Does your dog guard his food bowl or toys, growling at anyone who comes near? Perhaps your dog even guards you!
This behavior can lead to serious aggression issues, and should be addressed immediately. But punishment doesn’t work -- you’re likely to punish the growl out of the dog and thereby lose your “early warning system!” A dog who’s been taught not to growl (but still feels the same about “his stuff”) is likely to bite “without warning.” Mine! by Jeanne Donaldson presents a detailed program for teaching your dog to give things up willingly and to not just tolerate but actually like having people approach him even when he has “stuff.” A must-have for any owner of a resource-guarding dog.
