any advice ?

[thefootofourstairs]

Ddog ran off with a pigs ear , had just eaten one so i went to take it from him and he growled at me .
would most dogs do that i wonder ? this is our first dog so not sure .
anyway , obviously i don't want that sort of behaviour or any escalation of it .
Hes 2.5 years old , so not a puppy , any advice please ?

Dog had something delicious and high value and you tried to take it away. Natural for dogs to guard their resources and he doesn't know what he is meant to have or not.

If I want to remove something from my dog I distract him with something else (usually sausage) and then remove the item, preferably when he isn't looking. I would never try to take something directly from him as it will create a resource guarding issue.

We work a lot on "leave" even with the most delicious treats. Mine are now very used to having to give things up as they know they normally get it back.

we always work hard with puppies right from the start to help prevent this.

Always swap toys when playing Tug/Fetch so they never end up without something
Food....I put most of their food into the bowl and then while they are eating rattle about adding the rest, so they get used to hands in and out of their bowls and nothing bad happening.

Obv you can try this, but I'd maybe try to get better advice for your case as he's so much older and already guarding.

I haven't had him from a puppy so didn't get the chance to establish things early on . Hes been fine with his food bowl and his kong , i've taken them away from him before without issue.
never had cause to remove a treat though so didn't expect him to growl.
Hope this isn't the start of him guarding his food . Have plenty issues that we are dealing with already .

OP, sounds like you have a great opportunity here to teach the dog that giving up items can be really rewarding. It is well worth doing but even more so if his growl earlier meant he got to keep the pig's ear as he will have had an experience that says 'growling = not having to give anything up'. You want him to learn 'giving something up = something way better instead' so that he will do so willingly.

I would start with some of the other objects he gives up easily. Give him a kong, wait until he starts to interact with it and then produce/show him something way tastier. It can be cheese, liver, chicken - whatever he prizes highly. If you've got the balance right he should automatically stop paying attention to the kong (even for just a second or two). Jump in there and say "leave" or "thank you" or "drop", whatever word you want to use. Then shove the higher value object in his mouth quick and pick up the kong.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Then do the same with something he values more highly than a kong.

Work your way up slowly, until he gives up the pig's ear. If you cannot find anything he prizes more highly (try things like chicken feet which are similar but different) you can always give the pig ear right back to him.

Depending on how much you know and trust the dog, you could also try holding valued items while he interacts with them. As an example, I have held treasured toys and antler chews while the dog chews and mouths them. I held chicken wings and thighs as the dog started to eat them. I also hand feed every now and again. All this helps build experiences of you handling something the dog is enjoying without you taking it away or anything bad happening.

OP, sounds like you have a great opportunity here to teach the dog that giving up items can be really rewarding. It is well worth doing but even more so if his growl earlier meant he got to keep the pig's ear as he will have had an experience that says 'growling = not having to give anything up'. You want him to learn 'giving something up = something way better instead' so that he will do so willingly.

I would start with some of the other objects he gives up easily. Give him a kong, wait until he starts to interact with it and then produce/show him something way tastier. It can be cheese, liver, chicken - whatever he prizes highly. If you've got the balance right he should automatically stop paying attention to the kong (even for just a second or two). Jump in there and say "leave" or "thank you" or "drop", whatever word you want to use. Then shove the higher value object in his mouth quick and pick up the kong.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Then do the same with something he values more highly than a kong.

Work your way up slowly, until he gives up the pig's ear. If you cannot find anything he prizes more highly (try things like chicken feet which are similar but different) you can always give the pig ear right back to him.

Depending on how much you know and trust the dog, you could also try holding valued items while he interacts with them. As an example, I have held treasured toys and antler chews while the dog chews and mouths them. I held chicken wings and thighs as the dog started to eat them. I also hand feed every now and again. All this helps build experiences of you handling something the dog is enjoying without you taking it away or anything bad happening.

so good, i wrote it twice... oops

thank you missbattenburg i will definitely do this , sounds like a plan :)

Yes! Pigs ears are extremely high value and my dog disregards everything if she has sight of one she becomes a real menace. Not as bad as with jerky though...shes a possessive nightmare with jerky.

Normal dinner? Well you can take that from her while she eats and she gives no shits.