How do you deal with space-guarding issues?

Posted by dogblog

Posted: September 29, 2008 - 12:51 pm

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Do you allow your dogs on your bed? How about your couch? If so, have you ever had any problems with doing so? How did you resolve them?

Here's some explanation to show you why this comes up. (I apologize for the length, but it's a serious issue):

Eddie is toy possessive, and I've been addressing that issue most of his life. He now allows other dogs to have toys, but other dogs aren't allowed to take his. He has a pretty reliable leave it command.

More recently, he's developed a space guarding issue. If he has the prime spot on mama's lap on the couch and Jack enters his space, he'll snap at him. Compounding the problem is a newfound courage in Jack. Jack will get right back in his face, or even initiate the argument for space. They do the same thing on the bed.

Now, my point: Two nights ago, we were in bed, lights out, pitch black, and Eddie was licking my outstretched hand as he often will (to his mama's disgust). Jack was on the other side of me. I leaned my head over to give Eddie a kiss on the head as I do every night (again to mama's disgust), and bam, Eddie bit me square on the nose, drawing blood in five spots. The punctures weren't deep and it didn't hurt, but I was stunned. So was Eddie, I think.

I'm 100 percent sure that he mistook me for Jack entering his space, because I've seen him snap at Jack when he's under the blankets and Jack walks by on top. He's biting even before he's focusing on the target. Plus, Eddie is 4 and has never been aggressive toward humans.

But even if I believe that, snapping at another dog with that ferocity is not acceptable either. I need to nip this in the bud right now.

The bed is now off-limits at night. We'll train on it during the day trying to get them used to sharing space. I'm also eliminating loose toys from the house as well. I'll hand them out during play time only.

The problem is, our pack is no longer balanced. No one's happy. Jack probably has spent his entire life sleeping on beds. He had some serious separation anxiety last night. Eddie looked a little sullen but dealt with it by sleeping on the couch at a higher level than the other dogs. The biggest issue, though, is my wife. She likes snuggling with Eddie at night. She agrees we have a serious problem on our hands, but she's going through a separation anxiety of her own.

Is there any hope that we'll reach a point where I can trust Eddie and Jack to get along on the bed? Or should I tell my wife to get used to keeping Eddie off the bed? Will anybody back me up on that? If a 10-pound Yorkie can kick my butt, I'd hate to see what my wife can do to me! ;)

Here's my nose.
Dogfight loser

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