Juliet has been chewing everything and I saw bully sticks mentioned here so I got a pack at Target today. It brings out bad things in both dogs. They were small so the boxer finished hers fast. She was staring at the chi so I gave her another. She finished that too then went for Juliet's! She has been food aggressive in the past but hasn't been with Juliet before. Juliet was growling at her the whole time. So I put Bindy (the boxer) outside while Juliet finished. My toddler went over to her. I didn't think much about it because she is awesome with him usually. He can put his hands in her mouth and she just licks him and is sweeter with him than anyone else. He is still nursing so I figure she knows he's my baby. They share my lap all the time, it's really very cute. I don't know if he reached for the stick or got too close but she snapped at him. It sounded horrible and it scared him but there isn't a mark on him. I told her no and took the bully stick away. I'm tempted to just throw them out now. They obviously love them but yikes!

I have some rawhide and they take turns with those no problem. I understand they are risky so I was looking for another option.

What should I do now? I don't want my son getting bit. I don't think she's a danger to him in general and I'm not taking her back or anything, I just need that to stop.

I think you did the right thing by taking the bully stick away. She should not snap at anyone. She did it though cause she likes it so much. I had that problem with Cricket with her food. She would get the raw bones, and growl. So I would take it gently from her mouth, tell her no, and when she was calm again I gave it back.

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I playing!

The same thing has happened to me. We had a 12 year old miniature schnauzer that had never snapped at anyone his entire life, until we gave him a dried chicken strip. I put my foot a little too close to his treat and he snapped. He wasn't going to bite me, but he threatened. I'm sure it's totally natural for them to protect something extra yummy. Although your dog sounds really well balanced, you probably don't want to take the risk of practicing different techniques around your toddler. Maybe you could make sure that Juliet has her own space while she enjoys hers?

Our chihuahua Odie has exhibited the same behaviour, but it seems to have gotten better over time. In the beginning, we did correct her when she growled at us. Now we basically just ignore her and try to give her a little space. Sometimes she will take it to a more "remote" spot, but she hasn't been agressive in a long time.

we've had one or two toys that can bring on this kind of guarding behavior from my dogs.
i think it is best just not to have anything around that they want badly enough to argue over...

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"My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet." - Edith Wharton

Maybe she only gets to have it in a crate or in another room? I have too many dogs, I can't give them to them anymore. Most of my dogs are awesome, but I have a few that came to me from bad homes situations and I can't trust them to play nice.

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Thank you Jan for the wonderful siggy!

One of my toy poodles swallowed the last couple inches of a bully stick and got very sick then finally threw it up (is why I knew what happened) so I dont give them at all anymore. Had one get totally 'stopped up' on rawhide and had to have 3 enemas. I still give rawhide once in a while. I prefer the sweet potato chews but they are way expensive, so I am going to try to make them myself in the oven. I give green beans and carrots as treats, and TOTW sprinkled on the floor as treats too.

I give dried chicken or duck jerky, you can break it off to small bits and it's good for both a treat and training.

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Thank you Jan for the wonderful siggy!

I have dried chicken, but it's made in China so I am worried giving it to Timmy. Does anyone have any opinions on that?