Does he guard the bed? If not, I don't see any reason to remove him from the bed.
It sounds to me like YOU are his 'resource' and what he is protecting or guarding.
Think of it this way... he is growling, you are picking him up (aka: a reward) so he thinks he's doing the right thing and doing what you want, and when you proceed to place him on the ground, he finishes out what he started, thinking he's protecting or pleasing you. I would no longer pick him up. It sounds like that's what starts everything.
Growling is a form of communication between dogs and while it's not necessarily acceptable behavior, it's also not something you want to "take away" from him. Because if they learn to no longer growl, there will be no warning signs, and it will lead directly to a bite.
I would teach the 'leave it' or 'watch me' command. Whenever you see him growling, or looks like he's about to attack, say 'watch me' or whatever command you teach him, and give him a treat for focusing on you and not the other dog.
I don't believe dogs necessarily understand 'timeouts' like putting him in the bathroom. They're not kids, they don't go in there and think about what they've done wrong, LOL. They're probably just sitting in there like 'okay, when are they gonna come get me out?!'.
And yes, neutering earlier would have most likely prevented this problem. But getting it done now should help too. How old is Tobie? |