German pinscher

[Guest Anonymous]

We have a german pinscher that is very possive of her raw hide bones. My husband & I can take them away from her without any problem, but when anyone else does she will growl & bite. The breeder said that is one of their things. She is 10 months old. Any suggestions will be very helpful. Otherwise she is a perfect little girl. She was the only girl & 7 boys.

[Guest Anonymous]

Begin to teach her the 'leave it' command. Anyone telling you 'that is one of their things' is taking a very lax attitude and isn't thinking of the consequences of a child playing and trying to take the item away. You obviously are thinking ahead and I commend you for seeking out advice elsewhere.

To teach the 'leave it' command - Periodically throughout the day approach her when she is chewing on rawhide, a toy, etc. give the command 'leave it', take the item away and give her a treat when she doesn't put up a fuss. Praise her a lot, then give her the item back. This shows her that you are a giver not a taker. When she is used to this, try it with a willing 'stranger' that isn't intimidated by her.

Does she ever give the impression that she is in charge and not the humans around her, whether those in the household or visitors? If so, I would seriously consider learning more about establishing pack order - I've said it before and I'll say it again - it must be absolutely clear to her that as far as pecking order goes - Adults, Children, THEN Dogs.

Some things to consider - always make sure that you and your family sit down to eat, finish your meal completely, then feed the dog. Pack leaders eat first, then the lower members of the pack can eat. Since she may develop food possessiveness over time, starting this now will help avoid that. Before giving her anything, food, toy, treat, raw hide, etc. make her sit and wait, praise with affection, then give the item of desire.

[Shannon_C]

WARNING ABOUT RAWHIDE!

Please read this before you give any more rawhide to your pet.
My 2 year old Bullmastiff (when younger) was chewing away one night, while i was in the room and he started to choke, i immediately rushed over to him and pulled half of the rawhide out that he had swallowed, thankfully he was ok and no harm done, but had i not been quick enough or not been in the room at the time i hate to think what could have happened. A few weeks later i heard that a 2 year old Bullmastiff had the same happen, but unfortunately it was to late for him...his owners found him the next morning. As you may have noticed, these chews when wet, do become very soggy and can easy get lodged down the throat which are very dangerous.

I give my dogs Bonio biscuits now, they also have several Kongs each to work at, these prevent boredom...you just fill them with the dogs favourite food, they will play for hours. I also give frozen carrots as they are very healthy for dogs, and have there teeth cleaned regular to prevent tartar from building up.

Shannon
Bullmastiff Owner, Researcher/Adviser of the Breed. Lover of all Animals!


Shannon
Bullmastiff Owner, Researcher/Adviser of the Breed. Lover of all Animals!

[Guest Anonymous]

[quote]
On 2002-02-06 12:10, Anonymous wrote:
We have a german pinscher that is very possive of her raw hide bones. My husband & I can take them away from her without any problem, but when anyone else does she will growl & bite. snip
[quote]
The most common solution offered by behaviorists in this case is to no longer let the dog have 'valuable' chew toys such as rawhide or real bones.
If you do not get help with this and or remove the 'valuable' toys from her then you are setting yourself up for a lawsuit potential when your object guarding dog bites someone seriously.