Dog has started nipping babysitters

[Fibonacci]

Our 5 year old dog has recently started getting quite aggressive when strangers or people she doesn't know well come to the house.

She has always been very possessive about shoes and boots regarding them as 'her' property and now when someone she doesn't know comes to the house she will growl and sometimes nip them becuase she thinks they want to take the shoes - If I hide all shoes she will get attached to something else (even a log of firewood).

Was a real problem the otehr day with a babysitter, who she had met a few times before, and we had to shut her away in another room before we could go out.

Any advice gratefully rceieved!

As far as any dog is concerned, what's in it's mouth is it's property.

What do you do when the dog takes the shoes or other things? How do you get tham back? What sort of toys/chews of her own does the dog hsve?

How recent is recent?

Could she be having a phantom pregnancy?

She will let me take the shoes away from her, but no-one else.

I have given her several old shoes and slippers that are 'hers' but she still regards any others in the house as hers too.

The shoe obsession has been going on for ages - it is as if they are her puppies so maybe it is like a phantom pregnancy (she's been spayed) but the biting has only started happening in the past few weeks.

Are you simply taking the shoes or swapping them? Do people chase her to get them back?

It sounds like the dog is resource guarding and she is concerned that people will take away the things she has. She obviously sees shoes as high value items. I would, however, get her checked over by a vet to make sure all is physically well.

I would keep all shoes and anything else that isn't hers away from her and give her a selection of toys that are hers, I have found dogs especially like rope toys and soft toys, kongs etc are good too. Make sure that if you are taking things from her, you are swapping them for what she percieves as a higher value item, that could be a piece of chicken, cheese, salami or a different toy or a ball. When she takes something, don't chase her with it (hence important to be meticulous about putting things where she can't get them) but instead call her to you and offer her the treat or whatever you have in return for what she has. Once she is comfortable then you can aks others to do the same, but at any point if the dog feels the need to growl again, go back a step. It will probably take a long time to see a change as if she has resorted to nipping she is quite concerned her things will be taken.

Could you also consider crate training her? For the time being it is probably better to put her in another room or a crate if you have visitors, or maybe keep her on a lead with you as better to be safe than put the dog or a visitor in an awkward position.

It's probably a very good idea to get a good behaviourist out though, as really you need someone physically there to assess what is happening.

I expect Minimu will be along shortly with some excellent advice.