each other or there will be a pug grudge match! LOL!

Pat - oh no - that would not work for me. The only thing they can’t own me with is if I want something they have I get it!
I’m not an expert but in cases where my benee had something like toy stuffing I did the following when he was little (he wouldn’t dream of being aggressive with me now).
If they snarl or growl or get aggressive and you don’t feel like grabbing him by the back of the neck and giving a firm no! then get a water gun or spray bottle and a few squirts should work for him to let it go. Make him sit - pet him and reward him with praise for sitting and then hand the object back to him and then take it back again.
again - I was a novice but it worked - I can take anything I want from him (even bones)

I’ll jump in here. (the dog trainer in me can’t help myself)

You don’t want to correct a dog for growling because you are then taking away their warning communication and can end uo with a dog that bites without giving the warning at all. You are also not changing the emotion of the event which is what you want to do in this case.

He is being possessive of the item because it has high value to him. In his case it sounds like the newness wears off and then he will share. Dogs are naturally resource guarders, some are just more insistant about it than others.

Dogs with proper social skills will pay attention to a growling dog and make a decision. It will either be to respect the grolwing dog and back away or to challenge the dog in which case you then end up with a fight or the growling dog relinquishing the item. It may come down to the value of the item in each dogs perception. Some things aren’t worth fighting over yet others are.

There is a book called Mine! A guide to resource guarding in dogs I would recommend. It is by Jean Donaldson.

In the meantime, if the dog is growling at you, you can play the trade game with him to teach “give” by trading yummy treats with him while you take it away and then give it right back. This way he makes a positive association with you taking the item and won’t guard it more thinking it will disappear or that he will get a correction when a hand comes near his item.

If it is about guarding from other dogs you may need to simply segregate him off with a new item until he learns to relax with it if you think it will cause a fight. Sometimes it is about management until you can do counter conditioning.

I think expecting dogs to share all items is asking alot. If you are playing with something and someone tried to take it away from you how would you react? Thankfully some dogs are content to let other dogs take their stuff away and find another toy to occupy themselves.

Yes we can teach dogs to let us have their stuff when we ask but it needs to be done in a fair manner. And one that doesn’t have fallout of taking away their communication.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

The grass is always greener, isn’t it?  Or in this case, the bone is always jucier.  Adrian and Rocky are each given two chewies or bones (exactly the same), but Adrian will drop hers after a minute or so, just sit and stare at Rocky and wait till he gets thirsty and then, when Rocky leaves his treat to go into the kitchen to get a drink, Adrian swoops in and snags his goody. Of course, vice versa.  This little dance goes on all evening long.  It’s really a hoot!  Too cute for words.

Thanks Marie, very helpful information.  We do not purposely try to take anything away from him, but have noticed that he is very possessive of a new toy or treat.  My husband has tried to “play” and do the trade game, to see if we can show Mr Skittles that it is ok to have someone touch his new item.

I love Henry, Benny & Luna, and look forward to reading about their adventures every day.
Happy puggy weekend to all!!