possesive over collars????

[taylorboy]

My 2 year old yellow lab is very possesive over his collars and tags. If we're rubbing him around his collars or we happen to touch or try to take them off then he lets out a grumpy old man growl
He's fine once they're off his neck, he could care less but it's like it's a 10 carat diamond around his neck or something.
He would never hurt anyone but it just really makes him cranky.
Does anyone else have this issue or know what the deal is

[pitc9]

I do not have that problem with either of mine.

How long have you have your dog?

[dms]

this is an aggression/dominance issue that is being triggered by the attempt to remove his collar & needs to be attended to before getting out of hand. Have you had the dog since a puppy or did you take him on as an adult? I would say the best way to handle it is through professional help. You may want to seek out advice from your vet.

good luck

[Toby's my baby]

I babysit my aunts dog and he is fine when you are petting him, but if you take off, or try to take off his collar he will growl or jump on you. Like your dog, he wouldn't hurt a fly, we is just possesive over his collar.

[lizbud]

Originally posted by taylorboy
My 2 year old yellow lab is very possesive over his collars and tags. If we're rubbing him around his collars or we happen to touch or try to take them off then he lets out a grumpy old man growl
He's fine once they're off his neck, he could care less but it's like it's a 10 carat diamond around his neck or something.
He would never hurt anyone but it just really makes him cranky.
Does anyone else have this issue or know what the deal is

I doubt your dog is being possesive of his collar/tags, he just
doesn't seem to like being handled around his head/neck.This
is something that my dog's puppy trainer worked on in puppy
classes. You teach the puppy that nothing bad happens when
they are grabbed by the collar by you. Sorta of a "gotcha move".

It's something I had never thought of before as I never had
a dog that it ever bothered. I would think you should ask your
Vet about Dog trainers in your area. You all could benefit from
it. Good luck.

[K9soul]

I had a thought, have you had the dog since he was a puppy, or could he have had a bad experience involving being grabbed by the collar? Perhaps it is the actual act of reaching towards his collar that causes a defensive/alarm reaction? When I got my golden retriever Tommy, he was reluctant/defensive about anyone taking hold of his collar, we think because he was grabbed by his collar to be chained up or abused by the people who had him before. He didn't show aggression but when we would reach for his collar, he'd flop on his back with his tail tucked or jerk his head away or even mouth/lick the hand reaching for his collar.

I think determining what you think is the cause would help you in learning how best to handle it.

[rotten_two]

when you try to grab his collar to take it off how do you do it? do you go under near the chest or over the head? over the head in dog speak is a dominant position. when a dog "hooks" (puts his paw, head, or body) over the head or shoulders of another dog he is establishing his place in the pack. for this reason many dogs are uncomfortable when you approach over the head. you might try under the neck and if that riles him too then you need to recondition. a previous post mentioned training the dog that only good things happen when i grab your collar -- excellent approach! have him sit -- treat. touch his collar (from under) treat treat treat. repeat until he tolerates the touch. then touch it and move it - more treats. eventually you should be able to take it off with little problem!