Help! Agressive puppy?!

[candt]

I need some advice! I have a 3.5 month old goldendoodle named Marley. We've had him since he was 8 weeks old and he's been great so far! But today something happened that really has me concerned. We went to our local ice cream shop for dogs night out where they give out the little doggie ice cream cups. Marley was eating his and my 4 year old was petting him and then took his cup away (he thought he was going to help him by holding it up) Immediately when his hand got near the cup of ice cream Marley growled and actually went after him. It of course scared my son and later we had a talk about touching dogs food, etc. but up until this Marley has never shown any kind of aggression like that. My kids feed him daily as one of their chores, they give him treats, etc. He has been very very good with the kids. This incident really has me nervous and I wasn't sure what to do at the time, I took the cup away, told him no and we left. It all happened so fast! I need advice - what should I have done and what can I do to prevent this from happening again? Thanks for any help! 

Heres a picture of our Marley!

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Such a cutie! There are so many people on this site that know way more than I do so I'm curious to see what they say. With both of my dogs I make them take treats out of my hand to be gentle and when they were very young, well one still is, I take their food and hold it sometimes or have them eat from my hand. Just so they get comfortable with me or other people touching their yummy things lol. I think what you experienced was resource guarding. If you search that you might find a lot of older discussions with people that had similar issues? I personally haven't experienced that but I think you were absolutely correct to take the treat away and leave. Good luck with your cute boy!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I really think it should only be someone who Marley views as a "leader" to take away any resource from him, especially something as valued as ice cream.  I would not let the kids take food away.  When dogs view people as "leaders" they feel okay about them taking things away....but I really doubt they would see the children in that role.  You can do specific training for this where Marley gets rewarded each time the children take a resource away with no reaction on his part, but that is an exercise that I think should be proofed pretty well before I'd allow any child to take food away.

[Ginny Nightingale]

He is very cute! I agree with Jane--he is not an aggressive dog, but when they are in a litter, puppies pull things away from each other all the time and growling etc, occurs--they are establishing a pecking order--to Marley, your child is another sibling in the litter and he feels he has a right to grab something back--as your child gets older and Marley has been well taught (BY YOU) to give things up--use a trading technique by giving him a treat and getting him to drop what he has) then you might be able to include the kids in the trading game--but not yet. 

[candt]

Thanks for the replies. I agree with all of you about not letting the kids be involved yet. I am more concerned about his reaction and if it was a sign that he would have an aggressive side to him in the future.

[Kaitee and Orwell]

On a side note-

Puppies exhibit many behaviors that most would consider alarming. The nip, bite, etc. when there are teething. Some even growl while they do this. Some of these pups are just vocal in their play-- yes, the nipping and biting is their form of play at this age. Just consistently let them know that this behavior is not okay with you, and it will eventually subside after they get out of that crazy stage. 

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Your pup is not aggressive. Many dogs react to their food being handled/taken away from them. While my pup has never showed signs of this behavior like your pup has, I do some things with him so I can prevent the behavior. I agree with Jane that it has to be YOU who carries these activities out with him as the leader right now. Pups tend to see children as their equals, thus squabbles are permitted in their mind. 

To start off, have you pup wait for his food after you put the bowl down for him to get it. Keep him away from it until you give him a queue that it is okay for him to start eating. I do this every night with my pup. The other thing you should do frequently (for now) is to stick your hand in his food while he is eating. Shuffle your hand around in there and take some food away temporarily. Give it back if there is no reaction. I don't do this every night... I would say that I do it about once a month just to make sure my pup's behavior hasn't changed. However, I would recommend you do this frequently for a while until you are confidant that the behavior has been reversed.