Possessiveness?

[Dariesh]

I am really getting frustrated, Dash (my male) snapped at a dog at the dog park today over a toy. I just don't understand how he is fine at home but when he gets with different dogs he gets mad when they try to take his toy. He will never take a toy from a dog just watch it until it is given up, but he will never take a toy from another dog. If someone has any tips I would greatly appreciate it, I am lost. I hate having a dog that is hard to trust, or so I think. He bears his teeth at my female at home and it just means play they have never gotten into a fight. When he is at the dog park I always catch him and make him give up the toy when he does that. Am I over reacting? Is he feeling that I am nervous that he is going to do something? I see other dogs at the dog park that can play keep away and be ok, why can't mine, what did I do differently? Then again I see some dogs that will do exactly what he does but the owners don't do anything about it.

They are both fixed. The behavior that my female shows ( scared of a lot of things, she will only bark not bite or be aggressive, ) I think stem from the breeding. I was very naive when I got my first one and I believe that I got here from a puppy mill and she was younger than they said. My youngest, the male I got from a very reputable breeder. The only thing I can think of is that his dad was a little aggressive.

[Giselle]

Breeding aggressive dogs is the single most irresponsible thing a breeder can do. This topic hits home, and it hits home hard for me. Rehabilitating aggressive dogs has become a passion of mine, but it is my belief that genetically-based, inappropriate aggression is one of those things that can and should always be eliminated from the gene pool. If your male's father was aggressive, I would contact his breeder and see what the behaviors of the rest of the litter look like. Sorry to go on a tirade, but aggression just hits my heart hard. I've dealt with many people's frustrations on top of my own heartaches, and aggression is not worth this emotional pain. And, believe me, aggression is as stressful for the dog as it is for the owner. I feel for you, as it does get incredibly painful.

When he is at the dog park I always catch him and make him give up the toy when he does that. Am I over reacting? Is he feeling that I am nervous that he is going to do something? I see other dogs at the dog park that can play keep away and be ok, why can't mine, what did I do differently? Then again I see some dogs that will do exactly what he does but the owners don't do anything about it.

Here's something that concerns me. He's guarding the toys because he doesn't want them taken away. But when he growls to signal his reluctance and fear of the toy being taken away, you say that you take the toy away. IMO, that would only make him more likely to guard the next time because he knows that you're going to take away the toy. To combat this, I would use a form of "trade up". Every time another dog approaches him to take the toy but BEFORE he feels compelled to growl, immediately give him a better toy while simultaneously handing the old toy to the other dog. Conversely, you can immediately hand him a delicious treat while simultaneously giving the toy to the other dog. You want him to enjoy giving up his toys to other dogs, not dread them. Good luck