I chatted yesterday with a friend of mine from high school asking for advice about her 9 month old cock-a-poo pup.
Apparently, he gets aggressive when he has a treat, a toy, a bone or his food. He growls and threatens to bite when you get near him.
* Honestly: We must be doing something correctly – our dogs never give us aggressive behavior when it comes to their toys, treats or food. We could put our face in theirs when playing and take the item away without a 2nd thought or any negative reaction from them whatsoever. I never fear grabbing something from them, no matter how fabulous it is to them, even a bone. The same goes for any child or baby that is around them. We’ve never had a problem…
There could be 2 Reasons for this behavior in a puppy, in my opinion.
1. He’s afraid you’ll take it away – Why would he feel like that? Well, if you put food out in intervals for your dog and then take away the bowl in between, or if they don’t feel like they get enough food, they may have this behavior when you approach him at this time.
Maybe you or your child will tease them with the toy and never let them get it back when playing, this could create this sense of protective behavior over their toys. Puppies need time to play with their toys and to attain the toy when you’re playing tug of war or throwing it to them - i.e. don’t always pretend to throw the toy for them – actually throw it!
Photo left: Our Kurious Kissyface as a 3 month old puppy playing with her boney.
2. He doesn’t respect you & thinks he’s in charge – If your puppy or dog is aggressive towards you at all, they feel they’re in charge, and have no problem showing you.
What To Do:
1. Reassess the amount of food you’re giving your dog. Also, consider leaving the bowl out for them during the day with food in it. They may not feel so anxious and aggressive in protecting the food that’s always out there.
Some dogs overeat and will eat and eat themselves until they are sick. I’ve never heard of a terrier that’s very prone to this. Typically, dogs know when to stop. They’ll snack throughout the day and usually wait until after your meals (mostly to see if they’ll get some of what you’re eating) to eat more substantially.
We always leave a bowl of food out for the dogs and we’ve never had a problem with an overeater.
2. Make sure they know who is in charge! I always look to the elder dogs in a pack for guidance on how to deal with a puppy.
When a puppy is doing something bad, wrong, inappropriate or irritating, what does the mommy dog do?
She’ll give a quick snarl, maybe a frightning snap to scare them (like how he’s trying to scare you), and if that doesn’t work, you’ll need to do all 3 and grab them quickly and firmly by the scruff of their necks.
That should shock them enough to get their attention, show them you’re in charge and mean business, and embarrass them a bit.
You sternly tell them no while looking into their eyes. Then, you take the bone away. Try it again later or another day.
I know it sounds silly, but you are their doggy mommy, daddy and family. Treat them as they would be treated in the pack – they’re the real experts!
You may feel silly growling, snarling or what have you, but I can attest that this works – they’ll respect you for it!
* Don’t Forget – What a Puppy Learns, They’ll Do Their Whole Lives…
…If you don’t want them to be aggressive, you MUST teach them early on!!!
* Thanks to Melissa for talking with me about this problem with her puppy.
***
I hope you enjoyed this Terrier Training post on Terrier Lover! Until next time…
Love Your Terrier,
Kimberly Edwards 
P.S. Get Your Terrier Lover Updates before my Dog Eats Them!
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