Territorial over Toys!

[Allison & Remington]

My doodle Remington is just over a year old now and I'm beginning to notice some behavior that's upsetting me. We go to the dog park 4-5 times a week and Remington loves it, he runs and plays very well with all the other dogs. Recently, if a toy rope or ball is introduced and Remi starts playing with it, he gets very selfish. If another dog tries to play with it or take it away, he gets aggressive and growls and snarls. Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with this? He is such a friendly dog but this behavior makes he appear to be a real jerk!

[Judith and Addie]

The behavior is called resource guarding and it pretty normal for dogs to guard possessions, especially from other dogs. I believe that is why most dog parks I have seen instruct you not to bring toys or food into the park.

It does require some behavior modification. A book you might want to check out is Jean Donaldson's "Mine".  It has many ideas of how to address this.  You might want to work on "leave it: and "drop it" commands. When one of my dogs would start resource guarding in the dog park, I would leave the dog park. You want to minimize the repetition of this behavior as much as possible. I also was the one who would tell people who brought toys that I was working on a resource guarding problem with my dog and would they mind not using their toys. I also kept an eye out for toys left at the dog park and would put them out of reach.

[Shari Becker]

I feel your pain. Lexi can sometimes be very naughty about leaving the dog park. I've started bringing treats with me so that she will come when I call her, but last week, a 7-month-old puppy tried to come over and get a treat. Lexi growled and snapped at him. She didn't break his skin, but she did hurt him a little. She has had bouts of resource guarding before, but I was so humiliated. She seemed like such a nasty dog... It totally makes sense not to bring treats to the park, but now I'll have to figure out how to get her out of there. ;-)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm really surprised that the dog park allows you to bring toys....for most dogs that creates a real problem.  I would never bring toys, and if someone else does I would leave.  A well trained dog will listen to your command to "drop it" and you can certainly work on that with Remington.  That really doesn't help when two dogs are vying for the same toy and you're not right there to intercede, and that's why I wouldn't stay under those circumstances.  As for the treats, I think it's totally fine to call Remington, and when he comes leash him and take him out and give the treat at that point.  The reward is actually from leaving the park.  That way you're not having to deal with the other dogs while you're treating Remington.

[DonMarie and Picco]

I didn't know parks have "no toy" policy. I don't frequent them often but have found tennis balls already there. I have this same problem with Picco. He won't give the ball up with the drop it/leave it command with other dogs around. I've left parks for this reason or have given my attention to watching and interacting to keep the play safe. Luckily our dog sitters dog and some others with hang out with don't care about toys!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I've been looking at dog park rules in our area, and the one that I've used in the past appears to be the only one that doesn't allow toys.  It's a posted rule....and for the most part people comply.  I guess it's unusual, although I think allowing toys in an unsupervised situation with multiple dogs is asking for trouble.