h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We recently inherited my mum-in-law's dog. Benji is a 3-year-old Jack Russell/Cairn terrier cross. He hasn't had much training for various reasons, so we're having to start from scratch. He's getting the hang of 'Bed' (go to bed, lie down and behave) and 'Down' (stop jumping up at us). We still need to work on 'Sit', 'Stay' and 'Lie down' (other than making him go to bed). He's a bright dog and he catches on quickly.

There is one fault that he's always had, and we're struggling to find ways to break him of it. He's possessive. Once he's got a stick, ball, or anything else he wants to keep, he won't let go of it. I know this is terrier behaviour, but it's challenging our 'alpha' status. When we say 'Drop' or 'Give', we want an immediate response. We don't want to have to fight him every time. Bribery doesn't always work, not even with his favourite treats. He has jaws like a vice, so forcing him to give the thing up isn't really an option. While he's hanging on to whatever he's got, he snarls - a lot! He hasn't bitten me yet, but I don't want to push him too far.

I really need help with this one. Any dog training experts out there, please help!

Jack Russell/Cairn Terrier cross

Lie down is the most important one, especially if you can train him to lie on his side. This submissive position reinforces your alpha status. Do 'lie down' a lot!

I'm no expert, but I own a (formerly possessive) Rottweiller. I cured his possessiveness by pretending to ignore whatever he had that I wanted, and make a huge fuss over something I had. (Ooh! I really like this tasty stick, etc)

As soon as he dropped whatever it was, I'd speak the 'drop' command. At first, I did this from a few yards away, and did not attempt to grab whatever it was, feigning complete disinterest in it. Gradually I moved closer, eventually standing nearby, issuing the 'drop' command, then lightly tossing the replacement item. Then casually picking up the other object. Eventually I was able to simply trade objects.

It took some time, but now he will even relinquish a nice, juicy dead rat on command, and doesn't seem to care I don't give him anything in return!

Oh, and if he snarls at you, snarl back more viciously
Snarling's -talk for the dominance/submission game.

Although I have no constructive help to sort out the problem, my friend has a Jack Russle and the dog is obsessed with dog toys and spends hours carrying them around. I don't think being obsessed with toys is a problem in itself as the toys make my friends dog happy, and at least it isn't eating the furniture which it might do if no toys were available. I do believe she has worked to ensure that all her dogs are OK with having food, etc taken away and not getting angry by doing it often from young, I mean just for a couple of seconds regularly from young so they get used to it. I think playing with toys constantly maybe part of the normal make up of Jack Russels particularly as hunting dogs and quite active in the mind.

SS, obsession with toys isn't the problem. Benji has a box of toys next to his bed. He can grab what he wants when he wants it and play with it as much as he likes - even the dreadful squeaky toy. We've been known to play football round the kitchen! The problem is not responding to 'drop' or 'give', which can lead to a fight over whatever he's got hold off.

Thanks for the advice, Taliesin. It beats the other advice I was given - force the dog's jaws open. When the dog has jaws like a vice, that's easier said than done.

Maybe you'll find some advice here:
Managing Your Dog’s Behaviour with Trick Training - A18263027

No, you should never force a dogs jaws open, beside you could pick a Jack Russel up by holding onto just the toy and it would swing from it they are so strong!
I give my best friend's dog a squeaky toy EVERY Christmas which the dog loves, fortunately my friends Jack "kills" the squeaker pretty quickly, she litterally carries her toys around like a puppy for days on end none stop!

I think Taliesin's advice sounds sound (errrrr...)

As to 'sit' if you haven't started that yet, with our dogs (flatcoated retrievers - you don't have to bend as far to pet them ) using the food bowl or a treat and slowly lifting it over the dog's head and behind invariably makes the dog sit as they try to follow it with the eyes - and just when they do, utter the 'sit' command. That trick has had our dogs sitting in a few days

Have lots of fun - I for one cannot see myself without a dog

I think you need to concentrate on one command at a time.

I have some experience of dog-training with my own animals and it's important that you are consistent with the commands.

Please don't teach him 'down' to stop it jumping and then 'lie down' to get him in the down position. To stop him jumping up everyone has to be consistent, when entering the room/house/garden stand up straight and cross your arms on your chest - look up to the ceiling and do not engage in eye contact, no need to say anything, the dog will quickly learn not to jump when you give no response. Pushing him away will only encourage him because he sees this as playing behaviour.

The best way to teach him to give is on the tail of the fetch command, but before you get to that he should know how to 'present' in the sitting position, so work on the sit first.

I'm confident he's a clever little critter and he should pick things up pretty quickly.

Distraction being a very good training aid, there is this bunch of plates rather like castenets, you throw on the ground to attract attention, most dog will stop what they are doing on hearing the sound, if useing "water pistol" or other deterent use before command line.

"Benji has a box of toys next to his bed. He can grab what he wants when he wants it and play with it as much as he likes - even the dreadful squeaky toy."

This is part of the problem.

The dog thinks that the toys are his, and obviously you feel they belong to you as you want him to give them to you when you say so.

So the first thing to do is to pack all the toys away and get them out when you are ready to play, or when you want him to occupy himself.

As you've got a possesive dog, he shouldn't win tugs of war - the game should always end up with you having the toy, not him, then you put it away until next time.

As you say he snarls, then it may be the time to get a behaviour expert to see him, if you are worried that he will bite. Is he snarling to warn you away when you approach? Or snarling all the time with excitement? My foster dog growls a fair bit, but it's not a warning growl, it's just excitement.

