Food aggresion??

[ESSlover]

Aye yi yi. My parents just left, and sometimes when they leave they give Carson a greenie or somethin to keep him occupied. So I go down and see he's got somehting in his mouth, looks like a bone. I get up and start pettin him, and when I reach for the bone, just to make sure thats what it is, the hair on the back of his neck, and on his rump start goin up, and his tail stands straight up. :o Whenever I tried to reach for it he would either do that, or run off FAST. He wouldnt even put it down for a piece of meat. :( What should I do??

[Canis erectus]

Holy cow, that needs to stop now! Is this something new/ And if not is it something he does only with you, or does he growl at your parents too?

At any rate if it were me, I'd scold the sh*t out of him and take the offending object from him on way or another (be commanding). Then I'd put it away until he's settled down and more or less feels the event is passed him. After awhile I'd offer the treat again, but make him sit first, and then lay down, and then sit again. And then I'd make him laydown and sit again, and maybe a few other commands if he knows them. I'd praise him verbally for obeying the commands but he wouldn't get the treat until I felt he understood that I am the one in control.

You'll also need to talk to your parents and work out a plan that everyone abides by where Carson doesn't get anything without obeying a command first. If he wants a treat, he should lay down. For food, so a sit/stay. Vary the commands as well so that it doesn't become routine and he does them automatically without asking.

That's just my advice, I know that Carson isn't particularly motivated but neither are my two dogs and that's what I would do with them. I'm certain that some of the professionals here will have some better avice for you though.

Oh and I read that Carson is from a working line of dogs. This is probably the main reason that he is becoming to be a bit of an unruly house pet. he needs a job, agility, flyball, frisbee, something... I guess hunting would be ideal, and if you know someone who does you could loan him out for hunting trips.

[rotten_two]

i pmed you but let me just say this . . .

since you are only 13 and i don't recommend you try to physically take anything out of carson's mouth. hello 42 teeth and trust me he knows how to use them! i do suggest he not get greenies or anything he might guard until you guys can work on a solid "give" or out command. until he gives things of value reliably he doesn't get the really great stuff. even then you will hold the greenie while he chews it so that he realizes that humans by default own all good things. we simply choose to let him lick the greenie.

if you suspect he has something in his mouth that might cause him harm and there are no adults around to help -- you can ring the doorbell as a distraction - he will likely drop what he has and run to the door, calmly take his collar put him away and pick up whatever he had. only in emergency tho cause he will catch on real quick. you can also fall down and wiggle around. most times that senough to peak interest and dogs will come over to see 'what is wrong with my stupid human.'

first and foremost we need to retrain your dad! your dad is actually encouraging some of carson's bad behavior.

[pollysmith]

I used to have a dog that would get trash or ??? One day I come in and My Dad has the dog backed in a corner jabbing at him with a broom and yelling. The dog is growling and protecting something. My mom and little brother and one of his friends were standing around being useless. First thing I did was grab the broom from my dad and throw it away out of the room. I was really mad. My dad said my dog had something from the trash and wouldn't give it up. I retorted that neither would I if he was hitting me with a broom! Then I turned to my dog and said Zorro drop it, and he reluctantly dropped a steak bone on the floor. I picked up the bone and took it to the outside trash and heard my dad say6 to Mom How'd she do that? My dad is a good man, but he never understood Dogs.