Not so nice to younger dogs

[VScott & Lloyd]

Just looking for some guidance/tips on how to handle this...

Lloyd will turn 2 years old next March and is generally a great dog. He is exposed to a lot of different people and dogs at the dog park, at the occasional stay with a sitter and their dogs, and dog friends that visit our home. I've noticed a trend lately that if the dog is younger than he is, he will act dominant and attack (but subsequently not hurt) the poor puppy.

For example, at the dog park, if the dog is younger than him and trying to entice him to play/ chase him/ mess with him while he's playing with his ball, he gets very annoyed and will attack (again but not hurt). I assume he's just telling them that he's annoyed and this is normal? He doesn't seem to do this if the dog is an adult...or maybe the adults don't bother him like a puppy does?

Another example, our Aunt got a new puppy (6 month french bulldog) and Lloyd and the pup played great in the backyard. Lloyd was gentle with him while they wrestled and chased each other. Lloyd got muddy so I had him stay outside until I could wash his paws (maybe 10 minutes). Little pup wasn't muddy so he was allowed to come in. They both were inside, all was fine, and then I went to give them each a treat. Lloyd saw this and attacked the puppy like he thought he was going to steal his treat. Puppy was fine but scared and I sent Lloyd to his bed. I gave the puppy a treat to calm him. We then reintroduced them and thought all was fine. Lloyd started following the puppy around and then attacked him again for no reason. Lloyd sent to bed for good this time. Maybe he was jealous but I was upset he would do this.  I have given him treats with other dogs many, many times before and he did not attack them.

Thoughts?

[Laura and Angus]

You described two examoles of your dog displaying some food/toy (resource) aggression. Do you find "attacks" seem to happen more when your pup has an item or is protecting an item?

What happens directly before the attack (e.g. are they playing with something, interacting with a person, eating something etc?) and what happens directly afterwards (e.g. get attention from a human, scare off the other dog etc)?

[Laura and Angus]

Sorry that should've said "resource guarding" ....phone issues

[VScott & Lloyd]

Thanks for replying!

Yes, I do believe "attacks" happen more when there are toys/food and therefore, he gets no items of high value that he deems worthy of guarding from me or my family. High value treats include things like bully sticks, knuckles, etc. We took those treats away well before he turned a year and things have been good. Now the only toys he has are balls and WestPaw rubbery toys.

At the dog park, Lloyd definitely is ok with some dogs getting his ball and I notice they are adult dogs (esp a certain female lab who he seems to love). Puppies seem to want to play with him (not the ball) and so he gets annoyed. Especially with the herding type dogs that try to corral him while he's running, although I don't really blame him for those situations. There's never really a long drag out fight...a quick "attack," I yell "no" or "uh uh" and then it's over. Still unsettling though.

However, with my Aunt's puppy and the 1st attack, it was surprising to me because I've dogsat both my sisters' dogs (3 altogether - 1 lab, 2 shih tzu/maltese) and have given treats to all dogs at the same time. Their dogs are older than Lloyd. No problems. We've had friend's dogs (adult pug and chihauhau), come over and again treats for everyone, no problems.

The 2nd attack,  the puppy wasn't doing anything but just walking around the kitchen, almost trying to avoid Lloyd. Lloyd followed him around and then "attacked" for no reason that I could tell. I can't figure that one out except he was jealous and mad that he got in trouble because of him. But that's quite a complex thought for a dog though, no?

Most dogs (mainly the puppies) yelp and cower after the "attack." I actually can't really recall an incident when he's attacked another adult dog besides the herding dogs.

I don't want to make Lloyd out to sound like a monster at all. He has gone to many different dog sitters that usually are watching other dogs also, and all of them have never mentioned any problem with him. Some actually say they want to keep him :) He's generally excited to see other dogs and wants to play with them. He always wants to say hello to passing dogs during walks. He was initially very playful and gentle with my Aunt's puppy and tried to entice him with one of his toys. And he is neutered.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Is it YOU he is guarding perhaps?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I really think he's just being a bully, and he knows to pick on the younger, more vulnerable dogs where he can get away with the behavior.  The fact that he never hurts the other dog would tell me his motivation is intimidation rather than aggression.  Because he's worse when there are things to "guard", I would avoid having toys or food around when he's with puppies or smaller, younger dogs.  I would also verbally correct the behavior when it goes "over the top" and immediately remove him from the situation...."if you can't play nice, you can't play at all".

[VScott & Lloyd]

Thank you!

I know that just like people, dogs have their own personalities. I'm just surprised that Lloyd just doesn't have the tolerance that most Goldens have (not sure about poodles). Another example, although he is very good with babies and little kids (kisses them and lies still for them to pet him), he has a tipping point and will bare his teeth when he's had enough. Of course, we are always watching him with little kids. I guess, what I'm asking here is, is there a way to stretch his tolerance or is this just how he is?

And I do notice he is more submissive to strange dogs he does not know. For example, if we are on a walk he will wait for other dogs to come up to him first to say hello. Even if they don't stop to say hello, he will stop in his tracks and wait for the other dog to pass.  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I've been thinking about this, and although you can "train" a dog's behavior to a certain extent, it's always critical to watch their signals.  Our Murphy was not great with young children, especially if they were loud and moving around quickly.  We worked with a trainer and through lots of practice and reinforcement were able to get him to the point where he is no longer reactive around them.  Because I know that he's controlling his behavior (but is still nervous in this situation) I never leave him alone with the kids.  I'm always looking for him to give me a signal that he has "had enough".  So we were able to stretch his tolerance because he is no longer reacting, but I know that he's still not totally comfortable in these situations....so I'm careful not to push him too far.  I hope this makes sense.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Thank you for sharing your wisdom, Jane. At 9 years old Kona snapped at our grandson. He had been trying to warn him with barring his teeth and a low growl. Our granddaughter (9) and grandson (3) were at the end of a long hall, where all the bedroom doors were closed, hugging Kona to "say goodbye" at the end of their 3 week visit. I had noticed Kona was uncomfortable with the little one, but in the chaos of getting everyone out of the house to the airport, I didn't notice where those 3 were. Lesson learned without devastating consequences, but so scary. We have to protect the dog and the children by being hyper vigilant.

[VScott & Lloyd]

Thanks for the insight Jane and Bonnie!

I also think because Lloyd is a big dog (my first big dog), I get nervous when he's around young puppies and kids, especially if they're new. He probably feels it too. All of my previous dogs were small. One dog would simply run away and hide if he didn't want to be around kids and the other one loved the attention and let the kids do what they wanted to him. I have one nephew (2 years old) who was a bit nervous around Lloyd. Lloyd would seek him and lick him, trying to get his attention. Then I would have to restrain Lloyd which would then get him to want my nephew more. I have one niece (1.5 years old) who loves him and would seek Lloyd. She was gentle as a 1.5 year old could be and Lloyd recipricated. He would sit in the corner and let her come to him when she felt like it.

Lloyd is great with my kids but they are 9 and 11. However, I feel Lloyd does think he is higher on the totem pole than my 9 year old (growls only at him occasionally). So now I have my 9 year old feed him his meals.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I would be careful restraining Lloyd around the children.  Sometimes that makes them even more fearful.  If at all possible I would remove Lloyd....perhaps gate him in another room with a kong filled with treats so he views this separation as a positive and you have eliminated any need to worry about a reaction. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Exactly, and they will usually show you through their body language when they've had enough.