I've been doing much of the basic obedience training without problems. For the most part I don't give bones, however every once in a while I do.... I don't want Memphis to have the whole thing cuz it gets too small to quick and I don't want him to choke. So I have been taking it away after a few minutes. Yesterday he decided that it wasn't going to happen and he growled at me, and not the hey it's mine growl, it was the it's in my mouth and I will use my teeth on you kinda growl. I pried it out of his mouth and took it away all while telling him no growl. Needless to say, I decided to try it again today with a different approach. He growled, and I took it anyway... But instead of putting it away, I sat down and made him wait, then I allowed him to chew the bone while I was holding on to it. The periodically I would say give and take the bone for a few seconds while he waited then I would allow him to start chewing again while I held it. This seemed to ease his mind.... And for now he seems ok. I'm not going to give him another bone today, so I'm not sure how much sank in. He doesn't do this with food, treats, etc. So I'm wondering if this sounds like an appropriate way to handle this, and if anyone else has experienced success in this area? We start puppy class on the 28th so I know we will learn a lot then, but any suggestions would help me in the meantime.

Thanks
Nicole

I don't feed bones but sounds like you are doing fine teaching him you are in charge.

I used to do pig ears years ago but found my dogs loved them TOO much and would become aggressive over them. So I just stoppedbuying them.

It sounds to me like you're doing the right things. You don't want to back down, because that'd send him the message that it is HIS bone.

Maybe work more with "leave it"/"drop it" and reward and praise when he releases, but if he's going to be growling then the bone stays out of sight until he's calm and looking to you for direction.

You could try practicing this with his food and treats, too, even though he's not displaying the aggression with them....just so he learns that "oh, food and bones come from Mom. They're hers, and she's sharing them with me".

It sounds like the right thing to me. I agree with the leave it command. works great with storm. He loves klennex and we use the command and he drops it.

I do not feed storm pigs ears or raw hide when I am not around. He has choked on them so I am nervous about it.

DROP IT is one of the ONLY commands my dog actually listens too.... Well most of the time anyway

Have you tried replacing with a small treat or toy in a swapsie kind of way. Bones are a very valuable source to a dog a bit like someone wanting to pinch a bit of your chocolate or whatever you find really scrummy.

While swapping you can praise and use the leave command and eventually he should learn to give when asked.