Jon N Tania
New member
We took Muggsy in last Wednesday as his owner could not look after him, he was being left 10-12 hours a day and not being walked or socialized. He is a loving, cuddly two year old boy who has been fixed. We have 3 other dogs, including Henry our other rescue Bully. The integration process is all but complete and i am now able to feed all 4 dogs in the same room with no issues. However Muggsy has an issue with possession, not all the time but it is quite agressive when it comes out. It started with him picking up his bowl and running round with it. He growls and snaps if you go near him. Then we moved his cage and he got very upset. He attacked the cage, pushing, biting and dragging it back accross the room, we could not get near him and when he went inside it, we tried to shut him in till he calmed down but he want at us through the bars and the door. My husband tried to get hold of him and he bit him, not breaking the skin. Eventually we locked the door and tried to cover the cage till he calmed down. We have also tried squirting water in his face, but this makes him more aggressive. the only thing we found that works is if we make a loud noise somewhere else in the house and he is distracted. As of now his cage is in another room and he only goes in it at bed time and when we are out, he can not see it when we are home and he is out playing. This seems to be working, but he also gets aggressive over toys, he brings them to you to play then growls and snaps, but if you ignore him he keeps coming to you to play... We let him have about 2 - 5 minutes of play before he gets too excited then distract him and remove his toy. Can anyone help with this with other suggestions or ideas as to why he behaves in this way. The previous owner just told me "he's always done that we just let him get on with it"... thanks