Received Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix, Female from Hum. Society 1 wk. ago.
Her name is Nikki and she was very friendly in the pen, but after taking her home she growls/snarles at my visitors. She gets very agressive at her food bowl or with her favorite toy and will snap at us if we try and reach for it.

We will be having children visit us soon and are very worried if we had made a bad decision. Nikki is very sweet and loves to be held and hugged. What can we do to stop this bad behavior????? PLEASE HELP US ASAP

Well every dog does that..I guess it's their way of getting attention.

I am sorry I do not agree. Not every dog does that. I have a 7 month old puppy and he does not growl at visitors, he is pleased to see them and he does not growl at me when I touch the food bowl. In America some rescue places put a dog down if it is food aggresive. You didn't say how old she was Tater54? Is she a puppy or older dog? I would be very cautious of her with children as they do not think twice about picking up a dogs toy. The last thing you want is her biting a child. I am not saying get rid of her as it may be something that can be sorted with time and patience. Speak soon ---Aggy

There's a good chance that you are dealing with an insecure or scared dog. You should learn about triggers, thresholds, counter conditioning and desensitization. It is important that you don't allow this dog to continue to practice inappropriate behaviors and you should accomplish this without punishment. Your dog is also a resource guarder and needs to learn the game of trading something it is guarding for something better that you have to offer him. Do this enough, and also return what they originally had and the dog will learn that letting you take what they have is a double good idea.

Check out this site for more info about the techniques mentioned above

Working with a fearful, scared or shy dog

There is also a page for books. You should look for one called MINE! as well as reading some of the books focusing on scared dogs.