Nesting/Possessiveness

[WhiteRum]

We have got a three year old springer spaniel who is spayed. She is brilliant 99% of the time, but she can be a little possessive/protective of items at times.

We think this is because she had a phantom pregnancy and it became a learned habit after her spaying.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? If you have how did you get around it, if at all?

 

[CorvusCorax]

I wouldn't leave items down for her to be possessive over.
You can get into swapsies for a piece of food also (not a treat, just part of her daily ration of food) if you want to take the conflict out of retrieving items.

My bitch was exactly the same when she had a phantom.