Lizbud and Dixieland...I agree with you two 100%. A dog is a dog and there is no changing that. Just as you can't train the maternal instinct out of a new human mother, you really can't train that typical, normal wolf trait out of an otherwise gentle dog. My dog Graham is an amazing dog who is extremely gentle, loves kids and elderly people as well as the ages inbetween, in fact he's even a certified therapy dog but he has growled quietly at me in the past when I try to take a *very special* raw beef bone away from him. He's never snapped at me but I just don't give him the opportunity to. He is a dog, after all. He is not this way with anything else other then the very occational beef bone that is just irresistable. I continue giving him his bones because he loves them and they do great things for his teeth, but we have an understanding now...I let him do his thing and I give him space. When he first growled at me when he was obsessive about a meat bone, I punished him because he hurt my feelings and I worried that he would become aggressive and an aggressive dog is unacceptable to me. But as I got to know him and realized that he is a gentle, docile dog who would give his life for me because he loved and trusted me so much, I realized that he is not in the least bit aggressive and he never will be aggressive...unless I try to turn him into a human and deny all of his wolf instinct. When I punished him years ago for growling at me he actually thought I was yelling at him for chewing on the bone, he did not link the growling with bad behavior. He was afraid to chew on bones or toys because he thought it was wrong. I was the one who was wrong for punishing him for being a dog. As soon as I realized that he was just being a dog and I learned to accept that, our mutual trust and understanding became very clear. Years and years ago, he would always take his special *prize* to another room to chew in peace and quiet, now he can chew in the same room with me, even right next to me when I'm watching TV. He trusts me now and the whole situation has become very comfortable. I don't know if he'd even growl at me anymore, but I have no reason to find out. We have the trust and I am going to leave it at that.

My advice is just give your dog space (of course away from your baby) when you give the meaty bones. Just ignore your pup when she's in her obsessive chewing trance. Don't talk to her and just act as if she is not even in the room. If it gets so bad with the aggression towards the treats that your dog becomes out of control and chases you out of *her room* then of course discontinue giving her those special treats, or only give them to her while she's outside, but I doubt it will get out of control. She sounds so sweet and it sounds like she knows very well that you are alpha.

Your dog sounds absolutely wonderful. I welcome you to the site and I hope you are not overloaded with differing opinions.

[ December 03, 2001: Message edited by: AdoreMyDogs ]