possessiveness

it seems to be a recurring thing with me wanting help lol
Max has calmed down ALOT with plenty of exercises and change in food.
Hes very well behaved

Anyway we have this slight problem.. he's become all of the sudden possessive.
with me and my OH he's fine, never snarls, growls or even bites us, i can take away his food ( whilst he eating ) toys, treats or anything that he thinks is HIS, however..... with the cat its different.
Yes their "best buddies" they lay with each other, play with each other, clean each other, they pretty much do everything together, they cry for each other when separated, but.. when max is chewing a toy he is SO wary of the cat being around, and if the cat comes to close Max stops chewing and starts to snarl at him.
When it comes to Max's feeds i feed him in the kitchen with the cat in the living room because the cat is SO nosey when it comes to food and I spotted Max snarling at him with food too.
Max use to allow the cat to come and steal a few bits of food whilst he was eating, he's been like that since a puppy.
Its just recently its changed.

Whats happened? and why is he doing this??
He never use to mind Keith being around whilst chewing his toys and stuff before, so why now?
Everything else is fine and dandy, they share Max's bed(s) which max has claimed.
Nothings really changed apart from Max's diet and more exercise.

Thanks for reading guys and sorry with all the questions lately, but this whole possessive just isn't right and i don't want the cat getting hurt.

oooo this is a tricky one kim, wouldnt know what to advice TBH, someone will be able to. its not common as such for dogs and cats to get on aswell as max and Keith do (sorry love the name )

haha its okay yeah everyone else wanted to call him Gremlin lol.

Yeah they do get on SO well, its a very very strong bond, that's why this whole being possessive is very strange.
He's never ever been like that since the day i got him and hes now 5, so its completely new,

If i catch max snarling at Keith i say "NO" in a stern voice, and if he carries on i say "NO" again and take away the toy.. so not sure if that's the right thing to do but it snaps him out of it and possibly prevents Keith from getting hurt.

Strange one there Kim. You are doing the right thing feeding them in separate areas though. The way you are doing it with the corrections and then removing the toy seems to be working for you.

I only give Logan toys when I want him to have them, he has a stagbar lying aroung but most toys are put away. Maybe try regulating when he can have toys and monitor how he behaves when you give him them?

MatLogan wrote:Strange one there Kim. You are doing the right thing feeding them in separate areas though. The way you are doing it with the corrections and then removing the toy seems to be working for you.

I only give Logan toys when I want him to have them, he has a stagbar lying aroung but most toys are put away. Maybe try regulating when he can have toys and monitor how he behaves when you give him them?

I keep his toys in a box with a lid on it, and only let him have one when i say so.
He does have a stag bar laying around as well which he chews on every now and then.
If there is a toy just laying around and Keith goes up to it and sniffs it, Max doesn't care, its only during when Max chews his toys he doesn't want the cat near it, I monitor it at all times whilst he's chewing, but even when the cat isn't around the slightest noise makes max paranoid in thinking that the cat is coming when he isn't, he's always watching the area whilst he's chewing.

The cat doesn't know what it means when Max snarls so he carries on trying to go near Max, Keith doesn't necessarily want to be near the toy, he wants to be near the dog, and Max doesn't know that either.

its only the cat he does it with, with me and OH he wont even show a tiny sign of being possessive, how ever im worried that will one day change...
Like i said nothing has changed.. at all.
I hope i can resolve this as i really don't want Keith getting hurt

Does it seem that he is just warning the cat or has he made any sort of move to correct him?

So far it just seems to be a "warning" iv heard a growl a couple of times before as well but iv never let it go any further than that incase Max will snap

Kimb&MooMan wrote:So far it just seems to be a "warning" iv heard a growl a couple of times before as well but iv never let it go any further than that incase Max will snap

That's how I would deal with it too. It might be quite non threatening but if you are uncomfortable with the behaviour correct it the way you are doing. With any luck with time it'll click with Max.

MatLogan wrote:

Kimb&MooMan wrote:So far it just seems to be a "warning" iv heard a growl a couple of times before as well but iv never let it go any further than that incase Max will snap

That's how I would deal with it too. It might be quite non threatening but if you are uncomfortable with the behaviour correct it the way you are doing. With any luck with time it'll click with Max.

