# Growling / Guarding



## Bboynton09 (Jul 26, 2012)

My Russell is 4 months old and is starting to growl and actually bit me when i reached for his food bowl after a meal. This behavior has just started but seems to be a consistent thing. Last night he had something in his mouth he was not suppose to have and my neighbor ( lab owner) tried to grab it from him and Russell growled and nipped at him as well. I have been feeding him out of my hand and i have no problems at all. Is this a serious problem? or just puppy behavior? will neutering help? any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## Ohohraptor (Feb 7, 2012)

We were having the same problem with Blu except he was guarding the couch. I highly recommend the book Mine! By Jean Donaldson. It's about resource guarding, how to prevent, treat, and manage it.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

If people could see my 17 month old intact male, it would become clear that neutering has nothing to do with territorial behavior/guarding. Training does.

Please research dog pack structure on the net to get better idea what it means. 

There have been a couple of very fine clips, recently posted http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,5184.msg39018/topicseen.html#new 
What healthy pack behavior looks like  Suliko and Finch's clips demonstrate this.
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Early neutering (before 18-24 months) only causes hormonal balance problems that could easily lead to tumors later in life. There is a great misconception on the subject, fueled by economic and political wants.


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## Bboynton09 (Jul 26, 2012)

Thank you i will get the book and do my research. 1st time dog owner thats why im asking!


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