[michelelennon]

a 6 month old neutered male yorkie gets VERY possessive about something and you can not get it away from him, trying to trade for a treat did not work, going in the opposite direction talking goofy did not work, asking for a command the dog knows did not work, dog will take item into crate and will not let anyone near him, his item, or the crate. owner can take toys away from dog, treats away from dog, put hands in and around food bowl, dog knows basic commands sit, down, stay, come (only inside), this possession issue has also lead to biting not nipping but drawing blood biting with severe growling and snarling. owners are away of NILIF and are working on it. One other issue: when husband gets into bed dog growls but stops as soon as husband is fully in the bed, husband goes to bed way later than wife. owners have been informed that having the dog in bed and the growling are signs of dominence.
Information left w/ them included:
-use leash when training and when dog is in the house for total control
-working on basic commands daily
-exercise daily
-NILIF
-consistency in training
-being a good leader
-using the crate for "time out" not punishment, also a resting place (owners were telling dog to go to "crate" when dog was "bad"
-not allowing dog on furniture or bed w/out first asking for dog to do something to earn furniture time (owners are unwilling to follow through with keeping dog off furniture)
-work on leave it and drop it
-making sure owners understand that dog is teething so have plenty of teething toys avail. very important
-do not chase after dog when he has something he thinks is high value, don't yell at dog either
So if the dog does happen to get the scissors again (yes the scissors) and will not give them up for anything, guards them with its life, what does one do? Any suggestions?

 

[Criosphynx]

Jean Donaldson has a book called "Mine" that walks you step by step through how to countercondition resourse guarding.

In the mean time the owners need to learn to pick up their things and not allow the dog to have high value toys.

The problem need to be managed before they are ready to do the counterconditioning exercises because the longer the dog practices this behavior the harder it will be to undo.

is it possible the dog is fearful as well as/instead of/ possesive?

 

[michelelennon]

oooh, looks like a good book, just looked it up, will get it and add it to my collection, thank-you for the reccommendation