first pet, second pet, alpha question

[babolaypo65]

I have a scottie. he's 2 & 1/2. i have had him since he was 11 weeks. he's the best dog EVER. bar none. last month we got a cat. (who is also about 2) owen loves cats. always has. he adores clive. one little issue though. if clive walks by owen's bone owen growls. i have been following the alpha dog mentality since clive got here (even though he's a cat) feeding the dog first, letting the dog in and out first. greeting him first etc...
any thoughts on how to get owen to NOT growl and be protective of his bone (as if the cat would want it anyway. ha!).
should i scold him for that behaviour? he's so not agressive otherwise (except the occasional warning bark at a dog stealing his ball at the park)

thanks in advance for any advice!

[aly]

Hmm, I know some tips for when they are possessive toward humans and other dogs, but not sure how to approach the problem when its with a cat. Actually, the first week or two I had Lolly, she did this with my cat. She was also territorial to the cat. She grew out of it very quickly though *PHEW*. Its possible that your dog may eventually figure out the cat isn't interested in his stuff. Let me search around the web and see if I can find anything....

[aly]

Oh yeah, don't scold him for growling. If you do, he may stop growling but then go straight for the bite with no warning growl.

I would praise and treat him lots if he ever doesn't growl. Find out where his comfort zone is (how close the cat can be to him and his bone without a reaction from him). Give him treats and praise and gradually move the cat closer. He may eventually associate the cat being near his bone to getting something good to eat.

I'll still look on the web for some advice though..

[babolaypo65]

the part about not scolding makes TOTAL sense.