# possessive behaviour



## anniesMum (Feb 21, 2013)

Sorry for long post....
My Annie is going to be 3 years old on the 24th  She has come a long way since 2 years ago - WE! have come a long way...She listens better, and recall is much more effective now (with a treat) .
Annie has always loved to fetch tennis balls and even more, steal other dogs' toys in the park. She started "protecting" the ball a long time ago, snarled with bared teeth whenever she was in possession of any ball (I actually stopped taking our own balls to the dog park anymore but she always finds one or steals one - and only rarely do I interact with a found ball and play fetch with her)
More recently she has started to be more aggressive and not only snarl and bark but RUN at another dog coming too close to her when she has a ball. She has never actually "touched" another dog, only seemingly trying to "scare" them off....The other week, the "other" dog retaliated, but i actually don't know who touched who first, and they got into a "fight".
That was one of my fears come true, and now I am quite worried to go to the dog park. Yesterday she exhibited the same behaviour with a larger labradoodle who did not retaliate, but for a for a smaller dog she actually dropped the ball that she stole.

She used to engage in playing with other dogs, chasing and running with them etc..and having lots of fun, and when she gets a chance she still does but only when NOT in a dog park. We play fetch in open "safe" green grass areas at least on once every day.
I am thinking that perhaps I should just stop going to the dog park altogether.

My question is -
Is this "normal" behaviour for a golden, (she may have some other mix in her background I suppose) and is there a way to help Annie unlearn this behaviour? Perhaps hire someone more "expert" with dogs?

Thank you for taking the time to read this


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## BabySnow (Feb 15, 2013)

Hi! My golden boy, Snow, has shown a possesive behaviour right from the beggining, he is 11 months old.He`s acting exactly the same way you have described. We had resource guarding problems, he`s much better now but still shows this strange behaviour around other dogs.


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## Leslie B (Mar 17, 2011)

You are quite right in stopping the dog park. She is showing all the signs that this is not a fun experience at all (for her) and her aggression is escalating. The next fight might not turn out so well for her or for the other dog. 

Many dogs do not do well in the dog park setting and this is not something that can be easily altered. The dynamics of the dogs at the park change every day - new dogs and you have new issues. Some dogs are not able to readily adjust to new dogs coming and going. Toy guarding is the most common problem since your girl does not know who she can trust with her toy. 

If you have good excercise and she loves retrieving the ball outside of the park why upset her by ever taking her back?


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## texasx96 (Mar 13, 2013)

Luckily, Rowdy doesn't have this issue. He actually likes it when another dog goes after his toy so he can play tug of war. My last dog, a Cairn Terrier, definitely had this issue though. I overcame it by teaching "Leave It". The key was giving him the command before he became overtly aggressive (like starting to wrinkle his nose or bare his teeth). It took a while to get it to apply to other dogs as well as objects, but it ultimately did the trick.


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## anniesMum (Feb 21, 2013)

thanks very much for your replies. 
The dog walker I occasionally use, feels very critical of me, and says that "as an owner it is your job not to give up and avoid activities that you don't know how to control".

The dog walker has never actually taken my dog by herself to the dog park and has not observed this behaviour in Annie. I guess he fells he can control any dog in the world 

It is my un-expert opinion that each dog is different, and may not necessarily be able to be trained or altered to behave in the way "textbook" dogs behave. Similar to children(i've had 3), I suppose. Goldens are more "individuals" than other breeds...or am I biased


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## Jessie'sGirl (Aug 30, 2010)

I had a similar problem last summer when Jess was just past 2 yrs. He stopped playing with the other dogs and just became fixated on his ball. And then there was a scuffle, which he started. I called in a trainer and worked on his recommendations,which did work, but we very seldom go back to that park where he used to play and if we do go I am constantly scanning for strange dogs. He sometimes appears nervous if he is there with his ball and an unknown dog appears, so at that point we just leave. 
Anywhere else he is fine , and and will play with other dogs he meets. And there have been no scuffles in the past year, even at that park.


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