# Tucker being difficult



## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

Tucker's resource guarding has been rearing its ugly head in various ways. He's always had a bit of it, and we manage the two dogs' interactions when high-value stuff is around to protect Bella. 

Lately though, he's started growling at her at times we've never seen before. Last night he went after her, big time, and really put her in her place. She had walked toward the couch and got near my daughter when she had a plate of food. Bella was very scared after the fight, and crawled under the desk. Later, she got up into my lap and curled up in a ball.  This is making me very unhappy. Bella is a fearful dog and my goal with her is to make her feel safe at all times. She sure didn't feel that way yesterday. 

I have an appointment for Tucker with a vet for later today. It's our first time seeing this man because we just moved. I'm going to have Tucker checked out, stem to stern. I don't think there is anything physically wrong but I want to rule it out. 

I think DD and I are going to have to arrive at an understanding of how to manage the dogs going forward. That will include not having them in the room when we are eating, and FOR SURE will include her never, ever giving them food from her plate while she's eating. She does that a lot and I think that's what caused last night's incident. (Although he's been doing other things as well.)

Sigh. Don't like playing traffic cop a whole lot.


----------



## pb2b (Nov 8, 2013)

I'm so sorry. Poor Bella. I just want to hug her. 

I wish I had words of wisdom. I'll be thinking about you.


----------



## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

Very good idea checking for any physical problems first. That said, it sounds like a bit of an aggression problem. 

Can you put your hand in tuckers food when eating? Will he let you take toys out of his mouth without growling. 

Maybe going with him to a pet behaviorist would help sort this out.....

Good luck


----------



## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

goldlover68 said:


> Very good idea checking for any physical problems first. That said, it sounds like a bit of an aggression problem.
> 
> Can you put your hand in tuckers food when eating? Will he let you take toys out of his mouth without growling.
> 
> ...


Thanks. Tucker shows no resource guarding towards humans. Only dogs. I can put food into and take food out of his bowl with no issue. I take things out of his mouth with no issue. The RG really is focused on high-value things like tasty treats, meat-laden marrow bones (dry bones are no problem), and human food--and only when another dog is in the area. We've managed this really well up to now. I think we need to make some changes in our household arrangements however.


----------



## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

*Visit with the vet*

It went well. This was our first visit with our new vet and I was favorably impressed. 

He did a thorough hands-on exam of Tucker and was very good with him. Tucker gets very anxious in vet offices. We had to wait about 20 minutes and I think that was good because he calmed down enough to sniff around. 

The upshot is that there's nothing physically wrong and Tucker isn't hurting anywhere. The vet thinks training and behavior modification are in order. So I've just downloaded Patricia McDonell's "Mine" and am going to re-read it. (My hard copy is still in a box somewhere in the garage.)

Bella was a bit tentative and watchful around Tucker today. We will get through this. 

On a good note--completely unrelated!--I ordered my holiday cards tonight! I'm determined to have them mailed right after Thanksgiving.


----------



## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

Since he is physically ok and is not showing any aggression outside of guarding against other dogs, I think may be a normal dominance thing. Sometimes, you just have to let the pack dogs sort it out, once they have the pecking order finalized, they will be best friends. 

I have three Golden's 10yrs, 8yrs, and 2yrs. The young one is much smaller then the others but she if very dominate. They had to sort things out for a while, but now are all best buddies. when they when through this they were very threatening and physical, kind of scared us, but watching closely, I could see it was all noice and threats, maybe a few nips. But never elevated beyond that or I would have broken them up. After a couple of rounds over 2-3 days... they stopped and the young girl was queen....


----------



## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

Resource guarding isn't a dominance thing, it's an insecurity thing. Allowing Tucker to bully Bella (which OutWest is not doing) is not the way to deal with this behavior. Sorting it out, which I personally don't believe in because the sorting out can escalate badly, is not the way to deal with this type of issue when one dog is NOT instigating anything and the other dog is attacking her over a resource.

