I'm posting this in an effort to help someone (anyone) who may also end up in this situation....

Bailey and I train two nights a week, and I take his treats (chicken and/or cheese) in a cooler to keep them cool.   I also take his treats in a cooler when I go to trials, as everyone does... and of course, Bailey quickly learned a long time ago, that "his" treats are in the cooler.

Late yesterday afternoon, I went to a friend's house who has all the agility equipment to set up a standard course with.  I took Bailey's cooler ... and sat the cooler down underneath the trees.  Janice has a lab who is very well trained and an awesome agility competitor, and Bailey and Gusto get along beautifully.... UNTIL YESTERDAY.

Bailey decides to stand guard over the cooler ... and while Janice and I were setting up the equipment, Gusto walks over to where Bailey is standing, and Bailey proceeds to viciously (yes... viciously) attack Gusto.   As many times as they have been together, this has never happened.  Gusto could have had Bailey for lunch... but fortunately, he promptly backed away.

So as an exercise to teach Bailey a "lesson".  Janice put Gusto on lead... and I put Bailey on lead.  Janice walked Gusto over to where he was standing with the cooler, and Bailey proceeded to growl and show his teeth.  I promptly said "NO" ...picked Bailey up... and handed him to Janice... then I took ahold of Gusto's leash.  I opened the cooler and gave Gusto several treats out of the cooler, as Janice held Bailey watching. 

We performed this exercise several times... and finally Bailey got the messaget that if he was aggressive, he got nothing except carried away from the spot where he most wanted to be.   It took almost an hour to work through this... but in the end I could put Bailey in the down position... Janice could lead Gusto to the cooler and reach in it and give Gusto a treat without Bailey reacting at all.

Occasionally... despite all our training efforts and successes... a dog's natural instincts will surface.  Be prepared for this to happen, and be prepared to address it is if does. NO dog is perfect, regardless of the amount of training that has been done.

I just wanted to share this experience with you in case something similar happens to you during your journey towards owning a well behaved dog.

Kasey has been doing the same thing with "his" things.  especially treats.  If i happened to have a bag of treats, that i would take to the lake, and say the bag fell off the counter top or the chair.... and Indy would go investigate, Then Kasey would jet to the area and snarl at Indy to get him to back off....   of course i would say, "leave it". and put it up in a safer place.   then that was it.....  but I do need to work with Kasey because he is trying to get the upper hand......   *sigh*

...........which is exactly what you should have done.....

Miss Daisy thinks that you belong to her.... (now where could she have gotten such an idea as that?)

My Rat is all of a sudden becoming really possessive. He bit my daughter (4) for entering her own room because he had a bug of all things! I also noticed recently that he is guarding his food. I have had the kids feed him since he was brought here as a puppy and put there hands in his food bowl while he was eating. I never had a problem. It all started with the weird possissiveness over bugs. How do I fix this? I can't have a pet I can't trust near my kids no matter how much I love him. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Another behavior I forgot to mention that is new is he is extremely vocal now. He barks or grumbles if cars go down our street or someone is outside. Could these two behaviors go hand in hand? Thanks again!

Guarding/possive behavior can be a BIG issue, and Nora is absolutely right.  It can come up no matter how well-trained your dog is, and it needs to be addressed proactively.  When we added Magic to the household last November, little miss Dee Dee, who is working on her RAE and CDX decided she "owned" me, and the puppy was not allowed near me or on my lap.  I put a stop to it by reprimanding Dee Dee with a disgusted "uh uh" and them exiled her to her crate for 1/2 hour or so.  I would hold the puppy for a little while, but not the entire time.  Then, when Dee Dee came back out, she was allowed near me on the floor only.  It took about four times for Dee Dee to put it together.  Now, she grumbles under her breath when she is on my lap and the puppy jumps up, and if the puppy is really irratating, she goes and lies in her crate in disgust, but no more guarding behaviors. 

A friend of mine put down her GRCH Parson Russell terrier when he bit her 4-year-old grandson when the child came near her while the dog was sitting in her lap. Luckily, the bite was not serious, but it could have been.  The child had puncture wounds in his throat.   I felt really badly for the dog because I think my friend inadvertently set her dog up to fail by not establishing clear boundaries for the dog from the beginning.  IThe dog had been growling at her husband when he hugged her, and even growled at her when he was sleeping on her lap and she moved her legs or disturbed him, but she didn't do anything about it.  It is NOT FUNNY if a dog guards his owner or his possessions.  (I do allow the dogs to warn the other dogs away from their food dish, but from puppyhood on, they are trained that any human, no matter how small, can take food from them).