I'm living illegally here then - my dogs take things off each other all the time!

. ~Mine will play tuggy games by invitation from the other one, i.e. the toy gets stuffed & rubbed in the other dog's face until it is goaded into grabbing the toy & playing. The usual scenario is Barney having a doze on his bed, Wilma gets a toy from the toy box, stuffs it into Barney's face until he reacts & grabs it, then Wilma pulls hard, Barney won't let go so gets dragged across the floor on his side. It helps that I've got tiled floors downstairs ~ makes it easier to drag Barney around

Mine will allow that with things they do not 'Value' - or things that are not scarce.

However - if it something good.....the other dogs will not be allowed a look in.

Good post, I have had a couple who would NOT have backed off. One was the foxhound, the other was George the springer cross. It is a sure fire way of getting bitten in some cases.

rune

But to the dog, if they have it then it is rightfully theirs. If something is left lying around then it's anyones for the taking. As for whether I'd give back cake...well, it probably wouldn't last long enough to be given back

I don't buy into the pack theory and I don't really have a problem with a growl. A growl, to me, is just the dog saying it doesn't like what's happening. Now sometimes it's tough luck and the dog has to put up with it but if possible I'd much rather back off and work on making the dog comfortable with what's going on. Whether that's having a posession taken away or having ear drops put in doesn't really matter to me.

Totally agree with this.

I take it as a cue that they're unhappy and I usually back off and try a different approach. I always get what I want, but often I make the dog want the same end result (in a roundabout way).

I have to say rightly or wrongly with Ollie we do swaps here.

Didn't have to with my previous dog but they are two totally different dogs and different personalities so we err on the side of caution with Ollie. We have sometimes me in particular stuck our hand in his mouth if we feel the situation needs it which is rare and he has never bitten but other than that we stick with the swaps no point in us all getting stressed. I take his growls as a sign that he is not happy with a situation and at least has the courtesy of warning me rather than just biting without warning.

Can understand that Lynn.

Would never do anything but swapsies with Bear - I think it's different with big dogs, especially if they're not 100% bomb-proof (how many dogs are?).

Its funny Max was big rottiexaussie shepherd you could do and take anything from him without a murmur. Ollie different kettle of fish altogether there is no way I would challenge him without a damn good reason it would have to be life and death which it was a few months ago he started to swallow a plastic bag out on his walk I managed to get my hand almost down his throat to pull it out now he must of known that was for his own good as he stood and allowed me to do it no problems at all.

Dead rabbit thats another thing altogether we find another way cunning and one step ahead but it works and no one gets hurt in the process.

The first time a friend's small lurcher caught a pheasant, he swapped it for a gravy bone. I think the mouthful of feathers confused him. But with this dog I suspect it was the thrill of the chase & the catch that was most exciting, rather than the actual pheasant as something tasty to eat.