Bone aggressive
My corgi charlie just turned 3 months and he is the sweetest thing. Never shows any aggressive attitude towards anything, I can stick my hand in his food bowl and he won't do anything. Well one day, about 2 days ago, I bought him a nylabone bacon flavored bone and he loved it. I went to go sit next to him and pet him a little and he started growling and showing his teeth. I know he's just being possessive over it, but it scared me! I took the bone away and I told him to quiet "shhh" and when he calmed down I gave it back, well he did the same thing. I taken it away a few times and gave it to him after he does a command but he still shows the same attitude. I stopped giving it to him and I'm thinking about not giving it to him at all because he's perfectly fine without it. Sometimes, when he smells the bone on a surface that he had left in on (ex: his pillow) he goes nuts!
Now after I've seen him be so possessive, I'm scared that he will do that with everything! I might be over reacting but I want him to know that I am the dominant one and not him.
I'm also thinking of enrolling him in some puppy classes to help in any way.
What do you think? Have your corgis shown the same behaviors? If so, I'd love to here your thoughts.
Thanks! =D
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Kimball on
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He should be in puppy classes regardless, but not because I'm worried about the vocalization.
Growling is NOT aggression. I really wish "aggressive" could be purged from the vocabulary of every dog owner on earth because it's done so much harm. Your puppy is trying to communicate with you, in a way that is totally normal for babies to do. He has something that means a lot to him; you're telling him you're going to take it away, and he's saying "Please don't." That's all it means.
He's not being dominant; babies that age are infants. It's no more "dominant" than a toddler saying "Mine!" and crying when you take their truck away.
Instead of taking his bone away, teach him to trade for it. Have something that he wants even more than the bone - a piece of chicken, or slice of roast beef, hot dog, whatever. As he's happily chewing on the bone, say "Charlie, trade!" and put the hot dog in his face. He should let go of the bone and take the hot dog. Then GIVE HIM BACK THE BONE. This is not about yanking stuff away from puppies. Work on "trade" twenty or thirty times a day until he's eagerly spitting out the bone and coming toward you for the treat. THEN escalate to picking up the bone when you've traded. So it's "Charlie, trade!" and he spits out the bone, comes to you, you give him a treat, you pick up the bone. Give him a couple more treats with that hand while you hold the bone, then say "Thank you!" and hand the bone back.
In this manner you keep working to hold the bone for longer and longer offering treats every two seconds, then every ten seconds, then every thirty seconds, until he's completely unconcerned that you're holding the bone for a couple of minutes at a time and is thrilled to give it to you and receive it back.
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Permalink Reply by Alexsandra Papoban on
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Thank you so much, I will try that. I only say aggressive because as I was trying to pet him or take away the bone ( which was my mistake and will not do anymore), he bit me really hard and caused me to bleed. I understand that he shouldn't that and was only trying to protect his bone but today I will try your method because it seems like it should really work since he has these treats that he'd do anything for! I'll keep you updated. Thank you!!
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Permalink Reply by Kevin and Buddy! on
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We had the same problem with Buddy when he was around that age. Joanna's suggestion is the same thing we tried and it has really helped. We also stopped giving him the edible Nylabones, per our vet's advice, since there are many dangers with them chocking or ingesting large pieces. Buddy actually got sick after the first time we gave him one and started throwing up a lot.
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I'm glad that Joanna's suggestion helped! I'll be trying that with Charlie today.
I've been hearing bad things about Nylabones as well after getting one for Charlie. Do you have any other suggestions for any bone/bully stick treats for a teething puppy?
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Permalink Reply by Bax & Zigs & Rosie on
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Baxter went through that phase about 3 months too. My mother had come to visit and she brought him some little minty teeth cleaning bones. He was so possessive.Thankfully it was just a phase and after working with him on it, he learned we don't always want his bones and when we do, no growling allowed. I didn't work out a trade system with Baxter. I would tell him "lemme see that" in a sweet, low tone and take the bone from him. He wouldn't want to give it up at first, so I would just have to take it. He never tried to bite, but he didn't want to let it go. After taking it from it, I would praise him for sharing and then let him chew on it while I was holding it. Then I would praise him more and release the bone. We would do this every time he was given a bone and until he calmed down enough to give it up without growling. After a few days he seemed to understand how to share.
