Barking and growling at people - what can I do?

[QuickSilver]

Just FYI, the "alpha roll" you describe is somewhat controversial... I tried it a few times with my dog, and in my experience, it tends to exacerbate the situation. I've had a lot more luck with positive reinforcement. For instance, Thor barks at people on the street a lot. My corrections got stronger and stronger, and he kept on barking. Finally, I started praising him as we approach people, and that's much more effective, for whatever reason.

Your dog is almost certainly "resource guarding". This is a common behavior, and is not necessarily about dominance. I would research some techniques to deal with this specifically. I absolutely believe you should be firm with your dog, but I wouldn't assume his behavior is driven by dominance. If it is driven by insecurity, starting a power struggle will make his behavior worse -- for instance, trying to bite you during an alpha roll. Your dog should NEVER bite you, but this may be a sign that he is panicking.

[JoeyP]

Wemple is right ... he Must know that you are his leader and not the other way around
The minute he growls at someone over a toy or an object that toy or object must be immediately taken away
also a finger stab at the neck will help snap him out of it
Do not become afraid of him and allow this to escalate ... because it can
If he's the same with food before you put his dish down make believe you are eating from it so he sees you and while he eats move the dish a few times
because food aggression is usually where this starts

[MeAndMyOlivia]

Wow - I googled resource guarding and I am positive that is what we are dealing with. The descriptions and examples are all too familiar! I agree that the "alpha roll" seemed to intensify the situation. As I was reading some of the articles, he was sitting up on top of the chair. DH walked past and stopped right in front of us...and here came the growl. I got up and told him "down" and surprisingly he did get right down. He kept trying to get back up on the chair but I'd tell him "no, down" and he eventually stayed down. I am hoping that his behavior is because of previous training experiences, not because it is his temperament; apparently it can be either...

[MeAndMyOlivia]

Originally Posted by JoeyP

Wemple is right ... he Must know that you are his leader and not the other way around
The minute he growls at someone over a toy or an object that toy or object must be immediately taken away
also a finger stab at the neck will help snap him out of it
Do not become afraid of him and allow this to escalate ... because it can
If he's the same with food before you put his dish down make believe you are eating from it so he sees you and while he eats move the dish a few times
because food aggression is usually where this starts

DH & I were talking about the way we respond; I tend to be afraid and feel unsure what to do (although I try to not show it) whereas DH says he feels the hair on the back of his neck stand up and almost an adrenaline rush! I guess that's the difference between male and females? Anyway, I do take the object away or make him get off the chair. What does the finger stab at the neck do? Kind of like when his momma would correct him? My daughter had told me to pretend I am eating off his dish before I give it to him - I have been doing that and it definitely gets his attention! Move the dish, good idea...I will give that a try at his dinner here in a bit. Although I haven't seen the behavior with food, but the foster mom told me she did work with him a good bit on that because he did have problems with food aggression. She said she made him sit before she put the dish down so I do that too. NILIF!

[QuickSilver]

I have confidence you'll be able to train your dog out of this behavior. There are a lot of non-confrontational ways to establish dominance, as you are now doing with food. You can also try "nothing in life is free". Make him sit/stay before you give him food, pet him, throw the ball for him, etc. Then he'll learn that obeying you makes great things happen.

You can also teach him the "drop it" command to return toys to you. You can start with some of his less treasured possessions so it becomes a reflex. I believe feeding your dog by hand also helps with food guarding if he's having trouble with that.

I am sure you have a great dog, and you don't need to be angry or fearful when he indulges in natural, albeit obnoxious, doggy behavior. Be calm and firm, and teach him right and wrong.

[JoeyP]

The finger stab on the neck is a technique that copies what dogs do to stop a lower ranking dog from doing what they don't want them to do ... which is a bite on the neck
It also serves as an attention gets device
Usually that's all you'll need to do to stop them

[MeAndMyOlivia]

I took my first dog Toby (schnauzer mix) to training classes several years ago and they taught the NILIF principles. We made good progress...but Toby was entirely different than this dog. I had babied Toby way too much and he needed to be retrained. He learned to wait until I passed through doorways, not get on the furniture unless "invited", sit before treats and food, go to his crate when told...never quite got "stay" down though! LOL But this little guy is totally different - whereas Toby would just quietly do as he pleased, this dog vehemently protests and challenges authority. I'm having a difficult time getting attached to him...I haven't even named him yet...isn't that awful???

Thanks for all the advice...I'm always open to suggestions!