[reigndog]

ok heres my deal..
i have a three year old unaltered male about 35 pounds (who is going to be staying unaltered for the time being so this is not an option to "fix" the issue)

background:
growing up he went to the dog park a lot and got along swell with people and dogs. he is now the the only male living with two females.

problem:
he is very protective over a toy if he is, or has been, playing with it. not with us or the other dogs here, and not with other people, just other stanger dogs and only if the other dog actually shows interest in his toy. he is also protetive of me. if an over zealous dog at the park decides to jump up and greet me at the dog park he instantly goes on defense and tells the other dog off.
he has not been to the dog park much the past year but this isnt something i want to leave uncorrected. i realize i am dealing with male hormones here, but there has to be more i can do. he is a very loyal boy who will listen IF i know what to tell him, and how.
so i am looking for advice as far as teaching him proper behaviours through training and perhaps getting him out more

i was hoping to be able to do flyball with this guy, he's always learned everything i've asked him to. but im concerned about putting him in that environment with these specific issues. obviously toys and over zealous dogs are abundant at flyball

[cigwyllt]

Why not take him to a training class? Agility and flyball require a good level of general obedience anyway don't they so brushing up on his obedience will help with that plus he will learn to interact with other dogs in a controlled environment while you get an expert eye to warn you when he is about to kick off.

[reigndog]

well i've read up a bit on resource guarding. but as most of it is directed towards situations in which the dog is protective of things aganst it owner it doesnt help me much. it also calls for taking away the things he's protective over (toys etc) and to lower the excitement evel when playing with toys, but this is complicated since for flyball he needs to have a "target" that he IS excited about.

i agree obediance might be helpful, but the actual obediance (sit, stay, come etc) it would be elementary for him at this point, and for working with other dogs, i found there to be very little work done in class where the dogs actually interact and learned doggie social rules and boundries...if that makes sense...?

[Todd]

Sounds like possessive aggressiveness. Is this only seen with a specific toy? If you had a random tennis ball at the dog park would there be a problem? Possessiveness is instinctual a lot of the times. In the wild a dog would have to defend its poseessions from competition. I would correct your dog when he does this. Say "no" or "leave it". Be consistant with the commands. The use possibly a spray bottle also. If the dog listends to you praise him but don't use treats because he will most likely be possessive over those too. Try those after your are experiencing success. Establish your self as the alpha leader posision so your dog will respect your commands...

Alpha Boot Camp

If the dog doesn't listen remove him from the situation and take him home. Make positive association for behaving and negative association like having to go home for no behaving.

[PowerNubby]

My friend's dog and my dog used to do this often.. her dog was very protective of toys and food as well as her, and my dog would always be getting the brunt of his angry and possesion.

The good this was that my friend's aunt is a dog behaviorist. I had the opportunity to dog sit for her dog "Huckleberry" and before I did she showed me how to help her fix this problem with her dog..

So basically everytime the Huckle had a bone and my dog came near him (or any dog came near him) he would snap..

The dog never snapped at a person who took the bone or toy (so if you dog snaps at people as well as other dogs, this MAY NOT work).

Basically the situation was, if Huckle was chewing and snapped at Cappy for trying to take a bone, the caretaker has to step in and remove the bone and give it to the other dog and tell the defensive dog "GOOD BOY" and give him a treat.

This trains the dog that "giving away your stuff results in only GOOD things and rewards"

So you remove the toy the dog is guarding and give it to the other dog.. after the other dog has the toy you give your dog a treat.

The next step is the important part. After a few minutes of letting your dog watch the other dog with the toy but maintaining him in a "stay" position, you take the toy AWAY from the other dog and give it BACK to your dog.

When your dog takes it back you say GOOD BOY and treat again..

This solidifies that not only does sharing result in good things, but it's also not forever. People generally forget this last step and because dogs are very short sighted, they feel they will loose that item forever.

By giving the toy back after 2 minutes of good behavior watching the other dog playing with it, you are reinforcing the idea of SHARING (because sharing SHOULD go both ways).

This has worked WONDERS with her dog in the realm of toys and such..

As far as him protecting YOU, this is a very different mechanism and you are likely partially to blame here. Most dogs protect their owners that are not really LEADERS. The reason I say this is because no dog feels the need to protect their leader because the leader is ALWAYS the protector.

You should do some reading on how to be an alpha leader with your dog and how to show him that you are the protector, the leader, and the person who allows the dog to live in THEIR house.

Hope this helps.. update me with some news as you try it.

** I would also like to note that bringing a dog that has these behaviors to a dog park is a BAD idea and I would not being him back until he has shown improvement. The fact that he is in tact AND is showing aggression is just a situation waiting to explode.

Only go to the dog park when no one is there and ask a friend with another dog to meet you there. NEVER go there when there is more than just you and your friend's dog. This is a very touchy situation and you do not want anyone's dog to get hurt.. The presence of your dog intact and the possibility of another intact male and in heat female could lead to someone getting seriously injured. MOST parks do not even allow intact dogs for this reason..

Hate to lecture you, but its still NOT to neuter your dog in 98% of all cases