HELP !!!!! My 7 mos old MINI is GUARDING me from another Doggy friend!

[BRADY GOOSE MOORE (Mini Doodle]

Brady met and spent a week at our cottage with Moose, (my daughter's b.f.'s dog)  who is a German Shepherd and 6 weeks older than Brady.    All was great!   Moose is very friendly, playful and at ease with Brady.    They always meet on Brady's turf and Brady has lately  become seriously protective of both ME and his FOOD and his CRATE.  He is becoming very fiesty and has started a fight a few times.    MY QUESTION:   HOW DO I ADDRESS THIS TO PUT AN END TO IT.   ANY ADVICE WILL BE MUCH APPRECIATED.   Brady is o.k. if I leave him but as soon as I'm around things get pretty tense between them.       

[Ginny Nightingale]

All the small-ish dogs that I know seem to do this (just a coincidence, I am sure.) I have relatives that bring their Havanese to my home and she guards them all the time. We have three much bigger dogs, but she is clearly the boss and establishes boundaries quickly. I can only suggest that you introduce them slowly rather than throwing them together and that you reward  and praise him when he is calm around Moose with you there. The more he does this, the bigger the problem it will be. Just do not do what my relative do--actually I can't imagine anyone else stupid enough to do what they do...they hug the dog and say "Thank you for protecting me"--UGH!!!! 

[Jennifer and Jack]

Jack would guard if I let him, I nipped it in the bud and fast. I kept him on a leash and when he showed any sign of even considering trying to boss a bigger dog, he was quickly corrected with a firm NO.

 

I spent many and I mean many Saturdays in Pet Smart, I hate Pet Smart on Saturdays for many reasons one of them is how crowded it is but it is a great training ground. I worked with the trainer and I would go up to people who had bigger dogs and tell them I was trying to break Jack of a bad habit. Most people are agreeable to helping.

 

I would be more assertive with making sure he is comfortable with all size dogs. Something else I did was I always fed the other dog first. I made Jack walk behind on his leash and not out front and until he was well over a year he never was allowed to sit above my waist as to not be in a position of higher level.

 

The reason this is more of a problem with small dogs and not big has nothing to do with the actual size of the dog except for the fact that little dogs get away with a lot of things that teach them they can be boss, that just for obvious reasons a big dog can not, such as jumping on laps without permission.

 

I was told if I would not let a 100 pound dog perform a certain behavior, I should not let Jack. That has been the best advice I had. Jack used to food, toy and people guard. I should say he started showing early signs of it and I went to town doing the best I could to stop it.

 

I have no idea if anything I said was helpful but I hope.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think this is all great advice, and I especially like the thought that you shouldn't let a small dog do anything you wouldn't let a much larger dog do.  My trainer pointed that out to me early on...I was definitely letting Guinness get away with more, and even though he's a little guy he also needs the same rules.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Murphy tends to guard me and now Bella occasionally and I can stop it quickly when it happens by giving him a command, Sit, stay for instance. And then pet the other dog or let Bella go play w the dog while he sits. I tell him he's good for sitting, that I've got it, I don't need him to guard me and Bella is fine. Don't know if he understands, but it works for us. I would have to do what Jen did and take him regularily to work on it, but it's so sporadic and only happens about 1 out of 10 times.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

No advice really-just hope you can fix it now before it becomes a habit/problem. Our vet said you need to fix these when they are young or it will be a lot harder in the future. Good luck!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Just wondering if you've started any obedience training?  Seven months is a perfect time...before they get too far into adolescence.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

awe, Brady Goose, you need to settle down a bit buddy. Your mommy isn't going anywhere.

 

I like the idea of doing training with him and not letting him get away with stuff (assuming you aren't already doing this).

 

Maybe you should look up the Nothing in Life is Free technique for training and try that with him. Maybe it will remind him you are in charge and he can relax and just focusing on being silly Brady and having fun.

[BRADY GOOSE MOORE (Mini Doodle]

Sherri ~  I just googled this technique - sounds really good and I'll try to also get my DH to follow it too.   Thanks for the idea.