timatah Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Hey, Our beagle gets very selfish and aggressive when it comes to toys. We have walked outside to see him laying in a pile of all the toys, not allowing our Kelpie X near them. I thought this was cute to start with, but now it seems like he is becoming very possessive about toys. He will constantly steal the other pup's toys, and gather all the toys in his mouth not allowing the Kelpie X near them. This can turn to aggression between the 2 and in 1 case my partner was bitten by both dogs. This also happens with food, as the beagle will run between 2 bowls trying to eat both. The Kelpie X doesn't get aggressive about this. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with him? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 He needs to learn that resources like food and toys are not something he can control. I recommend reading up on NILIF (nothing in life is free): http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm http://www.k9force.net/index.html?row2col2=nilif.html And implementing the triangle of temptation with him, it works wonders for my beagle: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101 I wouldn't be leaving a range of toys for him to play with. In fact, I would be inclined to put all the dog toys in a box and only take them out and let the dog play with them on MY terms only, and only one toy at a time. Any time the dog wants to play with the toy he would have to pay for it first. I also wouldn't feed them together, I would do TOT with each one individually. Your biggest mistake was letting him get away with the behaviour when he first started doing it, because you thought it was cute, he's learnt he can win with it and as such the behaviour has escalated. He needs to learn that things like toys, food and even attentions/pats are not something he can take ownership of, because they are resources that YOU own and control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timatah Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Yeah, thanks for your advice. I have toys which are "MY TOYS" which i dictate when he can play with them, but I had dedicated 3 toys as his toys which he can play with while I'm at work. Should I take these toys away from him? Because I was thinking he might become destructive at home if bored? I'll try the triangle of temptation stuff when i get home tonight. Thanks for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Yeah, thanks for your advice. I have toys which are "MY TOYS" which i dictate when he can play with them, but I had dedicated 3 toys as his toys which he can play with while I'm at work. Should I take these toys away from him? Because I was thinking he might become destructive at home if bored? I'll try the triangle of temptation stuff when i get home tonight. Thanks for the advice If it's causing fights between him and the other dog, yes, I would, until he learns that they aren't "his" toys and to prevent any fighting from escalating. Or - keep them seperated and just leave him with one toy instead of several. If I leave toys out for the dogs when I am not home, they are still my toys, I am just allowing them to play with them. What does he do if he is guarding his toys and you try to take them off him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timatah Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 He is fine when I try to take the toys/bone/food etc away from him. He sit's patiently, looking up, shuffles his feet then tilts his head. What I will do is limit him to the number of toys he can play with. The hardest thing is we want our other pup to have a toy, but then he will steal that too. The TOT was a great read, thanks for the links Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Oh- and feed them in seperate rooms until you get a bit of control back :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Sounds like he is the boss. This needs to change. Remove the toys. If your beagle can't play nicely with them then he doesn't get any. Give him a toy if he is being good but immediatly remove it and tell him off if he doesn't play nicely. I would even put him somewhere for timeout. With the food obviously he is ruling you because if he knew you didn't allow bowl sharing he wouldn't be doing it. Either feed in seperate rooms. Get a puppy pen and put him in it to eat. Get a water pistol and spray him and a loud voice and tell him off if you choose to feed them together and he tries to go to the other dogs bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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