I rescued a Great Dane/Labrador puppy from the SPCA approximately 6 weeks
ago.He was 4 months old, very skinny and frail, and they had no history for
him and apparently they were unaware that he was also very sick. After
1,000$ in vets bills, (he had some gastro infections and bad case of worms
and had to be on intravenous because he became quite dehydrated) he is
completely healthy...physically. I am not sure about the emotional part. He
seems like a happy puppy, enjoys his walks and toys, plays with the cat and
my other dog and is obedient when he wants to be. I am working on that. He
does one thing that disturbs me since he is already quite large. When I try
to remove a bone from his mouth, he growls ferociously and I am afraid he
might actually bite me. My other dog has never growled at me and I have had
him for 13 years, a German Shepherd/St. Bernard mix. I am wondering if the
puppy met up with aggressive people or dogs in his travels and perhaps
starved a bit before the SPCA found him and that is why he growls at me when
I try to take the bone.

The first time he did this, I scolded him and shook him by the scruff of the
neck like a mother dog would do. Then I returned the bone to him and tried
to remove it again. This time he let me without growling and I told him how
good he was and returned the bone to him. I did this several times so he
would realize the bone would be returned immediately. Today, however, it was
a different bone. A bone that the older dog had been chewing on for a while.
When the older dog was not looking, the puppy took the bone. I tried to
remove it and he did growl very menacingly and I was quite afraid. I did the
shaking of the scruff and he cried and I pulled the bone out (using my left
hand so if I got bitten I could still use my right hand) and I put him into
his cage. He has not been in his cage for over two weeks since he became
house trained. He is still in the cage and I will leave him there this
evening awaitng your comments. It makes me uncomfortable that this dog
growls at me. It was a very convincing growl, very menacing. Suppose I have
to remove the bone because he has been chewing on it for hours and it is
time for him to go to bed? Is this a power struggle so he can discern who is
the boss? Please let me know what I should do in this situation. Your
experience and advice will be very appreciated. Thank you,