Aspen will be 7 months in 10 days and I am really struggling with him again He's so good when we are all home on the weekends and is understandably more naughty during the week, which is when I have to work, go to school, and do my homework. We do dog park, we do walks, we do training, we do hiking...we are on a wait list for obedience and want to try agility but can't do that until he has gone through at least one obedience class. He loves to snatch things, we will try to eat anything he can get in his mouth, he thinks everything is a game of chase, he jumps, and he is still so bitey. All things that are a pain with a 60+ pound dog. And everyday I try to work out these kinks, I ignore, I train other wanted behavior, but I just feel like I have been doing it for so long with no results. I really just need someone to remind me that he's a puppy and pups will be pups and that he will get better cause I feel like I'm losing my mind
It's really hard to see now, but when he is all grown up and a lot more sensible, you will miss his naught habits - well, I do. Try and enjoy and use the training and time to really bond with him. It's hard when they go through adolescence, but they do come out of it sooner than human teenagers!
Also, when Aspen was eating the other day, I had to move his bowl away from my sister's dog after Aspen had already begun eating. I picked up the bowl and moved it a bit and he growled at me. I wasn't worried because I'm assuming he was just irritated that mom was fiddling with his food. I normally wouldn't touch his bowl if we were at home. He will growl at other dogs if they get near him while he is eating. This isn't aggression, right? Just him letting people and other dogs know that he is uncomfortable? Because he shares water bowls just fine with other dogs. My boyfriend's sister told me to stick my hand in his bowl while he eats but I don't think that would be very kind or helpful because I wouldn't like someone sticking their hand in my bowl of food. Would hand-feeding help?
It’s not aggression, it’s “resource guarding”. Make yourself familiar with it quickly and dont put your hand in his bowl. I’m sure someone will be along soon with a link for you, I can’t find it. Don’t punish Aspen either, just stay clear until you are better informed. First you’ll notice a hard low head stance, then a growl. Don’t try to train him not to growl; that is how he can effectively communicate with you because next is either a more vicious growl and a snap or a bite. For now feed Aspen away from traffic and alone. It doesn’t seem serious yet and it can be corrected but for now keep fingers people away till you know more and you DO NOT want to make it worse before you know what your doing or consult a behaviourist. Hand feeding can help, so can bringing more food and placing it in the bowl but like I said, find out what you’re doing before you try these things. Hope that helps. It’s not aggression so don’t worry but you need to nip this in the bud before it gets worse or transfers to spots and toys and bones etc.
@Johnny Walker Oh no, that sounds much more concerning than what I thought! He hasn't really been taught "drop it" or "leave it" yet. Is that maybe part of the reason why he resource guards? If he has something, I will say leave it and he sometimes listens. Not always though. But I will read up on resource guarding and do more hand feeding/putting more food in the bowl as he eats. And no worries, I did not punish him for growling and haven't before. I figured it was not aggression so I was not worried. Do you know why this would happen? Aspen is the only dog in our house and we never away food or treats, but will take toys if he looks like he is really destroying them.
Don’t panic! A growl is a dog saying ‘Do not do that!!!!!’. It’s not aggression. It’s best thought of as a very emphatic, but still civilised, request. If someone suddenly moved your dinner plate while you were eating you’d be surprised, a bit miffed and wary of it happening again - those are all reasonable things to feel and they don’t make you aggressive. Same with your dog. Food is also ultra, ultra important to most dogs. Moving their food can be to them like a stranger nicking your car from you at the traffic lights - unexpected and scary. He was already probably more on alert in this situation because of the other dog, making him more ready to growl and be a bit more protective of his food than he would be had you done this at home. You can take steps to teach him that he doesn’t need to worry so much about people coming near his food. He’s still young enough to be in the puppy category so this step-by-step, how-to article is relevant: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-stop-your-dog-growling-over-food/ If you do choose to follow these steps (as opposed to just leaving his food totally alone in future) then follow them to the letter. Don’t rush a single step. But also don’t worry - this is definitely not aggression. My dog doesn’t growl over food but if he has an injury or a spot that’s a bit uncomfortable he’ll growl if we’re paying it too much close attention. We immediately remove our hands, respecting what he has asked for (ie. “what you’re doing is too much, I can’t handle it, please stop”) and instead bring out the food treats. If he’s getting a stream of treats he’s perfectly happy for us to look as long and as closely as we want with no growling.
