# possessive dog?



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Honestly, I would find a new boyfriend. If he is that intolerant with your dog how is he going to be with children some day. Your puppy is just being a love, its a good thing!


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## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

Well, maybe you should have something extra yummy for him to chew on. Save them for only when the BF comes over, then work on training him to only chew on them in his bed. 

Or, as N2Mischief says, get a new BF. :smile:

BTW, my previous dog was the same way, only she had to be on my lap when my husband was around.


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

haha thanks for saying that because i feel like im going crazy for getting mad at him for getting mad at the dog! like hes only 3.5 months and weve only had him for a month! hes still learning!


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## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

Reginaanna, I have learned that I trust my dog's instinct on people. If Remington does not like the person they don't come into my home. Perhaps your pup is telling you more than he wants to be center of attention...


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

How can anyone be impatient with a warm fuzzy loving puppy!!!! If BF is this way about a little puppy, I certainly would think twice about him being daddy to my future children!!! Time to train BF to learn patience for sure! Just use positive reinforcement training and lots of treats, HAhahaha!!!!


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

ahaha you know it just fustrated me because i gave him solutions of what we can do with the puppy when we want alone time such as crate him and put him downstairs. but he doesnt want to listen because he says he feels bad listening to him. its relaly annoying esp when i come up with solutions and bf doesnt want to listen. looks like he may be on his way out ladies!


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## Beaches (Jan 25, 2014)

*Your dog will be your best friend.*

Kick the BF to the curb girl. I agree, he'll be a lousy parent.


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

I really needed to hear that from you guys because I thought that I was doing something wrong with my dog. Honestly, he is a good pup.. a little wild. but i love him and hes still new. what he has learned in the past month i am shocked. hes practically housebroken i think we had one accident in the last two weeks? hes a toy poodle and finally learned how to go up and down the steps. he finally learned how to be alone in a room without me.. hes making progress. patience really is key.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I don't think your dog can tell if you should dump your b.f. jmo. And I don't blame him for being annoyed with a dog pushing his way in between you. Heck, that would bug me too. :ahhhhh:

Resource guarding is very common and this kind of thing should be easy to turn around if you'll put in the work. And I don't know that this would fall into resource guarding as much as simply insisting he's the center of attention. lol. 

Here's what I'd advise: Make practice sessions every day...short ones but multiple times. When you're sitting on the couch, if he pushes to get in between you, simply place him on the floor. Be CONSISTENT! Every single time he does this. Don't leave him on the floor for more than about 30 seconds and give him another try to sit along side you rather than pushing in between. Give him a folded up blanket or crate pad and show him where to lie or sit. Reinforce with attention, affection, praise and a tasty treat when he is there. Do it quickly before he moves in for the squeeze. Catch him doing what you like before he messes up. Reinforce frequently as he stays on his spot....every couple seconds....lots of fuss. Make sure that sitting or lying beside you or wherever his place will be is better than sitting in between you. _Gosh, I'm close enough, I get loads of love and attention and New York steak to boot. lol._ You won't always have to do this because he'll develop a muscle memory for this. 

Do this a few times a day for a while. When he gets the idea and becomes more regular about staying in his little area, you can give the treats intermittently but not completely randomly. Take an average number of correct responses to pay outs, like slot machines work. And then fade gradually to fewer pay offs. But I would still treat him in some way...what he likes fairly often for some time. 

When you notice him getting quite reliable with his little placement game, you then can add a cue if you want to, like, "place." (or whatever) Or you don't need to. This can be a sort of default behavior where your sitting on the couch IS the cue to go to his place.


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

the issue is i try to put him on the floor and he has a barking frenzy. i guess i will just keep trying to train him.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

reginaanna217 said:


> the issue is i try to put him on the floor and he has a barking frenzy. i guess i will just keep trying to train him.


Dogs do what works. Show him what will work and what won't. If you want him on the floor and he barks, I'd move him into another boring room away from the action. But only for about 30 seconds. Then give him another try. The more tries, the higher the odds that he'll catch onto the distinction of being with you but quiet or being in a boring place. Back and forth. Again, make being near you but not bothering you better than anything else. Reinforce him when he takes a breath from barking. In between barks. Mark it with a clicker or "yesss!" and reinforce. Catch him, watch for some improvement and then raise the ante. You don't have to get perfection at once. You can work toward a goal as well.


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## spookiesmom (Dec 31, 2011)

Ever heard the phrase Love me, love my dog? It applies here. Listen to your pup.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Based on what you describe, I think both the pup and the boyfriend have issues. It sounds like pup is being a pushy nudge. I would discourage this behavior now, as it only gets more annoying as time goes on. 

However, even though I agree with your boyfriend about the puppy's behavior, I don't like his way of dealing. The appropriate way to handle a problem is to calmly look at the situation, then try appropriate solutions. Instead, based on what you describe, he's getting whiny, possessive, and negative. A puppy has an excuse for acting immature. An adult human doesn't.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Re-reading your original post, I don't see this as possessive necessarily...your dog isn't getting snarky or anything. I see nothing particularly unusual in this behavior if I'm reading you right. Lots of dogs act like that. When I was a kid we had two dogs and my parents would, on purpose, hug and go, "aww aww" like we do when we give affection. They'd be standing in the kitchen and the dogs would get all silly and hop around, trying to get in on the act into the center of things, wagging their tails, smiling. We all thought it was fun and funny. They just wanted to join in and share in what looks like a nice time. It's really not that big of a deal other than if it annoys you and/or your bf, in which case you can discourage the behavior and make it go away if you remove the reinforcement. What would bother me is the demand barking when you put him on the floor. I'd do like I described and remove him from the fun and action for just a short time out and try again.


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

Thanks guys! I think it's a little bit of both my pup and my boyfriend not being patient after all I've only had the dog for a month so there is a lot of refining that is needed plus he's only 3.5 months. He's attached to my hip and never in an agressive way always in a loving and playful way. I am going to work on training him with treats and hoping with time he will understand what it means when momma needs alone time thanks for the varying opinions !


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

reginaanna217 said:


> I am going to work on training him with treats and hoping with time he will understand what it means when momma needs alone time thanks for the varying opinions !
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I read this at first as training your boyfriend with treats ... and then thought, actually, it works for both pups and people. The rewards used might be slightly different, of course, but if the human is feeling a bit neglected and pushed out then perhaps both need a little reward-based training in how to share your attention!


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Humans can be marker trained. 

Worked beautifully on my kids when they were little (and a few nurses here at work have benefited from wel-timed treats lol)


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

the funny thing is though, i have not neglected the bf at all. the issue he is having is the dog barks when we put him on the floor and we are on the bed. i personally dont have an issue listening to the dog bark because i know eventually he will stop but bf doesnt want to listen to it. if i put the dog downstairs he walks up the steps and barks at my door.. which i have no issue listening to because like i said he gotta stop eventually.. but bf can't put up with it..its kind of complicated i guess. i guess i will have to train both. hahahahahah


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Well, hopefully your bf can understand when you explain to him that puppies are babies and just like baby humans, learning and growing up is a process. They will do these things for a while. Baby humans don't stop crying when they're this young (proportionately) and they put things in their mouths to explore and get into things. They make weird noises and pee their pants. lol. Puppies are babies. He's just going to have to be patient and help raise the puppy to be well adjusted and happy as he matures. You guys can do this. lol.


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## sjenius (Jan 13, 2014)

If he acknowledges the puppy when it starts barking then it just reinforces the demand barking. Both and him and you have to be on the same page training wise. I'd give the boyfriend some ear plugs and train puppy to go to its bed in the room.


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