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Comment by Alexsandra Papoban on June 3, 2010 at 6:52pm

Thank you so much for your help! Come to think or it, ever since that bacon nylabone incident I have been hovering over him a bit with his food, treats, etc. I'm just afraid that if I don't things might get worse but I guess if I do do it it will only get him more protective!

Comment by Beth on June 2, 2010 at 9:51pm

Hi Alexsandra! It's good that you are working with Charlie. I agree whole-heartedly with everything that Bev says, and your dog should sit, down, wait or some other command he knows well before each meal. The second his butt hits the floor, the dish should go on the ground--- the reward should be instant.

The other side to the training equation, though, is that the huge majority of the time when Charlie is eating or chewing on a favorite bone, you want to leave him in peace. You do the training a few times to get the growling to stop, and then continue with the rule of one obedience command before each meal, but otherwise you leave him alone except for an occasional "refresher." Sometimes people, without realizing it, make their dogs' possession issues worse by hovering around them when they eat.

I love a nice back rub or a hug, but not while I'm in the middle of dinner, thank you very much! I'm pretty sure that unless I hadn't seen my husband in a long time, if he came over and started hugging me whenever I was eating, I'd growl at him too! Yet for some reason, we don't see it this way when it comes to petting our dogs while they are enjoying a consumable treat or a meal. Like us, most dogs like to be left alone while eating. So by all means, use the methods described to get him to understand you should be allowed to occasionally go up and touch him or remove items if he is eating (this is important for those times he gets something dangerous). But otherwise ( and that means 99 times out of 100), you should have a rule for yourself that petting or playing with Charlie is reserved for times when he isn't eating.

Good luck. :-)

Comment by Bev Levy on June 2, 2010 at 9:31pm

Try feeding him half his food and once he has started eating bring the other half in your hands. If he growls or does anything unwelcoming back away and try it again at the next meal. This ended Sparty's food protectiveness after one try. With the bully sticks I would try Cesar's method (if you have seen it on tv) where he walks over but waits until the dog has acknowledged his claim to the space or toy. As soon as you take the stick give it right back. Try making him do something before meals and before sticks or games like sit or shake. He should earn everything. Google" Nothing in life is free". Corgis were bred to tell a 1000 lb cow what to do. He is instinctively trying to assert himself with you and it is a good idea to make sure he knows you are the leader.