Re: posessiveness

In Reply to: posessiveness
Category:   Behavior Problems
Posted by:  Emily Fernandez
Posted on:  October 27, 2002 at 17:24:14

: I've read the archives but cannot find any definetive answer as to what ACTION to take when your JRT gets posessive. Our male JRT nips and growls at anyone who hugs or kisses my husband or I. I know from reading the archives why he does this, my question is what to do about it. We have gone to obedience classes and had a private trainer, and other than this posessiveness he displays no dominant behaviors. What action do we need to take (in the moment) when he behaves this way. We've tried "time outs" and scolding (ie: "No, bad dog!")but he still does it. We need advice!!! Help.
: - Emily

Response:

Dear Emily,

Dogs get confused when we try to separately label each of their actions, or reactions. Essentially, a dog is either dominate or submissive; there is rarely a middle ground. :-)

The behavior you describe indicates that your terrier has a dominate personality; this is most likely why your "in the moment" corrections don't work. Dealing with a possessive dog requires that you first ackowledge his overall attitude; I suggest you start by not allowing your little guy on the sofa, the bed, etc. Please refer to our search engine for more tips on how to effectively deal with a dominate dog.