Question about dog starting to growl

Is the growling just surrounding possessiveness? Where was he and what was the situation when he growled at your FIL?

It's really hard to say without knowing the dog's history/personality. I had a dog that started exhibiting a little bit of possessiveness around food/bones just shy of his first birthday. My solution was gradual, but I basically started by feeding him out of my hand. At first, he ate but did so very tensely. The second I could tell he relaxed, I would praise him. After a few days he would eat out of my hand completely relaxed. I then transitioned to the bowl and would put a handful of food into his bowl and continually feed him as he ate to try to create a positive association with hands and food. I required him to sit, then I placed the food bowl in front of him, then released him to eat. Once he got comfortable with that, I would then place my hand in the bowl while he was eating sometimes.

Over time, his food possessiveness went away. Another method is to spread food out all over the floor. The idea is that this confuses the dog and he no longer has a small place to guard. Most dog behaviorists will tell you that you should not take the dog's food or bone away in response to aggression. I've never had a really serious issue with it so I can't speak to the merits of that theory, but I never took his food or his bone away from him. I just gave him bones less. The consensus, however, is that you should not address the issue with force as it is likely to compound the problem, which could be dangerous for you.

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Where was he an what was the situation when he growled at your FIL?

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Outside under the carport running around the yard.

And the pig ear is when he was chilling in his bed

Advice provided by bluemoon is 100% right on point.

Our pack had problems with animal chews ..ears,hooves, rawhide. Nyla Bones and ropes made them less possessive. The ropes are good to play tug of war with when they get funny.

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we play tug-of-war so much it gets aggravating sometimes.

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You should absolutely not be playing tug of war with a dog exhibiting possessiveness. I would cut that or anything else that reinforces the behavior out immediately.

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Is it possible the issue with your FIL was a one-off?

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I don’t know considering the other growling issues that just popped up

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If you can't act nice with a pig ear, then you don't get pig ears anymore.

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Yea, we already cut that shite out

I have had many dogs over the years, but my current boxer is the first dog I've ever had that growled. The past 10 years I've only had boxers. At first, I thought he was trying to show me that he wanted to be the dominant one in the house, but I quickly realized that was his way of telling me he wants to play.

I would just watch the dog closely and try to pick up on what's going on around him when he growls. I always thought it meant aggression, but that wasn't the case at all. My biggest problem is he always seems to growl when I'm in the middle of something and can't play with him, which only makes him growl louder.

If I have a dog that does this, and have had several in the past, I would slowly work my way in to the object with my hand, saying NOOOO in a deep, stern voice, until I reached the object and pulled it away without incident. Don’t ever pull your hand back even if they snap. That’s the reaction they want. It won’t hurt, it’s usually a lung and not hard bite. If they snap at you, grab and squeeze the heck out of their snout until they release. With that accomplished , you tell them good boy ( or girl) in a calm, affirming voice. Slowly give it back to them and take it slowly away again using the same method. It’ll be over in less than 5 tries.

They need to know who is boss, and what the boss will, and will not, tolerate. They understand that very quickly if done right.