re: Question about dog starting to growl

I’d recommend knocking sparks off of his head every time he does it until he doesn’t.

I gave my Black Mouth Cur a shoulder bone that had been smoking for 12hrs. He was around 2 years old at the time.

Dude came unglued when I came into his space, in all honesty he scared the shite out of me but of course it was game on. I had no other option than to beat his arse and take the bone. Up to that point he was a super freaking cool dog.

I've had Pit's (game dogs) my entire life and never experienced this with them.

After said throwdown with the Cur... next morning I gave him back the shoulder bone. He did not receive the earlier memo and came unglued again. Rinse/repeat with beating his arse (respectfully) taking the bone again.

Never experienced this with other dogs I've owned that would actually eat this guy lol. I was pissed/disappointed. My brother gave me this pup when his eyes were closed. Kill or not to kill was the question.

I figured the best thing to do was to leave his arse outside for a few days. Three to be exact & didn't give him any food. He was cool as ever like nothing happened, me not so much.

On day four I came out with his food bowl but I stayed in front of it feeding him by hand on piece at a time. Did this for three or so days.

Not a single issue since he is 11 years old now and a fine dog. I chalk it up to being a teenager and testing the old man.

TLDR: Starve the dog for a couple days feed him by hand for a few days... you should be good.

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I’d recommend knocking sparks off of his head every time he does it until he doesn’t.

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Yep. As puppies or young dogs, I take them, throw them on the ground and hold them. Then get in their ear and say "I will fricking end you".

It sounds like a joke but my wife's 75 lbs bulldog tried to be possessive then I did that. And when we would give it food, I'd take over and push it back then out my hands in the food and mix it around to "play" with it and teach the dogs submissiveness and patience.

I've had larger dog breeds my whole life and they adapt to MY rules; not me adapting to their behaviors.

No need to beat a dog at all. Train them the way their pack would train them through hierarchy and firmness to learn that they follow the packs' rules, not their own.

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Black Mouth Cur

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As I said before, these dogs can be mean. One of ours hated cars. She would all but attack cars that pulled into the driveway. Damaged tires on two different vehicles. However, once someone got out of the car she was fine. She ended up getting hit by cars on the road three different times. Broke her pelvis one time, several ribs the second time, and got severe nerve damage in her shoulder on another. She learned to throw her foot forward to run. It never stopped her.

One time a kid threw rocks at her and she always remembered him when he rode by on his bike. She would take the shoe off his foot and try to keep as a trophy. Never bit him or anyone else. His parents would call to come get the shoe. He is a client now and we talk about that often. She never forgave him. That was the 80s and we would have had to put the dog down now.

Very protective dogs though. My parents would make me take them with me if I went into the woods as a kid. They knew that dog would die trying to protect her people.

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This is better advice than a lot of the more recent posts.

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I'm confused, because this is what you said is better advice:

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Train them the way their pack would train them through hierarchy and firmness

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But then you say

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Getting physical with a dog that is aggressive or possessive is much more likely to make the problem worse than better.

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How do you think the pack leader deals with it?

There is an ocean of a difference between beating the shite out of a dog and being firm, especially to smart, thoughtful hunting dogs like a black mouth.

I've worked with dogs for most of my adult life as a hobby and I was taught to train dogs by one of the most well-respected retriever trainers in the state. Dog training is very nuanced and involves reading your dog prior to doing anything to correct behavior. The blanket statement of "yeah I just beat that dog to show it who's boss" is super antiquated and generally comes from wannabe macho dudes acting tough. It's very dangerous advice to give someone that might not know that much about working with dogs, especially when that person is dealing with a dog that could pretty well really mess them up if it wanted to.

A perfect example of this is force fetching retrievers. Force fetch involves putting pressure on the dog by pinching its ear, squeezing its toes, or using the e-collar, depending on which route you take. You put pressure on the dog to teach the dog (a) how to handle pressure in a stable manner so it can handle any pressure situations encountered in its work, and (b) that you can apply pressure to it if needed. Generally, force fetch creates respect for the trainer/handler and works wonders for the dog's obedience. My young pup went through force with her tail wagging most of the time. Some dogs do not respond well to any pressure though, and that requires the trainer to read the dog before continuing down that path to avoid potentially dangerous situations.

This is to be contrasted with me physically beating my dog. That creates fear, and dogs that are afraid are unpredictable and dangerous.

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I've worked with dogs for most of my adult life as a hobby and I was taught to train dogs by one of the most well-respected retriever trainers in the state. Dog training is very nuanced and involves reading your dog prior to doing anything to correct behavior.

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The only part I would even point out (hesitantly), is that you are talking about retriever trainers. How much experience do you have with BMC? I am in no way advocating beating a dog but the BMCs I grew up with are a far cry from the labs I have had in adult hood. Labs want to do the work. BMC are usually about what is in it for them. They don't do much of anything to make you happy. I can remember them just walking away if chastised while it would break my lab's heart if I said a harsh word to him.

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The only part I would even point out (hesitantly), is that you are talking about retriever trainers. How much experience do you have with BMC? I am in no way advocating beating a dog but the BMCs I grew up with are a far cry from the labs I have had in adult hood. Labs want to do the work. BMC are usually about what is in it for them. They don't do much of anything to make you happy. I can remember them just walking away if chastised while it would break my lab's heart if I said a harsh word to him.

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Fair question. I grew up coon hunting behind BMCs and redbones. I didn’t know much about training dogs in my teenage years, but a couple of my good friends still have black mouths and I’ve been around quite a few in recent years. One of them has trailed a couple of deer for me.

Also fair to point out that retrievers are definitely different than curs, but generalizations rarely work with any dog breed. My childhood dog was a male golden retriever and he was the last to start a fight with another dog, but if he got into it, he was in it to finish it. I have seen a Chesapeake bend the door of a ruff tuff kennel at a hunt test trying to get at a guy that leaned up against his tailgate.

I’m also not trying to come across as some dog training expert. I’m not. Just have a little experience working with dogs over the years and was trying to help OP .

Can always strap a e collar to him and when he does it give him a little nick. I would run the collar on like 4-5 if 10 is the highest. Tell him no he keeps on tell him no again and nick him.

Some ppl may say it’s mean but before I put a ecollar on my lab I shocked myself with it so.

I have a female Redbone coonhound.She does the resource guarding but it’s only with bones.She has no problem with her regular food.The only bones she ever gets is lower legs off deer,and they don’t last her long.

She,definitely gives anyone the stink eye and a low growl if get too close while she ‘s chewing a leg bone.
I want her to blood trail deer and she does,so I don’t think it’s a huge issue.Just tell the grandchildren not to mess with her when she has a leg bone.

A friend had a Dachsund that was a very good blood trailer but he would bite anyone that got close to “his” deer,including his owner.
Mine doesn’t do that.