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Post by mastiffsj on Feb 12, 2008 19:12:06 GMT -5
my sister has a pit bull, Jade, who is three (approximately) years old (spayed female)who she adopted from a shelter. she has recently moved back home with my parents who have a miniature dachshund (male, neutered, five years old).
jade and the dachshund get along, but i have tried to teach my parents and sister a little about behavior/pits with small dogs, etc so they will pay a little more attention to her behavior with the dachshund.
my question/situation-
jade occasionally snarls at bling ONLY when she is resource guarding, and this happens very rarely (once every few weeks, maybe not for five-six weeks). when i see her do this i tell her no. i am afraid that i might be reinforcing her to NOT snarl, thus giving no (or reduced) warning before something else beyond the snarling????? i know the snarling is a warning but i don't know what to do instead of tell her no when she does this for fear of what might happen next but i do not want to cut out her warning, i know it is very important that dogs be able to warn before going further.
help??
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Post by RealPitBull on Feb 13, 2008 14:25:53 GMT -5
As standard practice, I always advise keeping resources contained unless the dogs are seperated. This is especially important if one of the dogs is showing resource guarding behavior towards another dog, and one of those dogs happens to be a small guy that could easily be injured.
But you're right about punishing the growling....I'd be worried about that, too. In situations like this, I think interrupting and redirecting is the best bet. Remember, too, resource guarding stems from anxiety/defensiveness, so punshining any sort of resource guarding could make it worse (e.g. by increasing anxiety).
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Post by mastiffsj on Feb 13, 2008 21:05:44 GMT -5
:)THANK YOU!!
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