When I first adopted Loki, his foster gave me a list of words and commands he understood. "Mine" was one of them. Basically, he understood the difference between what belonged to her and what he could have.
Like most GSDs, Loki enjoys possessing things but never puts up a fight when told something doesn't belong to him. And like most GSD's, he's also a "leaner," pushing his body against any person he likes.
At the end of a playdate with our neighbor's puppy Aslan, Loki's biggest fan and favorite pal, Ludwig, came outside to say hello to all the dogs. Loki recognized him and got up to go say hello. Juno wasn't far behind. Loki reached Ludwig, checked in then immediately turned around and chased Juno away.
"MINE," he said to Juno.
As adorable as that is, that small, benign behavior could easily escalate into stronger more undesirable behaviors in a dog like Loki. It's times like this, I realize how fortunate Loki is to be owned by an adult who teaches him to share.
One of us has problems sharing sometimes. "He" shall remain anonymous....
As you say having good "staff" on hand keeps the situation under control.
Molly, Taffy, Monty and Winnie
Ah yes, Mango suffers from the same malady as he is quite adamant that nobody shall approach me when he has anything to say about it. I do discourage this behavior. Loki seems attached to the wee human, but Miss Juno will set him straight (or else you will break out the skillet).
Mango Momma
As much as you adore Frankie, you should know he has a serious case of "mine" when getting human attention. We work on that a lot (mainly because he still messes up with it a lot) and he has become much better about it, but I still catch him giving some other pup the evil eye.
(P.S. - He did try that on QNTE exactly once. She explained to him far more effectively than a human. Not violently - just in her self-confident, alpha sort of way. He got the message.)
Boy does that sound familiar! I'm glad Loki is with you, too!
We agree. Loki is lucky to have you, but you are even more lucky to have him, so go give him a treat. Right now! And share with Juno.
Steve
Ah yes. It is the little things. Especially with big, bossy dogs.