signs of aggression/dominance?

Hi all,

We've had our Murphy for two months now; we rescued him from the shelter and don't know anything about his history (he's 2). He's never shown signs of abuse and is very friendly and loving with us. He lets us pick him up and hold him all the time, seems to love it in fact, and always rolls on his back for a tummy rubbing. (He's a 25 lb. border collie mix--maybe whippet and/or American pit bull terrier in there?)

The only time he had EVER growled at us was while chewing a rawhide bone that we gave him--we got a little too close and he felt threatened/protective. I know this is typical instinctual behavior and I'm not really alarmed by it. But then, yesterday afternoon, I was brushing my hair and he was sitting nearby, and suddenly, I heard him growl at me! Shocked, I went over and pet him, and he seemed perfectly fine.

Later last night, he was chewing on a stuffed toy bone and ripped it open, started eating the stuffing, etc. When my husband tried to take it away, he growled again. We were able to distract him with a little treat and get the bone away.

Murph gets up like clockwork at 6:30 or 7 a.m., and on the weekends, it's no different. He'll usually nudge our toes or yip/bark a little to wake us up on the weekends. But then--last night--we were awakened at 4:30 to hear him in our room, yipping/whining and nudging our toes and generally being a nuisance. He's never done this before on a weekday, or so early in the morning. The yipping/whining was interspersed with a low growling--this was a first. At first we reacted, telling him no, guiding him to his bed, but eventually we just ignored him, and after about 30 minutes, he went back to sleep. I know he didn't need to go out--he was just being a brat, so to speak; he wanted us to get up and be with him.

I have to admit I'm a little perturbed. I'm not afraid of him, really, but we've only had him for two months, so we don't know him completely yet. I don't want this behavior to get out of hand. Perhaps he's starting to think like an alpha? We don't let him on our bed or furniture, we make him sit, lay down, etc. for treats...what else can we do? I searched these boards and found some advice for eating a little something ourselves before feeding him his dinner...we're going to try that.

ANY advice would be welcome! I want to nip this in the bud!! :confused:

I would enroll him into an obedience class and also get him neutered if not done so already. I would make him work for everything (not just treats) when he has to go out to potty make him down, he wants dinner make him sit, if he wants to be petted make him do a stay etc... Also teach him a drop it command this way you can get his toys away from him without a problem. At first when teachin the drop it I wouold always offer something in place of what he has (another toy or treat) so this way he does not get even more protective as he will know he is not "loosing" what he has he is just exchanging it. As he learns that command start slowly by lessening the treat or toy. Also EVERYTIME he growls you need to firmly scold him tell him NO VERY FIRMLY (or however else you scold) and totally ignore him for about 5-15 minutes. Being part pit bull (if so) they can be challenging so you need to establish that you are the leader. Border collies can also be chalenging and stubborn. As far as him waking up he might of been just challenging you but to be on the safe side I always check out the surroundings and let my dogs out to potty (as they too are like clockwork) so if their time clock changes I like to make sure nothing is wrong. At first I ignore them for a minute if they continue to wake me up I ignore them but get up and look around and then let them out. Sometimes their tummy might bother them or they have to potty and to be on the safe side I want to make sure there is no danger. And borders are very active he may be showing these signs out of boredom so an extra walk or vigourus game of fetch everday may help or agility or flyball!

Thanks lv4dogs!

Murphy is neutered already. We'll definitely teach him "drop it." He's pretty smart and can learn new commands in one or two days.

Maybe we should've taken him out this morning. (We live in an apartment, so we can't just let him out the back door--we need to walk him outside.) But he's been sleeping through the night fine for two months, so I don't know what his problem was. We really don't want him to get in the habit of going outside at 4:30 in the morning!!!

He gets three 20-30 minute walks a day, plus indoor playtime with us, plus we go to the dog park two or three times a week, so I think he's getting enough exercise--but more could never hurt!

We love him so much and we just don't want him to become aggressive in any way...we NEVER hit him, but sometimes my husband gets so frustrated that he comes close, and I don't want things to get to that point!!

It seems like Murphy is food aggressive. Perhaps food was scarce where he was before he came to your house. He may also be protective as well. Try hand feeding him for a while and see how he responds to that. A drop it command is also very helpful.

Yes I know what you mean about not wanting them to get in the habbit of going out a wee hours (I live in a trailer park so I too have to walk them or at least watch them very closely) that is why I ignore for a few minutes then if it persists I get up & look around the house, If they go to the door I know they have to potty otherwise I go back to sleep. But it also worries me when they do this as they too are like alarm clocks so if they do get up in the night I want to make sure everything is ok.

To help with food aggression yes, hand feed also feed less more often. It will make him think that food is more plentifull. It may disrupt his ussual duties so just keep an eye out for signs of when he has to potty.

3 walks what a lucky dog. My dogs only get 2 although they are longer walks I am sure no matter the lenghth the dog thinks 3 is better than 2. Maybe try jogging or running for one of the walks?

Good luck! Keep us posted!

E-mail my wife about a book we have on Dominant Dogs. If I recall, they had a whole section on how to correct your dog if it is growling at you when you approach its toys/food/etc. I believe they had that listed as a fairly serious "doggy offense."

I'd send you the book myself, but I'm not privy to its whereabouts. I'm pretty much only allowed to know where the refrigerator, remote control, and video games are.

G-Diddy, I tried to PM and e-mail you, but couldn't since it wasn't in your profile. What is the name of that book on Dominant Dogs? I would be very interested in checking it out.

Thanks.

Hi Strass!

I searched through the web , and I found some links that could be helpful to you...

Possession Aggression

Pawsitive Advice - Food Aggression

Aggression on Dogs

Article - Food Aggression

Q & A Archives - Dog Aggression

A Behavioral View on Dog Aggression

I hope these help.. Keep us posted :)

I agree. Our friends dog (rottweiler) does the same thing with food,bone,treats. He growls if you get too close. It may not be because he had no food before he came to your house as our friends dog came from a good home when he was a pup. I think it is definately a dominace thing. And teaching him to "drop it" is a very good thing especialy when he takes something he shouldn't!! I use the word "Thank You" but same thing. Also hand feed him and slowly start to put your hand in his bowl when he is eating. It sounds like he feels threatened when he has food and someone is going to take it away. He will slowly learn that he will always have food and treats.

Thanks so much, everyone! Trisha, I'll be sure to check out those articles. G-Diddy, I'll be emailing Mrs. G-Diddy. ;) I think we'll try hand-feeding him at times, too.

Last night we enjoyed a full night's peaceful sleep--no interruptions--a very good thing! However, we did have another growling incident. Murphy was standing by our bag of bottle recyclables, nosing around. I asked him if he wanted me to find a plastic bottle for a toy and put my hand in the bag. He growled at me and even lunged a bit! He was sort of "trapped" in a corner--the bag is behind our kitchen table--so he probably felt protective and/or threatened. Whatever we can do to stop this behavior, we'll sure try. I do NOT want to be afraid of my dog!

DoggiesAretheBest,

I can't remember the name of the book, but I'll find it out and post it on this link. It was fairly short, an easy read, cheap, and helpful. Are puppy-kindergarten instructors recommended it to us. I'll let you know as soon as I find it.

Leader of the Pack by Baer and Duno. You can buy it at amazon.com for $8.80 plus S&H.