Resource Guarding???

I really need some advice, and to check that I have handled a situation okay

This afternoon both dogs had a pigs ear, one of their favourite treats, they are diiferent rooms seperated by a baby gate, as they will wolf them down and then try and pinch the others. They never get aggressive over it,it is easier when they have a high value treat to do it seperate, they can still see each other etc.

Anyway, since we have first got Mack ( 8 months old) we have always been able to take anything of him with a leave command, we have done it with bones etc, just so he knows he has to give it to me or OH but we always give it back, or if it something he shouldn't have, give him something else.
Well, today OH went to take the pigs ear off him, he was eating too quick, and he started to growl.OH didn't push it, and left him alone, I got a piece of fresh baked sardine cake and called him to me, got the pigs ear and swapped.
Now neither of us told him off as I want him to keep his growl rather than go straight into a "Snap, leave me alone".

I have never had a dog resource guard before, and I don't want this to escalate, did I do the right thing?? If not, what should I of done??

Is it his age, do you think it is his hormones/puberty kicking in ??? Any advice I would be grateful. I just feel really rubbish as I have never had this problem before, and don't know wheere I have gone wrong???

Thank you xxx

Generally, none of mine guard things from me but Jed has done on a couple of occassions (normally, the dogs are supervised with chews etc and know not to disturb the other otherwise I will intervene). However, I ignored his protests and took the object from him anyway.

I did this because I dont want him thinking that each time he growls at me, I back off otherwise i'm making a rod for my own back. I want them to realise that ultimately, everything is mine (which of course it is, they dont buy anything they're given!) and therefore I can take whatever I want away from them. When I can I will offer them a trade but sometimes it's necessary to just remove something. Obviously, if there is no need to disturb them I wont but I dont tolerate them guarding things from me and I make sure I override them if they do.

Thanks Leanne

He really meant the growling, which is so out of character??? The reason I intervened was I could see OH and Mack getting all confrontational, and I think that is a bad thing to happen, so I diffused the situation by calling him over to me and swapping the pigs ear for the sardine cake. I felt that was the wisest thing to do.
There was no way of getting the treat out without putting your whole hand inside his mouth, and if he had snapped where do you go from there??
We have always been able to take anything off of him before, do you think it is his age? Trying it on, perhaps I handled it wrong??

I will never tell a dog off for growling, as I want them to tell me when they are uncomfortable with a situation, but I also realise that there are times when you have to have something off them and you may not have a swap for them.I have always been able to take stuff off all my dogs, so I feel really rubbish at the moment, like I have stuffed up somewhere

He perhaps is trying it on because he's starting to get a young juvenile and he's wanting to see what he can get away with. My pup (10 months) will either try to avoid you or eat faster if he thinks you are going to take his food but he's never offered to growl. He will snap at Jed if he goes too close but not me.

I'm perhaps an oddball because I regularly use growling to tell mine they've gone too far and this helps with taking things from them. If they growl, I growl louder. I'm not suggesting you should try this or that this is a great method but it works with my dogs because they are used to it and it works far better than the human language.

I'd try perhaps some exercises that involve taking different things away from him, giving them back or trading them. I'm not scared of my dogs (not that i'm saying you are) so if I want something, i'll simply take it, no hesitations and no questions and I dont speak to them e.g "give it to me" etc. If it looks like it's going to turn into a tug o' war with the object then i'll use the "give" command to make them let go.

I dont know about getting bitten, it's never come close to that here so I dont know how i'd handle it if one of them did bite my hand. There would be consequences anyway! I'd say you handled the situation right because you could see a possible escalation and battle of wills so you intervened with a fair trade.

Dont let it put you off or make you hesitant when you take things from him in the future otherwise he'll sense you're not 100% and possibly try again.

Looking back on it , I feel I handled it okay, as like you say, OH and Mack were getting "all blokey", and it was getting no where.
I don't feel afraid or nervous of him, he is a big baby, but, I won't tolerate his behaviour either. I always say leave and take the object at the same time, and this is the first time he has hesitated. Since day one i have trained him to let me take whatever I want off him,and he has been great, but Pigs Ears are his fave treat, so I will training with the pigs ears, two pigs ears on the go ,and will swapping one for the other. I am not nervous or wary of him, as I feel this is a blip, caused by hormones, juvenille behaviour. He has been fine with his food and toys, it is just the pigs ears
Thank you for your advice xxxx

I'm no expert on behaviour, but I think you handled it better than I would have. I would have definitely taken the growling personally with the attitude "you will not growl at me!!! Now give it here" and it may well have ended the way you were afraid it might have. I've never had a big dog try it on with me like that.
Maybe next time you should go back to offering a swap every time instead of just trying to take it? Even if its with another really high value thing?? I dont know but thats where I would go next so the opportunity to growl doesnt present itself and he learns that you taking things off him has a positive consequence??
Like I say, I'm no expert, thats just me thinking out loud.

Nah, don't take the growling personal,he wanted the ear, and wasn't going to give it up,too yummy, and normally I do a trade, if one of the dogs has something really high value, but there wasn't time, and OH could see him getting into difficulty with the last bit of the ear.
So I will be doing lots of training with the pigs ears, took a bone off him ealrier no problems, gave it him back and then did it again and gave it him back.He is absoulutely fine with his food and toys. It is just pigs ears, but I would hate having to never give him one again, so we will work on it.

Have to be honest if someone tried to take my Galaxy bar off me, I wouldn't be too impressed either. See I can joke about it today, yesterday I was really upset and pi55ed off.

I tell you what I'd take yer arm off you touched my Dairy Milk!!!!