My 10 month old puppy has changed his personality lately...?

He's not being protective, he's maturing and his aggression is coming out. It's time for you to step up and show him that YOU are in charge, not him or he'll get worse. Time for him to learn that the bed isn't his, it's yours, and he's only allowed up IF you give permission. Either that or you start teaching him NILIF (nothing in life is free) and he stays off the furniture, he has to obey a command before he gets anything at all. He clearly needs a leader because he thinks it's ok for him to take on the role.

Definitely showing dominance. He should be neutered now.

As for the other issues...

You should be the only one in the household that makes rules and boundaries. Your pup thinks he is the leader of your "pack" which includes you too. That needs to stop.

You need to reestablish yourself as the leader and this behavior will stop.

Do this by walking the young one everyday. The walk along with a couple of other things you need to do is the way you will establish yourself as the leader of your pack. It also helps him to expend energy, a must for young dogs.

Walk him 2 times a day, morn and night, 15-30 mins each. More if you have time. Walk him on a short, relaxed leash that keeps him next to or slightly behind you.

Only leaders walk in front and that is how all dogs see it.

If he tries to pull in front or away, gently and quickly tug and release the leash, while using a control word like NO, STOP, etc.

Do not do any other talking and do not use his name.

You may have to do the tug/release the whole walk or he may get it immediately.

The trick is to be calm, and watch him closely for any signs that he is thinking about anything other than walking next to you, looking straight ahead. If you see any signs, him pulling, his head turned and fixating on another dog, kid, squirrel, etc., immediately correct and keep walking with authority and calm control.

Now, the bedroom issue. First of all, he should only be allowed on any furniture if invited. This also establishes you as leader. What his behavior is showing is that he is claiming the space, the bed. Only leaders can claim a space. Do not let him on the bed unless you invite him. You can practice this very easily.

Start fresh, invite him into the room in question. He may immediately try to jump on the bed, block him and use the control word. If he gets past you, make him get down but do not take him off, make him get down himself. Then reward him w/praise.

Now try the inviting exercise. You stand by the bed, ask him to sit and be calm, when he is, then invite him onto the bed. Then praise.

Do this a few times so he gets the idea. You will be amazed at how fast this works. Be consistent. And remember, no praise or touching except as reward for good behavior.

Now, the food issue, again, you own the food and only you can claim the food bowls. Practice this exercise with the dogs.

First, I would start by feeding them in the same room (separation keeps this kind of bad behavior going). Feed them in different parts of the same room, 4' apart or so.

Make up all 3 food dishes. Wait until all dogs are calm and sitting waiting patiently for the leader (you) to feed them.

Feed the oldest dog first. Calmly set the food dish down in the assigned spot for the older dog, while keeping an eye on the other two. Make them stay back with control words. Do not let the excitement get out of control.

Now, do the same with the 3 years old dog. Walk him only to his assigned spot, making sure the young dog is sitting away, patiently and calm. You may have to correct him alot for this first time, using control words and your authoritative body language to make him sit and wait.

Now the pup, take him to his assigned spot, make him sit and be calm, then reward with his food.

Stay in the room while they eat and make sure all stay in their assigned spots and if there is any wandering to others bowls or growling, immediately correct with a stern control word and block the dogs from getting near others while they are eating. Be consistent and calm and do this with authority. Your dogs will get the idea.

Do this for a couple of feedings and they will all very quickly have this new way of doing things figured out.

If you devote alittle extra time to these exercises you will be rewarded with a very well-behaved pack that listens to you and follows your lead.

http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/tips/basics_rules.ph...

U do not mention gender or repro-status -

are they intact? who is M or F?

at 9-mos, a MALE pup who is not yet desexed has hit his

*peak* of testosterone for his lifetime... it goes down after that,

so M pups really do best behaviorally if they are desexed

*before* that key 9-month age.

that way they do not get to practice bossy, pushy, rude or

trouble-making behaviors... like owning objects, mounting

as a show of bossiness, threats to other M dogs, arguments

over social-status with unknown dogs they are just meeting,

etc.

i am assuming that he is intact - as that is when most ppl

do not mention the pup;s repro-status. please get him

neutered, ASAP -

the problem-behavior should be PREVENTED from happening,

by closing the bedroom door to deny him access to the bed.

(all the time that any human is not >in< the bed, the door

should be firmly latched + shut - and when any human is

in the bed, i would further suggest that he NOT be allowed

up on it.

he already has an attitude - i would nip his proprietary behavior

in the bud, deny all the dogs bed-priveleges for at least a

month, and after that, ONLY by invitation - and the very first

time anyone gets possessive, *everyone* gets banished

immediately.)

at 10-mos, he is past the peak of testosterone -

but he is obviously practicing bad behaviors, altho they are

very normal for any teen-dog. get him snipped, a.s.a.p.

and start training! i also suggest NILIF -

see ridogguy.com for a page on NILIF.

sit becomes the coin of the realm, for EVERY want + need.

canisclickertraining.com is another excellent resource-

FREE training-lessons daily for a week!

happy training!

:--)

WARNING - Grabbing Collars or Necks!

====================================

this is a threatening + scary act - it is an EXCELLENT

way to get bitten, but is challenging + confrontational.

i would strongly advise Not engaging in these sorts

of behavior - Humans do not win dog-fights;

*dogs* win dog-fights, and U lack the equipment,

the reaction-time, and the species-specific build.

act like a human - save Ur own skin, and *teach*

better behavior, vs punishing or confronting.

please keep everyone safe -

the first rule of diplomacy is Never, Ever Escalate!

;--)

I agree with Walking Lady, he might not growl at kids or people YET, but he will, this behavior is unacceptable. I have two dogs, one is 5 and the other is 3, each one can eat out of the others bowl without incident infact my dog goes and licks clean my eldest dogs bowl when she's done and even when she isn't done. They also can both be on my bed without incident. Why? Because I am pack leader, everyone in my house is pack leader and also both were trained and socialized well.

If he's not fixed, then you need to get him fixed, you also need to stop him from being on the bed and put him on his own. It's YOUR bed, pack leader has the highest and comfiest bed in the house not your dog. Start establishing yourself and your dogs pack leader or I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before your dog turns on people.

he is starting to become a man. get him neutered, and remind him that this behavior is not acceptable. if he growls at another dog you need to give him a firm shake of the collar and tell him NO. he's trying to become the pack leader, and you don't want him to establish this dominance. if he does, he'll try to run the house. you have to be the pack leader and put him where you want him in the pack.

one thing that might help is to have all your dogs sit for their cookies and give him his last, give him his petting last, and so forth. if you are petting another dog and he comes along and shoves his face in, do not allow him to do this behavior. it's dominance and should be stopped to remind him of who the boss is.

it's subtle things that we do that remind our pets that we are the owners and they are the pets. it never has to be violent or painful, just use a little dog psychology to your advantage. this is the time to start with him too, since he's just starting the behavior you can nip it in the bud before it becomes a habit.

Sounds to me like you need to teach the puppy its place in the family. Feed the oldest male dog first, then the next, then whoever's left.

Scold, and show disapproval of his food aggression, territorial behavior.

Get into some research on these issues, fix them before they become problematic. They can lead to a biter down the line, when he's set in his ways. Too late to fix then, huh?

Animal planet has a few good dog shows, like Good DogU, and the like. GL

PEACE

if he neutered yet?