Clareanddaisy i also notice that you consider the word no or hey as a punishment!! I have a pack if i didnt occasionally tell them no or interrupt them when their all sitting together eating chews and one shows interest in the others because they want it. You can imagine i would have problems. If you read further i refer to getting her to sit watch me and reward. As an alternative behaviour.

I think the dominance is a red herring and leads to misunderstandings.
She is not being dominant she is simply guarding her rescources - this has absolutely nothing to do with dominance whatsoever, it is a normal canine behaviour. Dogs don't share - possession is 100% of the law - submissive dogs even puppies will hold on to what is theirs. We teach them to give things up, but it is not a natural canine response.

Mimms how long have you had her? As a rescue, do you know her background. I think for now, the most important thing is to manage the situation and not let her preactice this behaviour. So no toys/treats around other dogs and good that you are seeing a behaviourist. Without knowing her background there are many reasons why she is like this, so I think the best thing would be to get on the ground advice.

Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate it!

I've had her for exactly 4 months today. To be honest, I don't know anything about her past, only that she was found very thin in some village. So I can see where this food guarding comes from. But people at the shelter said that she showed absolutely no signs of food agression at all. But she was one scared dog, it took me a while to make her more confident (she woulnd't cross the street, she was scared of people and very submissive with other dogs - she was scared of Maltese dog even though she is much bigger). So I think she let other dogs at the shelter take her food. I never took anything from her, so she doesn't have to protect anything from me and I think she knows it - I have no problems with possessive aggression towards me but I never tried other people take stuff from her to see her reaction. I don't think she'd like it, though.
I think I should also mention that she only growls at dogs she knows thay won't really hurt her. If she feels she could get attacked she just leaves.
Also, she doesn't mind sharing treats with other dogs when I feed them from hand. I mean, there are for example 5 dogs sitting in front of me, I give them treats and she just doesn't care. As soon as there is a bowl, she growls. Like yesterday, we were on a trip, I gave her water, other dog came and she started barring her teeth and growling. I poked her with my finger and said "hey, what do you think you're doing" and she stopped and looked pretty guilty. So I think this should help?

Well, I dont take her toys out with me, but she or other dogs will find something to play with. My bitch will find a bottle, she will run in front of other dogs so they run after her, then she'll stop and start acting all crazy.
Actually I was told by a trainer yesterday to take whatever she has in her mouth until she calms down and is no longer fixated on the object. I asked whether she won't think she should also protect stuff from me but he said I'd be only showing that everything is MINE and I decide when she plays and how she plays and that she will only play when she plays nice. I will try that and let you know if it works or not.

Kali was very possessive of her toys when younger but grew out of it by herself, now Flynn also a young boy is possessive of his toys too, not in an aggressive way, just runs past the other dog to get to it first. However with food I don't expect any of them to want to share. The two little dogs have no problem with each other and Marts doesn't have a problem with them either but put the three Mals together with their meals and that would be a nightmare!
I agree some things are worth guarding and as two things drive dogs most - sex and food - I would expect some dogs will be resentful of another dog in their space when eating.

I like my guys to enjoy their meals in the own time, no rush and no threat from another. After all it's one of the highlights of their day.

__________________

Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

I am recently having this problem too. My girlfriend has a 3 year old coon hound / blood hound mix (Carlton - 135 lbs) and he is very very passive (and spoiled). The dog grew up sharing toys and food with an older beagle, with no apparent problems. She split up with her x and no longer has the beagle, and moved. I have a collie / terrier mix, Marley (35 lbs - almost 2 years old). The two dogs get along great and play together really well. There is only one small problem. Whenever the coon hound has a large milkbone or meat bone (or any type of larger treat) he gets very possessive with it. We give both dogs larger treats / bones at the same time. Carlton will usually just lick it and leave it alone, idk if he is saving it or what. Marley will usually eat it / naw on it right away and finish it. The girlfriend and I can easily take the treat away from both the dogs, but as soon as my Marley gets near “his treat” to smell or take it when he isn’t eating it, Carlton gets very feisty, his lips curl up a bit, and sometimes snaps at Marley. I usually yell “NO!” at him, put him on his side, and grab the top of his mouth for a little while. The girlfriend usually takes the bone away and puts it on-top of the fridge so neither dog can get at it. I am looking for a solution to this. Any tips? I am sure the easy way out is to keep Marley away from Calrton’s treats, but that is not a solution to the problem, just avoiding it.

Note:

The dogs do not live together, just usually see each other for 4+ days out of the week.
If either dog has a bone or dish of food, I will periodically take it from them, make them sit, and then give it back.
When the dogs play together, Marley will usually get to the thrown toy first, and then Carlton usually chases Marley around. Most of the time he will get it back and they both will play with the stick or toy. However, if Marley finds an object to run around (she is a lot faster) she is able to play keep-away and Carlton will usually whine or bark really loud because he cannot get to the toy. This will also happen in her apartment…. Marley will run underneath the table and play keep-away and after some time Carlton will bark really loud because he cannot get to it/her.

Edit: If we are at the dog park, and a dog is playing with a tennis ball, Carlton has barked at the other dog because he wants the ball. (happened once)

Thanks

bump......