From lostangel912.
This dog is possessive over toys.
My own dogs never were. In fact, my current dog will let you take her recreational bones away from her.
I’ve had goldens that would chew the same bone, each chewing the separate bone.
Obviously, a possessive dog is useless for the normal use of a retriever.
But that’s what happens when you start breeding away from the proper working temperament of the breed, or you believe all the malarkey about them being good natured and refuse to train or socialize them properly.
I have some theories on golden retriever aggression. However, this dog appears to be from at least distant working lines. It is unlikely that this dog was bred to be calm.
I think it’s more likely that this is an intelligent dog that didn’t get enough training and socialization. Or it could be one of the pushy dominant retrievers that sometimes pops up in working lines.
Aggression is not acceptable in golden retrievers. It’s not really acceptable in other breeds, but controlled aggression can be part of a functional temperament in other breeds. It is never functional in a golden.
I was prepared to think that was silly play growling, till he snapped at her. (At least, I think that’s what happened. Video’s kinda dark.)
You can see that the lips are slightly raised when the dog is growling.
I’ve noticed that the lips are pulled up past the gums when mine are really growling. When they ‘play growl,’ they pull the lips back & show teeth but not gums. (We call that “bat-face”.) In both cases, the snout is wrinkled. Of course, the tail also tells the tale.