Difference between possessiveness and protection?

I don't think that all other "protective" behaviors are really possessiveness.

Sometimes it is, but most times it is simply fear. The dog is afraid and wants the threat to go away. We always see people claiming their dog has protected them from family or friends or a stranger walking down the road, but where was the actual threat? Only in the dog's mind. In

Dogs have two choices, fight or flight. When one doesn't work, they will resort to the other. That is why a fearful dog can be more dangerous than an aggressive one. A cornered scared has no other option than to fight, it doesn't mean it was protecting.

If a dog feels threatened and goes into fight mode, they bark, growl, snarl, even bite, to attempt to stop the threat. People believe this is the dog trying to protect them. The dog is more likely simply protecting itself. And the problem is, if the threat does not back down or continues to advance, the dog is very much likely to take flight. If the dog is cornered and can't, it may fight until it has the opportunity to run away. A trained protection dog will stay and fight. It is not fighting out of fear or self preservation. They will fight through pretty much anything.

As for possessiveness, perhaps it is a little protection. I am interested to hear others thoughts. But again, how far is the dog willing to go to protect it? If the guy trying to take your purse hits you, or pulls out a knife, are you going to keep fighting?

I also don't believe a pet will never protect. I simply think that those dogs are not as common as people believe. And the majority of examples I see of people who believe their dog is protecting them are not.

Well I can tell you my dogs would do much like most of the reasonable answers here mentioned.

They would alarm me, then maybe get possessive or whatever, then right before all hell broke loose, they would be hiding under the couches...lol

I have Chihuahua's- what do you expect....unless it's a mouse with a knife, they don't stand a chance.

BUT I have seen everyday regular PETS that would risk it all for their owner....I had one such dog growing up....he is the ONLY dog I ever had who would have PROTECTED me no matter what, even if it meant his death.

In all seriousness, I personally wouldn't rely on any dog to protect me. I'm a grown woman who can handle my business. If & only if, the attacker had a gun, would I comply & even then I would do so waiting for that opportunity to strike out & gain the upper hand.

I also adore Kaper & Curtis' answers.

it's not true that only trained dogs are protective.It is true that certain dogs are more protective than others because when they where originally bred they actually had certain jobs to do.the difference between protective and possessive is the the reason the dog is doing it.Protecting the house, the owner is for the pack as a whole, their territoryand their pack mates. A pack member is only as strong as it's pack, whereas possessive behavior is for the survival of the individual animal (ex; the ham sandwich,a toy). They're ensuring their own survival. although it might sound strange because we're talking about PETS and people want to treat them like humans.dogs don't reason like humans they're animal so it's important to remember when dealing with dogs, to think like a dog not like a person.protection trained dogs is a whole other subject because they're taking that naturally or bred protective nature and channeling it to a specific task.

I think ms. manners hit the nail on the head. I also think this is a large gray area when it comes to dogs.

I think dogs are possessive when they are 'protecting' from things that clearly aren't threats. Then again, it could also be that the dog perceives a threat where we don't--or that the dog is merely protecting themselves while the humans stand by.

I also think that dogs can absolutely protect their owners and/or family members. I had an Aussie cut off a bull that was charging at me when I was younger--I certainly viewed that as protection. Same dog also 'protected' us from a dark object in the night once--she wouldn't let us near, and slowly and carefully worked out what it was.

Turns out it was a grill cover that had blown over, but that's not the point :)

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Have you ever heard of the "leave it" command. It is veryimportant your dog learns this. To teach it to your dog, start with something you use as a treat. Put it on the floor infront of your dog. When your dog lunges for it, but your hand over it and say "leave it" really strenly, so your dog gets the message. Do this a few times until your dog gets the idea. When your dog has performed this well, gove him the OK and let him have the treat with you okey dokey command, which could be anything to tell him he canhave the treat.

Then move up a level. Put the treat in your hand and hold it near your dogs nose, finger pointing up. If your dog tries to snatch it, say "leave it" When your dog's nose points in another direction ither than the treat, you've been succesful. Now take it to the next and final level.... the dinner table. sit at the table and enjoy a meal. When your dog begins to beg, enforce the leave it command. if your dog doesn't leave, tell your dog to lay down somewhere in the room far away.

I understand if you like having your dogs with you while you eat so the location of you dog while training is essential. Keep you dog as far away as possible. If you see your dog sneaking over to your table, make eyecontact and enforce the leave it command. If your dog gets up, it isn't obeying, now you need to stand up and make eyecontact. This tells your dog you're ready to do whatever it takes to keep him away from YOUR food. ALWAYS make eyecontact while your eating and your dog is laying down. Make frequent eye contact so your dog can't sneak up to the table with out you knowing. I've done this with many people, and it works even for the worst of beggars. This training may take time, but have perserverence ok? And NEVER feed the dog at the table. It encourages begging.

ok i have to disagree with one of your statements, any dog can protect, some dogs are raised to. Anyway, the difference between protectiveness and possessiveness is this; if the dog is protective, he will protect against a threat or what he believes is a threat. Possessiveness is when he wont let ANYTHING near you, threat or not. Hope this helps.

Most of the time when I see that question the person asking it has a dog that "protects" him from things he doesn't need protecting from....like family members or affection from significant others. I think its obvious that is not protectiveness but possessiveness.

Personally, I don't hold to the idea that an untrained dog will NEVER protect his owner. When I am working with a foster dog who is giving me grief I have to lock my dogs in the next room, because they will try to "help" me by attacking the dog.

I also had a rough collie who on a couple of occasions defended us from what he perceived to be threats.

IMO the problem is that dogs dont know enough to judge when to protect and when not to, and an untrained dog who is protective is likely to read a situation wrongly and create a bigger problem.

