Help Please!!!

Considering how famished I am when I'm on steroids, and how grouchy if anyone gets near my food, I'd go with the vet techs answer.

While she is on steriods, crate her while others are eating. 

glenmar

While she is on steriods, crate her while others are eating.

I agree and I'd crate her while others are eating even after she's off the steroids. 

We're not suggesting you crate her all the time.  Crate her when food is around.  Feed her in her crate.  She's resource guarding and that's completely normal but the more she practices the behavior the more severe it can become..  She's also a pit mix, as is your other dog, so she's predisposed to being dog aggressive. 

Take some training classes and read some books on dogs and dog behavior.  Jean Donaldson. Patricia McConnell.  Sophia Yin.  These are all highly respected behaviorists who can offer a lot of insight into what you're seeing.

um ... don't think everyone is getting up your nose -- they aren't. 

YES, absolutely pred can make ANY being (human or dog or otherwise) MOODY as heck. 

 **HOWEVER** -- and this is the part you would rather not have be true, but it is so please please heed this and be forewarned.

She has discovered a new behavior.  Yes, the pred makes them snarky BUT she **is** a puppy -- so she's learning every minute of the day.  She has made a huge discovery.  If I snarl at someone they BACK OFF!! 

That is a powerful, heady thing to a puppy.  She has LEARNED someting.  Unfortunately yes, the pred is likely making her moody BUT she has acquired a new skill -- and it's an effective one and it makes the other dogs (who are bigger and older than she is) back off!!

So the moody-ness will abate BUT she will not forget what she has learned.  In fact, she'll likely experiment with it and see how far she can go.

 This is why Jackie is - rightly - encouraging you to crate her **while eating**.  That doesn't mean all the time.  That means you are prepared for and will successfully AVOID an altercation.  Because you don't want her to gain any more "I can be snarky and it works" experiences.  It will keep her away from confrontation so you can then desensitize this and retrain her in a positive manner to not be so guardy. 

Don't mislead yourself into thinking this is ALL due to the drug.  It was instigated by the drug?  PROBABLY ... **but** she's a puppy and she's learning all the time and this is one skill she would have been better off without so you will need to train to diminish this.

If you separate her and crate during feeding and the behavior extinguishes you have averted disaster without harm.  But to ignore this?  Every time she responds with guardy behavior she LEARNS and reinforces her own bad behavior.  So by doing nothing you actually risk great damage.  Does that make sense?