Thanks! im glad someone is telling me im doing right! its just so strange why all of the sudden he's become like this!!
but ill definitely keep at it and hopefully he'll stop!

Also is this wrong... 2 days ago my OH put in a little bit of beef paste in Max's kong he let the cat have some, Max didn't really seem bothered just looked like he was in a huff, and then after a little while he let max have it, but i wasn't sure if that was right or not as not sure if that would cause some sort of jealousy thing? , its the first time my OH did this and i never did do that before

As long as Max wasn't too bothered it shouldn't be a problem. As long as one animal isn't treated better than the other problems shouldn't arise from it.

Just keep your eye on the growling, just incase. If you are supervising when he is playing and are able to correct it, it should be ok in time.

I've never had a cat and a dog at the same time, I'm just basing it on having two dogs at once, so maybe someone else will have a bit more detailed advice.

did all this start before the paste or after?! could have a msall knock on effect. i would say carry on with the seperate feedings and just keep doing as you are with 'attitude' shall we say. correcting his behavious is the right thing to be doing.

When tyke has missy round his white staffy female friend he sometimes turns into a little bat and its like 'thats mine' we say NO and then remove the offending object. Missy knows when he lets a little growl out and moves away but we still correct his behaviour but i guess its a little tricky with a puddy cat

it started before, it started when we had the trainer round a few weeks ago, before that Max didnt care if the cat came close.

In all honesty, Keith is a little dare devil, and might i add a very naughty dare devil, i say his name A LOT more times in a day than i say max's name.

Hes not your average cat, he does wind the dog up a lot but Max just takes it and if Max has really had enough he moves away but the cat chases him and bites maxs back legs hes a very playful cat.
But their ALWAYS together, like now, their BOTH snoring away in Max's crate ( the door is open lol )
We treat them both as equals, the cat thinks he's a dog and i guess Max doesn't see any different.
I often take them both out for a walk and Max will stay by Keith's side, he does love him to BITS and vice versa.

Ill keep correcting Max and ill keep doing what im doing and hopefully Max will learn

Kimb&MooMan wrote:it started before, it started when we had the trainer round a few weeks ago, before that Max didnt care if the cat came close.

In all honesty, Keith is a little dare devil, and might i add a very naughty dare devil, i say his name A LOT more times in a day than i say max's name.

Hes not your average cat, he does wind the dog up a lot but Max just takes it and if Max has really had enough he moves away but the cat chases him and bites maxs back legs hes a very playful cat.
But their ALWAYS together, like now, their BOTH snoring away in Max's crate ( the door is open lol )
We treat them both as equals, the cat thinks he's a dog and i guess Max doesn't see any different.
I often take them both out for a walk and Max will stay by Keith's side, he does love him to BITS and vice versa.

Ill keep correcting Max and ill keep doing what im doing and hopefully Max will learn

max may have just had enough, if he getting older like us we can only take so much......how do you teach a cat to behave hahah

what happened with the trainer then?!

i would just make sure naughty puddy cat is not left alone with max when certain things are around and just correct them both...

nothing really happened with the trainer, but Max did want a toy but he took it away from him and kept it away.. so not sure if that caused it.. other than that nothing really, but Max was fine with sharing before the trainer came, so i really have no clue what caused it all of the sudden.

I don't actually think he would ever hurt Keith but id rather never risk it

toys are always put away when me and OH go out and either my self or OH or both of us are always their when he has toys and treats.

Kimb&MooMan wrote:nothing really happened with the trainer, but Max did want a toy but he took it away from him and kept it away.. so not sure if that caused it.. other than that nothing really, but Max was fine with sharing before the trainer came, so i really have no clue what caused it all of the sudden.

I don't actually think he would ever hurt Keith but id rather never risk it

toys are always put away when me and OH go out and either my self or OH or both of us are always their when he has toys and treats.

you sound like your doing the right thing for both max and keith

Thank you! ill keep it at and hope things may change

Kimb&MooMan wrote:Thank you! ill keep it at and hope things may change

keep us update please would like to hear if ll worked out

i certainly will thank you for the advice!