Lily snapped at my bf
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| First of all, it is not a good idea to teach a dog not to growl, or snap. It is their way of communicating. They use those as warnings and if they are not allowed to give a warning then they will just go straight to a bite. You should thank your dog for giving a warning signal. If she wanted to bite she would have. Dogs have very good aim.
Now, as for the reaction, it could be a couple of things. Some dogs do "resource guarding" where they don't like to share certain things. This could be food, rawhides, people, beds, couches, toys or water bowls. Some dogs guard only one thing, and others guard many things. This is perfectly natural doggy behavior, and does not mean the dog is agressive. But, in our world, it is not acceptable. If Lily has been fine with sharing her water bowl before, then perhaps it was just one instant. I would practice A LOT at home, with pattingher, adn rubbing her etc, when she is drinking. If she tenses up, or stiffens, then you may have some potential for a reaction, so be careful. As for the boyfriend, she could have thought it was another dog, and she was reacting as a result of her "guarding" or she was reacting to him for bothering her while she was drinking. It is up to you whether you want to work with her on this or manage it by not letting people or dogs near her when she is doing whatever it is that cause this behavior. I will mention, though, that food bowl guarding is one of the behaviors that will cause a shelter dog to fail a temeprament test. It is not a good thing to have in a dog, and I would suggest working on it, IF she has this. There is a book called Mine!: A practical guide to resource guarding in dogs, by Jean Donaldson (Limited Availability) that covers the reason behind resource guarding and the steps to take to help a dog get over it. |
| I agree with Nicole, it may have just been a one time thing, and she was just in the heat of the moment when he went to touch her. I would recommend all the same as Nicole. Good luck! |
| Well I have contacted my trainer and we are going to work with him further on the issue. I hope it really was only a one time thing but I dont want to take any chances. I had a sheepie that was dog aggressive and I couldnt take her anywhere or do anything. The growling at my boyfriend or any person is unacceptable for me because to me that tells me that she doesnt like what we are doing or is protesting us and at 5 months old it is unacceptable to me. |
| It's so great that you will keep working with her...at 5 months she will try to get away with things...Gucci is 1 and a half and he is still trying to get "away" with stuff! |
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