I'm sorry OutWest, I had a dog at one point who was extremely aggressive towards my lab mix and attacked her on several occasions, to the point each time of drawing blood. It always felt like we were walking on eggshells waiting for the next fight and managing them as best we could to keep the fights from breaking out. It's extremely stressful for everyone (including the dogs) in the household.

If things continue to escalate, I would agree that a behaviorist would be the way to go.


----------



## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

goldlover68 said:


> Since he is physically ok and is not showing any aggression outside of guarding against other dogs, I think may be a normal dominance thing. Sometimes, you just have to let the pack dogs sort it out, once they have the pecking order finalized, they will be best friends.
> 
> I have three Golden's 10yrs, 8yrs, and 2yrs. The young one is much smaller then the others but she if very dominate. They had to sort things out for a while, but now are all best buddies. when they when through this they were very threatening and physical, kind of scared us, but watching closely, I could see it was all noice and threats, maybe a few nips. But never elevated beyond that or I would have broken them up. After a couple of rounds over 2-3 days... they stopped and the young girl was queen....


I normally allow the two to sort things out but not when it's Tucker in a full blown attack on Bella. She's entitled to feel safe in her own home. We did have a behaviorist working with us for quite a while, mostly on Bella's fear issues, but one thing she made clear was that no animal should feel their food is threatened. They should always be able to eat in peace. So that's what I've done with my two. I'm always with them while they're eating, or I put a door between them. I agree with Fostermom about the insecurity of the situation. I think that's what upsets Tucker. He worries Bella will snatch his food, and he wants what she has. So we're going to work on it all. We need peace in our time!


----------



## golfgal (Dec 31, 2013)

Did I read your post correctly where your daughter had a plate of food near the dogs, was giving them food off it and that's what caused the issue? Not that Tucker was eating and went after Bella?


----------



## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

golfgal said:


> Did I read your post correctly where your daughter had a plate of food near the dogs, was giving them food off it and that's what caused the issue? Not that Tucker was eating and went after Bella?


That incident was as follows: DD had plate of food, Bella got near her, DD wasn't giving food out but has in the past (no more, ever again). My assessment was that when Bella got near food/daughter, Tucker went into resource guard mode thinking Bella was going to get something. In he past, he's done RG about dog food but not people food while people were eating it. 

In response, I've eliminated that possibility. The dogs now are kept out of the room whenever we are eating.


----------



## coaraujo (Nov 2, 2012)

I also want to bring up that both dogs have gone through a huge change moving to a new home which can make them both feel insecure. If Tucker is feeling insecure in his new home because he hasn't completely settled yet with the move he might be more likely to resource guard over things he hasn't in the past because he feels the need to "own" something, anything when his world feels flipped-turned upside down

ETA: Food is #1 in a dogs world. So if Tucker is feeling a bit off and unsettled still then it is possible that he'll feel the need to resource guard food, even your daughters because he's not sure when its going to come around again. With time, management, and a set schedule he'll realize again that it's nothing he needs to fight for. But instinct for now is probably kicking in. He's afraid in this new place there's only enough food for one dog, maybe not even. Just a thought.

I definitely agree that keeping the dogs out of the room when eating is a must, feeding separately (which I believe you already do) is a must. And let them fall into a schedule/routine. Fear-reactive dogs need time and consistency to feel safe. Please keep us updated. I'm happy that nothing is seriously wrong health wise with Tucker


----------



## Leslie B (Mar 17, 2011)

I would get two wire dog crates and put them in the center of the household - close to where you eat if possible. Both dogs will have a lot of crate time. This is not punishment or banishment. It is about the dogs (both of them) having a more regular schedule. Like with toddlers, it can calm them and give them a sense of security. It is about letting the dogs see that you get to eat and NOT share with them. 

When you give treats, make sure they are in their crates and the calm one gets the first treat. If Tucker gets nasty, he is contained and you can verbally correct him. Bella gets to feel safe because Tucker can't get to her. When it is meal time slide a chunk of cardboard between the two crates so they cannot see each other eat. 

Good Luck.


----------



## MercyMom (Dec 19, 2011)

I wish you the best of luck with Tucker. Best wishes coming your way.


----------

