Possessiveness

MidWestJen

MidWestJen

Forums Regular
Strider is getting possessive with food items around the puppies. He jumped on Fosco this morning with bared teeth. Fosco screamed like he was dying, but Strider didn't actually hurt him or puncture him or anything. Ten seconds later Fosco was prancing through the kitchen like nothing happened. It scared the heck out of me, though! Not twenty minutes later my daughter had some dog treats out doing tricks with Strider and Bree walked in and he did the same thing to her! Just when I think I'm doing ok with the puppies, this happens. Other than being more careful to make sure food is all put away and making sure the pups don't infringe on him too much I don't know what to do. At some point something will probably get missed and I'm afraid it will happen again. Even though he didn't actually hurt them, it sure sounded and looked terrible.

On an up note, last night Strider and Fosco were playing in the back yard more than I've ever seen so far. Very fun to watch and so good for getting Strider more active. Right now I have a bad foot and can't go for walks, so I was thrilled to see him running around and playing with the pup. What a time to get a bad foot! Right after I bring home two puppies! I actually had a good frustration cry this morning after the "attacks", but then tried to shake it off and look at all the good things that are happening.

Just needed to talk. Thanks for listening.
 
My late boy Riley did that to Finnie many times. Initially I let it go because puppies need to learn and at the beginning it was Finnie's fault for getting too close while Riley was eating but later if I let my guard down Riley would go after him for no reason. Looking back of course he could've been in pain (it would've been perhaps 5 months before he started showing symptoms of an aggressive cancer that took his life last August) and just had no tolerance for a puppy.
I made sure that I never left the room when they were eating but at the time I didn't really correct Riley besides saying no (he was a senior).
When Piper was a puppy Riley did put him in his place a few times and he needed it lol. Believe you me Riley could give Piper a 'look' and Piper would yelp like he'd bit him. It was maybe when Piper was older than 6 months and the grace period had worn off. There's really nothing like an older dog correcting the young uns...one correction from them is like 50 from us, they just get it that much faster.
That being said if Strider continues to do it and you don't feel it's justified or he's just being jealous then correct it quickly. A stern UN UN or a correction on his collar (if wearing) might help.
Remember though that you may be inadvertently paying more attention to the puppies than you realize plus two new pups is a lot for Strider to take in. He may be trying to tell you something...perhaps a few extra walks or cuddles and giving him a treat when the pups get one is all he needs.
So sorry about your foot...never a good time to be hurting. Don't beat yourself up though, your doing everything right, it may just take time.
 
I can’t agree more with Piper’s mom! Everything she encountered I also did!

Baron, my oldest at 6 had no use at all for Liam my pup at 10 weeks old! He was like an old grumpy man! It took 6-8 months before he was accepting of Liam as he grew and could run and play.

Food was always given in their dedicated areas. As Liam would try to walk up to the other dogs when they were eating so I fed him in his crate.

Any time I felt Baron was out of line being mean to Liam I would correct him by a sharp sound like Lisa described.

Now Baron and Liam are best bud! Baron will still growl and show his pearly whites if Liam is pestering him. All in all, Liam is understand his boundaries in regards to Baron!

I also trained them all at an early age to sit calmly in close proximity to take treats from my hand calmly and gently. They all know to wait their turn. it takes time! You will get there!!
 
Thank goodness when I watched my grand girl she was so good when Buck had
a treat in his mouth and took her treat out of her mouth. Proud Buck is walking
around with these two large treats in his mouth.
The shelties use to get one treat at a team, sit together and they were great.
Buck is a little stinker, so smart, but he is catching on.
 
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