Bloodhound Aggression Rescue

*us to keep*

My dog was way to possessive over bones and would growl at me if I came near him, and one time as a pup was aggressive with me. My solution, no more bones. Got rid of the problem

Yep. Sometimes you have to remove the focus of the problem.

I couldn't have long lasting chews in the house with my Bat-dog - it was too much for her and she'd snap at Moose-dog over them.

Some dogs get that way with their crates - they refuse to come out and snap and growl. Remove the crate - provlem gone.

That's why we're here. If we ask questions or say we're confused, it's just looking for clarification.

As first time dog owners AND a baby on the way, get him into a puppy class. It will give him the socialization he needs and give you and your wife hands on training experience. Most trainers are willing to work with you with any problems occurring at home and provide techniques.

When he's about 6 months old, get him into an obedience class. Again it will not only help him, but will teach you how to work with him.

Stay away from pinch (prong) collars, e-collars, and advice like forcing the dog to roll over on its back or holding it down, etc. And stay away from Cesar Milan types who want you to dominate the dog.

But aren't all or most dogs/puppies at least slightly possessive and aggressive when it comes to bones/chews?

Copper doesn't escape to his crate very much but he's on his bed quite a lot. His bed is in the living room out in the open and that's where he sometimes growls when someone pets or gets real close to him. Assuming our dog's growling isn't illness related, you'd recommend us leave him alone all together when he's sleeping for any reason and to accept his growling as a type of sleep aggression or disturbance?

I always do some hand feeding with new pups, before putting down their dish, and never had any problems.

I would go back to basics and hand feed him from his dish, (you hold the dish) after a week or so , I would start by intermittently adding more food or dropping in a treat while he is eating , ( no touching or speaking) that way he will realise that you’re not going to take his food away when you go near his dish and not something to be defensive about, or worry about a correction.
Gradually working up till he’s confident enough to let you remove dish if need be.
I also have them wait’ before putting down the dish, then give them a quick pat, release them with an OK, or word of your choice.

I would also remove his bed form the living room completely, and put him in his crate to rest.

Not all. Sometimes they can be. Bat-dog never growled at me or Moose-dog over chews or food or toys - she wasn't possessive or aggressive. But she would steal food or chews right out from under Moose-dog's nose. She was just very very fond of food and he was very very easy going. With food that got eaten quickly, she learned to wait until he finished and then she could hoover the crumbs. With long lasting treats, she couldn't handle him eating hours after she had finished, so I eliminated that issue.

With people, it's about trust. If a dog is growling at you over food or a toy, etc, then he doesn't trust you not to take it away from him. You have to build up that trust.

Tornado-dog trusts me. I can grab hold of a chew in his mouth and pull his head to me and kiss him on his cheek - because he knows I'm not going to take it away from him. He will actually bring the chew to me and drop it - he wants me to "want" his chew because he knows he'll "win" the game. I'll pretend to chew on it and hide it, but he always gets the chew back. He knows that so he doesn't need to be possessive. Some dogs may never want to play like that, but most dogs will learn to trust you because you prove you're not a threat.

We make him wait before giving him his food, treat, etc. I'll try to avoid touching while eating for now and continue hand feeding him.

Wouldn't he still growl even if he went to his crate instead of the bed? Just curious what difference it would make moving his bed out of the living room.

I've learned that Copper doesn't growl all of the time. He typically growls when I come at him quicker. When he typically doesn't growl when I approach him slower, stop in front of him then getting his attention by calling his name or calm talk and then move my hand closer to him like I'm giving him a treat. Then I take his bone with no growling. When he does that I pet him and say "good boy!" and pet him or give him and treat in addition to his bone back.

That's great. You've learned that he growls when he doesn't have time to figure out what's going on. Keep giving him the heads up.

With his food bowl and bed, try giving him that time to figure things out also before making a move. Start with just getting his attention and not approaching. Let him get used to that. Then you can add in the approach.

With dogs, you can never go too slow, but you can go too fast. Break things down into steps and get the first step estsblished before moving to the second step.

We'll continue with the hand feeding.

Do you recommend us remove it completely or just while he's growling? Won't he still growl when he's in his crate? I'm not sure if he's going to growl when we come near him sleeping/laying period or just while he's in his crate or bed.

I would move it completely for the time being, its one less thing for him and yourself to stop being concerned about.
Do a Google search about Resource guarding there are lots of articles to read up on.

Try to stop over thinking things.

Work on bonding with him, indoors and out on walks ect: do some fun things, short training lessons make them fun, brushing & combing ect: builds confidence and trust in you.

We removed the bed from the living room earlier. The growling happened again while he was laying down on the rug in the kitchen.

I know it seems like I'm overthinking things. I'm just trying not to continue any potential bad habits.

I think it would be best to see if your vet can recommend a good behaviourist who can see the problems first hand.