Help! What do I do in this situation??

[K-9Girl]

One of my friends came over today to let his puppy play with my dogs...

Up until my friend entered my house, the puppy was trying to get a bone away from Kodi (Kodi had the bone and was chewing on it). Kodi had been growling at the puppy to warn him that the bone was his and that he was chewing on it ( a typical dog behavior, right?).

When my friend entered my house, he reached down to pet Kodi (still chewing on the bone) and Kodi growled.... This startled my friend....(I don't blame him....:( :( )

This is what I did:
Right away I told Kodi "NO!!" I took the bone away from him (he does not growl at me.....Kodi and I had that confrentation about 5 months ago and at that time it was settled that I was top dog...) After taking the bone away I made him do some obedience work to get the bone back......come, sit, down and then "WAIT" until I said it was "OKAY" to have the bone back.

Was this right? Should my friend have done the above to assert his athority over Kodi?

I know that it is UNEXCEPTABLE for Kodi to growl at a human and this needs to be corrected.....

Any advice?? Please help!

[Judi W]

You did the right thing. All I would have done differently is that when I saw the dog was feeling defensive over the bone in the first place with the impact of a visitor, I would have removed it before it became a "bone of contention":p One of the things we do for our dogs is help them avoid situations.

No, a stranger or visitor should not be so presumptious as to attempt to trash the dog for guarding it's bone. That would not be smart. This dog was feeling pressed and defensive and you do not want to stimulate an incident where he is going to act out his concerns. Granted, he should not have growled, but he had a real reason to worry about his bone as a stranger (the pup) had been trying to take it away. This pup is not a member of his pack and yet he was giving honest warnings "leave my bone alone you interloper"! Those warnings were being ignored.

So, next time there is company that would want to take his favorite thing, (assuming your dinner guests are not interested in old chewed bones), pick it up ahead of time.

[K-9Girl]

Thanks Judi W!

You have helped me with past situations, and you always seem to know the right thing to do!!:)