Dogs can literally grow to become protective of their owners without having been trained to do so. My first guide dog is a prime example. She had a sense of people that some dogs possess & once when we were in a grocery store, one of their men who was working the meat counter kept coming around to me trying to get around my dog & giving me all sorts of compliments even after I asked him to back off b/c I wasn't interested in him & I was married. He didn't listen & became aggressive only when he went to grab my arm, my guide dog barked like mad & nearly took his arm off! IF my guide dog had actually bitten the man, there is a high probability she would have been put down on the guide dog school's say so without waiting for the county to make the call. They're not bred or trained to be aggressive or trained to be protective; it comes from working as a team but some dogs do have the ability to sense a person's intentions & if they are to hurt the handler, the dogs will protect their handler.

There was a similar case in New York after a blind woman was mugged despite having a guide dog but what the thief didn't count on was the fact that the guide dog was much like mine & protective of his handler. By the time the mugger jumped at her, the dog had him down & chewed a good portion of his arms, legs, & even his neck area! There was a long drawn out series of meetings as to whether or not to put the guide dog down, which left the dog's handler in such grief she couldn't bear to even go to work, which is understandable b/c not only are these dogs an extension of our bodies, they are our best friends too. We can tell them anything & all we get in return is their love & it doesn't matter if we corrected them or spoke harshly if they did something they knew was wrong - they show unconditional love. I'm sure my guide dog I have currently would act the same in protecting me & esp my youngest daughter b/c they spent the longest time together although my 1st dog was merely months older than she was when I came home with the guide dog. She'd growl if anyone even looked at that child wrong! Often if I couldn't find her in her crib, then her toddler's bed, I always found her in this nice fluffy bed where my guide dog slept & they'd be fast asleep w/my daughter's head on my guide's belly as a pillow & she'd wrapped them both in her favorite blanket she dragged everywhere! But again, there were only 4mos between their ages so they basically grew up together too; I had to retire her early b/c she had such a heavy pull that it was ripping my rotator cuff to the point where I was going to require surgery if I didn't stop working her so I retired her & a sister-in-law & her husband took her in as their pet where she lived a long life & actually passed away several years ago. My current guide dog is already 13yrs old & I fear he doesn't have long left but I can't send him to retire with anyone; my heart just won't let it happen. He was almost scrapped from the program until it came down to 3 blind w/mobility disabilities who he would match well with & it turned out he matched best w/me. He's slower now than before but that's okay b/c I'm slower too & my lumbar spine damage will have me wheelchair bound before much longer so I want as much time to spend with him as possible.

As for the guide dog who attacked the mugger, the woman was allowed to keep him; he wasn't put down. The mugger on the other hand was charged with the mugging & he was charged with attacking a service animal, which allowed the judge to add more time on his sentencing for his crime!

oOo I like this! Lol!

Firstly, why people are still stuck on "Only when told" is beyond me. We run drills where the dog is not given a command and is expected to/taught to respond with his handler in trouble ie the dog exiting the back window of the patrol car should a fight between the handler and a suspect break out at a traffic stop etc.

But to answer the question, I don't see it as a dog guarding a resource. I see it as basic pack behavior. In a pack it's everyone's job to warn of danger. It doesn't mean they'll actually bite a flea, it just means that they will all alarm vocally and pester the "target" with the threat of violence (think...a bear who approaches a pack of wolves' den with young fuzzy ones around). They're going to collectively make noise and nip. This is what your average every day dog is going to do.

Protection is not the behavior I've just described. The dog mentioned above, who's alarm barking, maybe even biting, will leave you when you need him most. When he is pushed past his defensive drive's threshold he will run. He simply does not have the confidence learned through dozens of man hours of bitework training to fight a man. He does not have the confidence in his experienced gained from training to feel comfortable in his ability to win a fight. Is a dog who's alarm barking protecting you? No, he's protecting himself, you are valuable to his survival, by warning you, and sticking close, he is looking out for his own interest so to speak...BUT if you can't capitalize on his "help" you're dead, he's not going to die for OR with you, he's going to run!

The typical dog barking at an intruder is the same as you defending a stranger who's being beaten up on a back street some where. Your natural instinct is to say "Hey! What's going on!? Cut that out!"...but if the bad guy pulls out a gun, and you don't have one, and he points it at you, and tells you to get lost? The average reasonable person is going to leave the person who desperately needs their help all alone and go call the cops without risking THEIR safety! Your average every day dog will do the same minus calling the cops! I do NOT call that "protection" although it is still indeed a valiant act in todays World where it's possible to get murdered in a street with a dozen witnesses and not have 1 person call 911 or come down to help. A protection trained dog would be akin to an armed off duty police officer...he's going to say "Hey! What's going on!? Cut that out!"...but when threatened with a firearm and told to leave now, and when seeing this other person is really getting beat on, he's going to pull his concealed carry weapon with a confidence he gained from practice with a sidearm and the accompanying experience that comes with being a police officer, to be able to eliminate threats and come out alive, and the victor.

Kaper might be scared to death if she has to draw down on somebody, but I assure you she's more comfortable with it than most of the people here...and if one had to pick somebody from Y!A to take along to a possible hostile situation one is going to pick an LEO like Kaper or somebody who's ex-military! Not one of the 15 year olds asking if they should take their dog to the vet if he's been hit by a car, caught on fire, and has bloody diarrhea all at the same time...

Hope this helps clear it up. :)

-edit- Kaper I didn't even look to see who answered this Q I just used your name randomly. I love your answer, the "If the guy taking your purse hits you or pulls a knife" thing. Great analogy!

Possession guarding is a reaction. It is a response - usually fear driven.

Protection is a trained ACTION. It has nothing to do with fear.