Can I ask what he does if you approach his food bowl? If he gets all possesive and snarly if you try to move towards him, or put your hand anywhere near him then you can desensitise him to that which should help with the toy possesion. If that's the case then you can work on it by not giving him his full dinner all at once. Let him eat some of it, then when he moves away from his bowl, let him see you add a bit more, and so on. As he begins to relax over some time (could be a few days, could be a few weeks), then you can start adding more food before he moves away, then while he's still eating, etc. The idea is to teach him that you only approach to give more food, so he'll start letting you nearer his mouth area when he's got something he wants to keep. It may be a good idea to do this anyway, as you need him to be happy with you near his mouth area for the next bit to work.

If the dog won't drop the toy for a treat, and Taliesin's advice "I cured his possessiveness by pretending to ignore whatever he had that I wanted, and make a huge fuss over something I had." hasn't worked either, then what you can try is to hold whatever part of the toy isn't in his mouth. Just hold it still, and don't make eye contact. No pulling or tugging, other than what you need to hold on to the toy. He should, eventually, let go. It could take some time while he gets used to the idea, just make sure if he adjusts his grip you don't try to pull it out, but rather move your hands nearer to his mouth to take up any extra toy he's let go.

Please, though, if the snarling gets worse, then the best thing would be to contact someone who can help with the dog there to see his reactions, rather than someone online who can't see the dog's body language.

PS. well done for taking on a dog that needs a home. Also, your dog will be able to tell the difference between 'down' and 'lie down'. It's easier for them if commands sound different, but a lot of dogs only pay attention to the first syllable anyway, so it shouldn't cause a problem.

Good luck with this.

"The dog thinks that the toys are his, and obviously you feel they belong to you as you want him to give them to you when you say so."

Actually, this isn't part of the problem. He has always had his toys available, and only plays with a few - a couple of balls and a squeeky toy. Mostly he plays quietly with them, and loves a game of football in the kitchen. When we get bored or tired, the game stops. He doesn't grab the ball and hang on because that's not part of the game. He can't play 'tug-of-war' with most of his toys, so it's not really an issue. The problem is sticks and anything else he may pick up on his walks, plus anything we throw for him to fetch. Those are the things he hangs on to, not always by winning a tug-of-war but because he's got such strong jaws and we can't force him to give up what he's got.

"As you've got a possesive dog, he shouldn't win tugs of war - the game should always end up with you having the toy, not him, then you put it away until next time."

Again, the issue isn't toys being put away till next time, it's things we don't want him to have, full stop.

"As you say he snarls, then it may be the time to get a behaviour expert to see him, if you are worried that he will bite. Is he snarling to warn you away when you approach? Or snarling all the time with excitement? My foster dog growls a fair bit, but it's not a warning growl, it's just excitement."

He only snarls when we try to take something from him. The only reason I'm worried is that I know that a dog who barks won't bite, but a snarling dog *may* bite. I'm not sure it's a warning snarl, as it's not a sound he makes on a regular basis, only when we're trying to get him to 'give' and he doesn't want to. It could be part of him being playful, as he sees it, but we just don't get it because we don't speak dog.

As for his food bowl, I've never approached him while he's eating, but hubby says he does snarl if you come to close. I'll have to see what happens next time I feed him. One thing he's started to do, which we'll also have to stop is attacking feet. He's attacked my foot twice, once when I eased him away from the gate between kitchen and dining room, and a short while ago when I nudged his cushion bed back into place. On both occasions his action was understandable - the nudge was an 'attack', and he'd just dragged the cushion to where he wanted it. 'Understandable' does not equal 'acceptable'. It's not a habit yet, so we're going to stop it before it starts.

Thanks for the tip on getting him to let go of something. Yes, it will take time for him to let go. Knowing Benji it will take a long time. But it's the end result that matters. Sooner or later he'll realise that he's not going to win this one and that's all that matters.

This article seems reasonable: http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/RG.html

btw, Jack Russells seem to be quite notorious for resource guarding

And another that discusses food guarding: http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/ccp51/cc/dog-behaviour/resource-guarding.shtml

"The problem is sticks and anything else he may pick up on his walks, plus anything we throw for him to fetch. Those are the things he hangs on to, not always by winning a tug-of-war but because he's got such strong jaws and we can't force him to give up what he's got."

From what you say, even in your last post, I believe that my advice about toys would help, even though the issue you are dealing with is slightly different. However, if you don't fancy that, there are other things you can try.

Perhaps another way is to teach him the leave command as soon as possible - there are lots of ways to do it, and most dogs learn quickly. Start with low value objects, only working up to what he sees as higher value when he's better. That way he'll learn not to pick things up that you don't want him to have.

Things you throw for him to fetch is slightly different - but again, if you practise the 'drop' command over and over again in the house, with things he's quite happy to drop then it should become second nature to him to just drop things when you say so.

It's taken me four months to get my foster dog to come back to me when we're out walking and other dogs are walking the other way - we kept having to go and get him as he just wants to play with the other dogs all of the time, and he'd just go off with the other dog walkers. He's still not perfect, but by calling him to me in the house as much as possible and rewarding him when he comes back it's slowly working.

If you're not sure why your dog is snarling it's probably not a good idea to put your hands too close to his mouth, but doing the food thing should help that.

Good luck, and I'll be interested to see how it goes.