How do I deal with this dog behavior issue in my Lhasa Apso?
Whenever my dog and I are around each other, and anyone else tries to touch her or me, or walk her without me, the dog growls and tries to bite the other person. She is fine with other people, when I’m not around, or when she and I are close and others are farther away. It must be some kind of jealousy/possessive thing. She is trained and completely well-behaved other than this. Does anyone have any tips?
Because she tries to bite them when they try to walk her without you, I think it’s a fear thing. She has also been allowed to develop “small dog syndrome”.
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/topdog.htm
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles/smalltoydogs.htm
Sometimes the simplest way to get a dog over fear-based aggression is to have other people feed her her meals or, if it’s away from home, bits of dry dog food or treats. Do not try to reassure or coddle her for the behavior (or let anyone else do it either) because she will perceive that as praise. Keep her away from people who coo at her, i.e, “aw, what’s wrong?”. Trust me on this.
Germlin like dog growling looks like the devil