I am having a problem

[andre's mom]

I have a 7 month old Rotti named Dre not fixed yet. I have had a couple of problems with aggression Food, Toys etc.. I have gotten him got of that. But this evening when he was laying on the floor I went to pet him he started to growl and had his ears right back. I never backed away I corrected him and pet him so he knew I wasn't going no where.
He hasn't done this before. What or how should I correct him properly? Also he had his head right down and tail right up. Please help..
Thanks in advance.

[me and three]

hi andre's mom, your boy is simply testing the waters to find where he fits into the pack and what he can and can not get away with. i've raised several male rotties and have noticed every six months or so they like to test the waters up to about 2 1/2 years old. not giving in is the key along with a sharp correction and making him submit to you as long as you are comfortable with that. best of luck!

[Zumie05]

You definitely don't want to let your boy get away with this behavior, otherwise he won't respect you as leader. I would suggest working on teaching him that when he has high value items that he doesn't need to fear you taking them away from him. Dogs will growl when they have things because they want to protect what they have. They protect what they have because they don't want it to be taken away.

Show your dog that you aren't there to take his stuff away, but you are there to enjoy his company. Do this by feeding him treats when he has high value items. Practice exchanging his bone for treats, other bones, toys, anything. Give him a treat, pick up the bone, then give him the bone back. Enough repetitions of this will erase your dog's desire to protect things from you.

Reinforce your leadership role by practicing obedience with your dog every day. NILIF - nothing in life is free. Make your dog work for you before petting him, letting him go for a walk, eating his meals, fetching his toy, etc. All this together should cause this behavior to disappear, and your relationship to blossom

[AngelBunny]

Are you and Dre in obed class?

[debbiej]

it sounds as if he didn't want to be bothered. a good way to neutralize the situation would be snap on his leash and do some upbeat obedience work. make him forget what he was complaining about, and give him something to do.

like Angelbunny said, obedience classes will help a lot