I don't post much on this forum (never have any advice, but lots of questions), but I'm always lurking.

My mother bought a 10 week old Pembroke Welsh Corgi from a pet store last weekend. I told her all the reasons it was stupid to buy a dog at a pet store, but here we are.

He (the puppy) has been possessive of food, toys, stolen objects, etc. since she brought him home. Also, if you try to pick him up or restrain him when he'd rather be doing other things, he starts snapping and growling (not being mouthy). She's now sporting a lovely bite on her wrist.

I've printed some of Ed's articles and she's going to buy his puppy video.

I live across the street and have been letting him out while she's at work. I've been grabbing him by the scruff (just grabbing him makes him scream - no shaking necessary) when he tries this crap with me. He has pretty much stopped doing any of this when he's with me (I don't feed him, though).

He's still pretty obnoxious with my mother. I think she's a little squeamish about correcting him. Her version of a "correction" seems to be a little swat and a "no" - doesn't phase him in the least bit. Any ideas about getting her over this "he's a baby in a little furry suit" mentality? She sees the dog isn't terrified of me, regardless of the "torture" I put him through. He follows *me* around when I'm over there and blows her off. I've got him responding to a few commands. I'm afraid this is turning out like it did with her Aussie. When I lived at home, the Aussie was pretty much my dog (and still is). She still ignores my mother unless there is food involved.

Luckily, the Aussie isn't inclined to bite anyone over food or toys. Is there some "fluffy" way to correct this behavior? Will Ed's video give her a little more confidence in stronger corrections? I'm not sure I'll ever get the woman to scruff the little beast and I'd really rather not take her to the hospital for stitches when he's older and can do a little more damage.

Am I just completely off-base and horribly screwing the dog up for life?

How old is your mother? Is she capable of caring for herself?

I think that unless you are legally in charge of managing things for her, you need to step back and let her raise her own dog. To do otherwise is overstepping your bounds. Perhaps I have overstepped my bounds by saying so.

I think giving her gifts of books and videos is a great idea, and she may appreciate the thought and find them useful.

That's not to say that possessive aggression isn't serious; it certainly is. Here's a link to some info on possessive aggression. Maybe you could print it out for your mother.

http://www.doglogic.com/possess.htm

Thanks, Lisa.

She's not elderly. I was concerned my post would sound like I was meddling, but it was getting pretty long, so I figured I'd leave it at that.

She's asking me for advice. I don't feel qualified to serve as her dog trainer. I told her to get on the Internet and look around. I've recommended books and videos from this site. I've printed articles from this site and a few others. I even offered to help her find a trainer if she was so inclined.

I'm all for letting her raise her own dog. I don't correct the dog when she is there. I did correct him when I was alone with him (wrong or right, I wasn't leaving without my purse). I showed her how to get him to sit and down, but I haven't exactly taken over her dog.

She was over here an hour ago showing me where he bit her tonight. That one is going to leave a nice scar.

Her big concern is that the dog is going to hate her and/or be terrified of her for the rest of his life if she is firm with him.

I guess what I'm really looking for is some sort of information I can take back to her that will put her mind at ease.

BTW, thanks for the info on possession aggression.

If this is how the dog is now, your mother is in for a very bumby ride - unless she is willing to treat the dog like a dog and provide training & leadership.

See my story relating to my childhood pet corgi in the:-

Dealing with the Death of a dog segment on this board. It could have all been so different!.

Ed has also used this my story as a warning on his "Dealing with the Dominant Dog" training article.

Please learn from my awful mistakes and start appropriate puppy & then adult training.

Jen, I'm sorry if I came off as criticizing you. I can see how frustrating this situation could be. I really wish I could be encouraging, but the fact that she bought the puppy from a pet store, and he's already exhibiting this behavior.....it's disturbing.

Thanks, Julie.

I read your story in Ed's dominant dog article a few days ago (the whole page was printed for my mother).

You're right about treating the dog like a dog and I know my first post wasn't very clear in what I was asking.

I think if she reads something about dog behavior (instead of just "this is what you do to fix X") and gets a better understanding of what it means to be alpha (as opposed to an abusive jerk - which she seems to think are one and the same), it will do her a world of good. There is plenty of information for dealing with this possession aggression, but she needs some sort of reassurance that it's not "being mean" or "breaking the dog's spirit" (insert whatever Disney-esque notion you'd like) to actually apply it.I know she'll feel *really* mean if she has to put the dog to sleep in a year or two because he's completely out of control.

She's not a stupid person. She's always had easy dogs that did fine with little or no formal training. It's just not something she's ever had to deal with and I think she's a little overwhelmed when the same puppy who is all wiggles and cuteness 99% of the time turns into a finger-eating psycho.

I'm going to have her talk to our "doggy" friend and see if she can explain some of these things a little better.

As an aside, is this usually a "stand-alone" behavior or does it often accompany other behaviors she should be on the lookout for?

Jen,

I hope that my sad story can be used to spur people to treat their dogs appropriately & provide leadership etc.

This pup needs to have some very clear boundaries on what is, or not acceptable. Although Corgi's can be quite dominant, (I am no expert), this pup's behaviour sounds odd (considering it's age).

Has the pup been checked over by a vet?.

Puppy pre-school is a great way to start training your pup to Sit, drop & come etc - and to lay the foundations for your Mum to be regarded as the pups leader.

Don't worry about it, Lisa. I probably would have been wondering why this nosy poster wouldn't just butt out. If that's the worse "criticism" I get from this board, I'm good to go. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

So, this is unusual for his age? I've seen plenty of older dogs that are possessive, but never such a young puppy. I grew up with all of those easy dogs my mother had (and I've been in dog-free rentals since), so my experience is limited.

The pet store thing isn't sitting too well with me. I know nothing about his background or bloodlines, so I haven't a clue if this is something that was brought about by his environment or if this is a sign of bigger problems and my mother can look forward to more interesting behavior.

Maybe this will at least convince her to go through a good breeder or a reputable rescue when she gets a dog in the future.

He's got an appointment with her regular vet next week for shots and the usual "new puppy" stuff.

She and her fiance actually bought *two* puppies at the pet store, but I convinced her right off the bat that it was a bad idea to let them hang out with each other all the time. She actually listened to me. I don't know why she suddenly takes me seriously *after* she buys pet store puppies. The other one is an "Australian Silky Terrier...?" and he hasn't had any problems (in his own little yappy dog way). The corgi was an impulse buy (they were going to buy the fiance a dog).

Thanks, again!

Jen,

One thing that has happened with many of the breeds that are now "companion" breeds is that people forget the origin of the breed. Often even poorly bred examples carry some vestages of what the dog was originaly was bred for. This is a case in point. The Corgi was originaly bred as a herding dog and people tend to forget that. It was bred for the same work as a GSD, Mal, Border, and many other breeds. A full grown Corgi has approximately the same bite strength as a GSD. They may be short, but they can pack plenty of punch.

Something you may want to mention to your mother is would she allow the same type of behavior from a GSD? If not she needs to think of this breed in much the same manner. Herding dogs are often mouthy and possesive. They will also have smoe level of prey drive. Good examples will have significant levels of prey drive. If you do not control these behaviors while the dog is a puppy it will be much harder as an adult. For most problems with dogs you should figure it will take 3-5 times longer to fix a problem that to create it. Not teaching a puppy to inhibit it's bite, what are his possesions, and that you can and will take anything you want from him will lead to a dog that will engage in the same behaviors and escalate the behaviors to enforce what they have been taught they can do.

The hardest thing to do with a "new" owner is to convince them that what is cute as a puppy isn't nearly as much fun when the dog is an adult.