Growling with a bone?

Today Hec and Jo had a bone each. They both took them in the lounge. I went in to get something and Hec looked really cute, as i went down to see him he growled. He didnt look at me, just growled. I got him to look up and his eyes were black.
I left him to it. I went to Jo and nothing. I could touch the bone and nothing...she did pick it up and run away with it.

I told my Dad about Hec and he said i should stop it now. He said it isnt a good sign?? Is that right? He isnt an aggressive dog. I can pull him around and he is great. For me, naively perhaps, i would have thought growling with a bone is normal dog behaviour.

I dont wanna train him not to be aggressive with a bone necessarily, if it is acceptable. Just wondered if others dogs are possessive over bones.

Just want to add he doesnt do this if he is eating his food from his bowl.

There`s a really good book about coping with guarding food etc. called Mine! by Jean Donaldson. Why don`t you have a look at it - and in the meantime I`d stop giving bones!

They never have them. Just today, thats why i didnt know he was going to growl. I wasnt expecting it.
Will look out for book.

Depends on what your dad meant exactly

It is. Absolutely normal behaviour, even for dogs who are low down in the pecking order.

It's normal, but in human society, not really acceptable

It's probably just the bones as he is very excited by having them, and they are a big resource for him. It can be avoided by you just being aware of the problem or not giving bones. There's no need really ever for humans to be able to "take" anything from dogs esp. bones, (I don't eat bones, yuk ).

I agree the Mine! book is good.

When I was young we had a little terrier who was a lovely dog except if she got a bone . In the end she just didn't get bones anymore as she was too fierce with them

Sorry - but to me that is NON-acceptable behaviour and should be 'nipped in the bud'. I had a gsd who actually bit me when i went near him when he had a bone - he won the first round - i won the battle, lol. If he gets away with that then whats to say he won't try being possessive other other stuff - hence a big problem arises.

Since then - my leo (from pup) has always been taught that if for any reason i want something - then i say 'mine' and she will give it up - be it a toy or a goodie like a bone. She will always get the reward back though so its not a punishment.

I've started the same with my gsd pup - as i'm trying out raw - this involves bones. He is possessive at the mo over a ball and thought he'd try it with a bone - NO CHANCE. It's easy cos he is young at the mo so i took the bone - sat it elsewhere and wouldn't let him have it till i told him it was ok. After a bit i then went back and said 'mine' - he looked and thought about it but gave it up - reward - he got the bone back with praise. I'll be doing that regularly to ensure he is safe - (just in case niece/nephew visit and he has a bone).

I have to stress though that there is no need to take food from a dog - once it's down that should be it - contradictory yes - but for me, it's a part of training i feel needs to be carried out.

Thats just my opinion on it though.

I have only had that problem with my female lurcher Jenny. We'd only had her 4 weeks and I tried her out with a bone and taking it away etc. She growled at me. I just shouted "NO", took the bone away from her and gave it to one of my other dogs and she hasn't done it since. I think if you are seen to back away from them then they see themslves as having won. You do need to nip it in the bud and keep doing it. Hopefully she is just trying to warn you and if you carry on and take it away anyway shewill see you are the dominant one.
Good luck.

I think it's perfectly normal behaviour, especially if the dog doesn't get a bone very often as then it becomes very "precious".

I have 2 females and a male - the females don't mind what I do when they have bones, yet the male can become quite anxious and has in the past growled, even though he gets them every day. My youngest, a street urchin, thought she had to gobble hers in case it was taken away which of course it never was and now she has completely relaxed and takes her time.

In rawfeeding circles most believe that you have no business going near them once the bone has been given - and I agree with that to a degree.

With my boy if I want to go near him, I say "Harry, I need your bowl" or whatever is the reason, and he'll watch me do what I need to do.

I always tell him what I'm doing, using the same words and he knows now. Other times if I want to take the bone away for any reason (rare) I'll trade him for a piece of meat or other tasty treat that he will want. I would never take a bone away without a trade unless it was an emergency type situation.

I am of the opinion that an owner SHOULD be able to take a bone (or anything else) from his or her dog. You never know when an emergency situation will arise and you might HAVE to take something from the dog when it is in a heightened state of anxiety. To my mind, you stand a much better chance of being able to do this if your dog has already learned to accept this from you in everyday situations.

Hi Cat one thing I wouldn't do in this situation is to take the bone away Hector without substituting it for something else like a toy or tip bit.

As the others say it is normal behaviour for dogs to guard 'precious possessions' , if you show an interest in something a dog has acquired you are competing for the possession which makes it all the more desirable in the eyes of your dog.

I find it is better to teach dogs to swap and share rather than reinforcing the fact that possessions can be taken and need guarding. A puppy will soon realise that you are able to take things from it but there may be a time when a child or someone the dog doesn't know tries to do the same thing with disastrous consequences.

It is also a good idea to teach puppies/dogs 'to leave' like this...
http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:z...k&cd=4&gl=u k
and 'to drop' like this...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ItvPna...eature=related