Agression

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

We gave Yeti a Beef trachea today (thank you Karen for the idea)! He was on the floor of our bedroom and as I walked by he started growling. Totally unlike him. I went to grab it from him (to see if he would growl again) and sure enough he did. I'm wondering how YOU would handle the situation. I put him into a submissive position and held him there for a minute or two longer.
He has no food agression so I would love for him not to have any agression over chews or toys.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm not sure I should say "You're welcome", lol.

This is a classic example of resource guarding. Apparently, the trachea is a very high value object to him. 

I'm going to let the training experts here advise you on how to handle resource guarding. Hint: it involves the dog learning that nothing, including the trachea, belongs to him. Everything belongs to you, and is under your control, not his. :) 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Yes thank you thank you! He clearly loves it so far! He has only done this another time months ago. I didn't know how to handle it then either but he never did it again until today haha. He is much bigger now so I want to really try to stop it now!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If you don't get some good advice here, try posting in the Training Group asking how to deal with resource guarding. :)

[Stella]

When my guys were younger I always traded them for whatever they had. That way I was never (in their eyes) taking something away because I always have them something else, even if it was just a few treats in exchange for whatever they had. This way they learned to give things up very easily, never felt the need to guard because they always got something in return. Now I can take anything away even without trading, because I have built that level of confidence in them. If he always thinks you are going to take something of high value away, he will learn to guard it more.

[Kaitee and Orwell]

While I never experienced this with Orwell, I was taught how to make sure it never became a problem. In short, you need to teach him that anything you supposedly give him is also yours to do with whatever you wish. Like Stella, I started by trading him various things. After we established that, I now every so often just take whatever he has and play with it in front of him for a time. He doesn't protest or anything. He never has, and I actually suspect I don't have to do this anymore, but sometimes it is fun to play with his toys. :P I also used to actually grab a handful of food out of his bowl while eating as well. I don't do it anymore, though, because the smell of his food lingers. You can just put your hand in the bowl and sift through his food as well. That was originally recommended to me, but I wanted to see how far I could take it because the prior never phased him. He also has toys that are for supervised play only. I put those away in front of him, and he is okay with it. I would recommend keeping any supervised toys up high somewhere where they can reach because I put them in a drawer in the beginning and he knew it was in there because of his good sniffer. He whined, and I forgot I put them in there. I didn't think he would ever know they were in there because they are rubber toys and that was one time when I know he didn't see where I put them. 

I would also recommend that when Yeti gets a new toy to have him do something for you before you give it to him. I never just hand Orwell a new toy even though he knows which things I bring home are for him and which are for me. 

[Tina M]

Hi! I had the same problem with my doodle when he was younger  (now 8 months old). He would do resource guarding even with his food but he outgrew it. If I give him a bone, he would hide somewhere to eat it and if I go near him, he would growl. But the trainer said to give the bone but keep holding on to it so when he licks it, you can still take it away.  I would do this to him and eventually, I could trust him with a bone without being aggressive. He got over it and is not doing any resource guarding anymore.