Dog Community

Crabby behavior suggestions

Posted : 3/16/2010 11:26:23 AM

Hi Everyone,
Our dog is a 19 pound terrier mix, a rescue, almost three, and we have had him for almost two years. If we are having a party, he is OK for even a couple hours, then as the evening goes on, he will still want to be with the group, snuggle in a corner, but if someone tries to touch him, he will snap. (He never does this with my husband and I, of course.) He did this the other night with my son's girlfriend - same thing, near the end of a long day, he was sleeping, she went to pet him, he snarled rather fiercely. I have never had a dog do this and it has scared a few of my friends and made them scared of him. Is he just over tired? Should I force him to take a nap when I know it will be a busy night (easily done because he likes his crate and sleeps in there). Should I remove him from a party and put him in his bed and close the door? Can he be taught to leave on his own when he wants to sleep and be by himself? It seems like in the past, our other dogs would just leave and go up to bed and leave us. And when he growls at someone, what should we do - it happens so fast that I think we have been yelling, no...but is that lame? I would appreciate your advice. (By the way, he has gone to dog school with us and is quite good at commands, walk, sit, watch, etc.) Thank you!

espencer

Posted : 3/16/2010 11:42:06 AM

bethd
Should I remove him from a party and put him in his bed and close the door?

Problem solved

Liesje

Posted : 3/16/2010 11:45:32 AM

bethd
Should I remove him from a party and put him in his bed and close the door? Can he be taught to leave on his own when he wants to sleep and be by himself? It seems like in the past, our other dogs would just leave and go up to bed and leave us.

Yes, I would remove him before you think he's getting tired and put him away from everyone. He can be taught to "find his bed" or "go to his mat". The first thing would be to setup a crate or some den-like space for him and make it a comfortable place where he is not bothered, so that he enjoys going there (rather than seeing it as a time out or abandonment). Then either train him to go there on command, or put him there yourself when you have company.

It sounds like he may be resource guarding you if he doesn't snap at you, only other people, but either way, removing him will solve the problem since if he's just tired, no one can bother him and if he is resource guarding he won't have the opportunity to guard you. If he does growl, my response would be to say "No" and quickly remove him without giving any other attention and put him in another room, crate, or pen (sometimes even negative attention like scolding still reinforces the behavior, and you definitely don't want to coddle him for growling). He needs to learn that growling does not get attention and gets him removed from you. On the other hand, make sure his interactions with other people are positive and that the people are not pestering him. You can have people come in and randomly drop treats near him.

bethd

Posted : 3/16/2010 1:29:54 PM

Thank you. Good suggestions. The resource guarding is interesting because he is also growly in our car if a friend gets in the back seat with him but he is not possessive of food or toys.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 3/16/2010 8:40:00 PM

It sounds like personal space is more important to him than food or toys. It is, to some dogs.

spiritdogs

Posted : 3/17/2010 6:49:54 PM

bethd
Thank you. Good suggestions. The resource guarding is interesting because he is also growly in our car if a friend gets in the back seat with him but he is not possessive of food or toys.

Different dogs guard different things, and even if they guard one thing, they may not guard anything else. Some will guard *everything* else - toys, food, space, people, kleenex, you name it.

Good book on resource guarding: "Mine! A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs" by Jean Donaldson.