Personally, these nylabone keys (http://www.petco.com/product/11558/Nylabone-Puppy-Teething-Keys-Fle...) were awesome for Baxter as a puppy. They came recommended by a friend who sent me them in a care package. She had just gone through a teething puppy stage with her dog. Baxter loved to chew on them, he went through 3 sets. Although you need to watch because pups can sometimes bite off pieces. Baxter usually worked them one key at a time though, always starting with the red key (I guess it was the tasiest.) If your pup gnaws a key too much, you can always cut it off the ring and leave him with two keys.
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Permalink Reply by Karen Dadisman on
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Rosie is 3 years old and these keys are one of her favorite toys. The first thing she does is chew the ring apart. I then take the keys off and she works on them one at a time. She chews pieces off and spits them on the floor to continue chewing on the key. I pick up the pieces and throw them away. When she has the key chewed down to just the round part, I throw it away. I keep an eye on her and the size of the key so it doesn't get small enough to swallow. She isn't interested in eating them, just chewing. She does this mostly in the morning while I'm reading the paper and she and Rocky are waiting for their breakfast. I think it is a stress reliever for her since waiting to eat is VERY hard for her!!!
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I'm glad to hear another dog likes to chew the ring. When Baxter was younger he chewed the keys and didn't bother with the ring. Only later did he discover the ring's deliciousness.
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Permalink Reply by Sky and Lyla on
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Yes, definitely work on the trading game. Most of my dogs will gladly obey a "drop it" command in order to get something better. And now that they know it, I don't have to be holding anything in my hand to get them to comply. My Corgi, Lyla, is rusty on it, so I need to work some more with her, but it does work.
Definitely enroll in puppy classes ASAP. They are such a wonderful help to socializing puppies. I actually didn't get the chance to do that with my last puppy because he came to me too late, and we are doing basic obedience classes now, but it's not the same and I can see a difference in him and how he interacts with dogs and my other 2. Some of it is personality, but some of it is the benefit of those early experiences as well.
As for Nylabones, no, I don't like them. I have heard too many stories about how they can crack teeth. I think it may depend on how your dog chews, but mine really like to crank with their back teeth, and they would eventually break one I'm sure. I also don't like rawhides, I had a dog choke on one once. Luckily he is okay, but it was scary. I feed a raw diet so my dogs get edible bones several times a week (chicken backs, wings, thighs, etc) and that seems to satisfy their need to chew more than before when I just fed them kibble. I also provide rubbery yet sturdy chew toys for them like Kongs.
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Permalink Reply by Mary on
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The only time I think Nibbler has ever growled at us over something was over a meaty bone when she was a puppy, when my bf pet her, and he took it away immediately. We haven't had a problem with anything else. Usually when I give her a treat, I hold it in my hand and let her nibble it out of my hand, I've been doing this since she was a puppy and we haven't had any other problems. Like, when I give her dental bones, I hold it out and she nibbles at it, and when it's small enough I give the rest to her.
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I did that with a bully stick and he doesn't care if I'm sitting next to him or petting him because I know he won't take it away. I don't know why he was like so possessive over the bone. It was like he was a different puppy!!
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I feel like the "trade" command is working, he is not scared that I will take his things now, but because I did bad and took away his bone the first time he gets scared and growls at me if my hand is near his bully stick (which he never was before), so I just pet him so he knows its ok and I won't take his stick. I'm very nervous and scared after seeing him so protective that I feel he will be protective over everything and I think he feels that. I'm very new at this but I hope I'm doing alright.
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You're doing great. Just keep it up and you'll get there. Raising your first dog can be a challenge but it's so rewarding too. And you have all of us here to help you when things do come up!
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