Carol, if you feel the need to show your dog "who is alpha" as has been suggested, I doubt you'll do any harm by hissing or alpha-rolling him (despite the fact that the alpha roll is now considered to be based on flawed research). Based on what trainers have told me, though, what I really and truly believe will make things worse is to take your dog's food away from him.
That's the fear motivating this behavior. Why make him even more worried about you?
Feeding your dog 1/3 at the time so that he/she is forced to look to YOU for more food does show your dog "who is alpha". The dog has to look to you for food. What could be more "alpha" than that? Another good technique is hand-feeding your dog all or part of an occasional meal. Not much doubt who has control of the food then, is there?
If you don't mind looking at it from a more positive stance, these techniques teach your dog that you can be trusted and that you are the source of all good things.
Again, though, if it only happened once, I wouldn't be too concerned.
__________________  FirstYorkie
We Love Clicker-Training! |