[emyhran]

Hi,

I have 2 golden retrievers, Bella is almost 4 and Toby just turned 2. They have never been aggressive with each other, only when play-fighting which has never caused an issue.

Recently, however, I have noticed that Bella will become incredibly overprotective of me if Toby growls at all towards me. I have tried laying my head on him and he has growled to let me know that he doesn’t like that, which I have been respecting.

But when Bella hears him do this, she will become extremely tense and has even tried to attack him if he goes near me. Even putting her away for a few minutes to calm down doesn’t help this behavior. They have to be separated for at least a few hours for this behavior to stop.

And even since I’ve stopped causing Toby to growl, she is still more wary around him than she ever has been. I noticed this behavior when I first started dating my boyfriend as well; she got very possessive and wouldn’t want him to be near me. I’ve been with him for over 2 years now and she’s stopped acting like this, but I’m not sure how to stop this aggressive behavior when she gets protective or possessive.

Is there anything I can do to correct this? I want my two dogs to get along and not consider each other a threat! Toby is very fragile and gets scared easily so he is absolutely traumatized whenever she acts like this towards him. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

 

[BigBlackDog]

Whenever you have "problem" behaviors with a dog, any dog, the solution is always more training. And I mean any training!

People tend to focus on problem behaviors and reasonably want to "train that out of the dog". But training isn't about removing a behavior!!! Training is showing the dog, or leading and motivating the dog, to do a wanted behavior. That's training!

Your job, since you decided to have 2 dogs, is to teach them both how you want them to behave! Teach Bella to back up. Teach her to sit and stay. Teach them both that they don't decide who gets attention and when!

Jealousy is a big thing with dogs, so teach them that they don't get to decide. It's easy if you're (a) aware of the issue, and (b) absolutely consistent!

Sometimes finding an experienced trainer to help is the best path forward. Have you considered that at all?

 

[JoanneF]

It sounds like she is perhaps resource guarding, with you being the resource.

See if anything here resonates.

Resource Guarding, causes, prevention and modification

What is resource guarding? Resource guarding (RG) is when a dog has possession of an object that HE thinks is valuable, and is growling/snapping/biting in an effort to protect/keep that object. The object may be something we deem silly, for example, a piece of kleenex is a common object dogs...

www.dogforum.com

 

[Madra Anamchara]

I have to wonder why Toby is growling at you when you put your hand on him. The first thing I would do is take him to the vet to make sure there isn't a medical reason that he growls - something causing him discomfort or pain, perhaps. If he does have something like that it could also account for the discord between the two dogs, with toby wanting to keep Bella away from him. Training is the thing to do if there's no medical issue, I just think it would be worth a vet check to rule that out.

 

[emyhran]

It sounds like she is perhaps resource guarding, with you being the resource.

See if anything here resonates.

Resource Guarding, causes, prevention and modification

What is resource guarding? Resource guarding (RG) is when a dog has possession of an object that HE thinks is valuable, and is growling/snapping/biting in an effort to protect/keep that object. The object may be something we deem silly, for example, a piece of kleenex is a common object dogs...

www.dogforum.com

That actually makes a lot of sense for her! Often she will find a random object around the house (usually something she knows she shouldn’t have) and will exhibit those behaviors very aggressively. Thank you for this.

 

[emyhran]

I have to wonder why Toby is growling at you when you put your hand on him. The first thing I would do is take him to the vet to make sure there isn't a medical reason that he growls - something causing him discomfort or pain, perhaps. If he does have something like that it could also account for the discord between the two dogs, with toby wanting to keep Bella away from him. Training is the thing to do if there's no medical issue, I just think it would be worth a vet check to rule that out.

No medical issue, he just went to the vet yesterday. He’s a very sweet dog and even initiates physical contact, but I just think he’s establishing boundaries. He only growls when someone lays their head on him, he’s fine with any other physical touch. I think it’s fair to respect his boundaries