# Sticky  Resource guarding - how we respond - matters.



## Tayla's Mom

Good advice. Tayla resourse guards her knuckle bone, but will trade for a Kong w/peanut butter. She will trade for most things for a Kong w/pb. However if she gets something on a walk especially something dead, all bets are off. I've learned that a dead frog is just hers. I try to always keep an especially large treat with me if she gets a bone, etc. because it's higher value than a tiny training treat. She has never had an issue with her food, but I try not to bother either one of my dogs while eating.


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## DanaRuns

I generally don't trade, as one of my hard and fast rules in raising a puppy is that a human can take anything a human wants from the puppy, at any time, no matter what.

I work on this from Day 1 with every puppy, whether they express resource guarding or not. It's prophylactic, so that the puppy doesn't develop resource guarding. All puppies have to know that I can take whatever I want from them at any time. It's not a negotiation, and it's not a trade. It's an absolute rule and fact of the puppy's life, and this lesson is necessary for development of a well-behaved adult dog.

What I do is, on the pup's very first meal that comes from me, I give them their food bowl and then I make them "wait" for it. They are not allowed to eat until I give permission to eat. And they don't get permission until they give up trying to go for the food. They must surrender to the fact that they need permission. This starts from their very first meal. Trust me, they learn to wait for permission very quickly!  Then, when they start to eat, I immediately take it away. Sometimes I will exchange it for a high value treat, sometimes I will not. The puppy never knows. And shortly after I take it away, I give it back, along with lots of happy praise. Sometimes I just hold it for a second or two (especially at first), sometimes longer. Sometimes I take it out of the pup's vision. But I always give it back.

If the pup exhibits "aggressive" resource guarding behavior like growling or snapping, I deal with it very aggressively, right away, with the kind of dominance they understand (nonviolent, of course, with posturing, sounds, etc.), and I repeat it with toys and anything the puppy wants, so that the puppy knows that everything in the house is *mine* including his/her food. (I'll do it for a day or two if I have to, not letting the puppy have anything it wants without my permission, until the pup gets the message.) In 40 years with Goldens, I've never had to do this for more than a few minutes, though some other breeds have been a little more work. Only when that message is driven home and the puppy starts to relax does he get the food bowl back. Again, with tons of happy praise.

This way the puppy learns (1) all food and everything good in life belongs to the human, (2) that a human can take anything, anytime, no matter what, and (3) that allowing this to happen results in good things (more food, love, praise, whatever), not deprivation.

By starting the first day, and giving the food right back with praise, the pup learns that a human taking the prize doesn't mean it will be "lost." In fact, the puppy learns that the way to get the food or item it wants back is to relax and wait. And with tons of positive reinforcement for correct behavior, this becomes second nature in _very short order_ for a young puppy, and the puppy never starts exhibiting resource guarding.

I do this as part of every puppy's initial training. And in over 40 years, I've never had a resource guarding adult dog. Not one that runs away with the prize, or gets defensive, or growls or snaps, or is mistrusting of the human. Doing it this way, from Day 1 without waiting for resource guarding before "correcting" it, has worked for me.

As with anything, your mileage may vary.


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## Brave

Can we make this a sticky?! I feel like we get so many new threads about resource guarding, it would be wise to sticky this up as a permanent post.


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## CAROLINA MOM

Brave said:


> Can we make this a sticky?! I feel like we get so many new threads about resource guarding, it would be wise to sticky this up as a permanent post.


Request granted Brave.

Thank you Charlietree for posting this information. 

I am going to move this Thread into the Behavioral Section and make it into a Sticky.


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## fostermom

Charliethree, that was a great post! I agree with everything you posted. I have had many dogs over my adult years and have never had one with resource guarding issues. I also don't try to alpha my dogs into submitting to me. I'm not a dog and I don't speak dog, so they wouldn't understand why I was doing what I was doing if I tried to act like one.


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## Shellbug

Thank you. I always love your words of wisdom. I am so grateful Thor has no issue. I can smooch all over him while he chews on a favorite treat. He just wags his tail and "smiles" at me. 


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## meadows

Hello all,
We've noticed Marvin has started to get possessive over sticks at the park. He'll sometimes hold a stick under his body and any dog that goes near it, he does 3 quick barks and stays low to the ground. Is this a type of resource guarding? 
He has no issue with humans taking them from him and he often likes to indulge in a litle run around come get me game with other dogs. There are other times when a dog takes it out of his mouth while running and he is totally unbothered by it. Je is not like this with anything else, not with toys or food. 
How should we respond? Ive been taking away the stick after he does it 2x. I then steer him towards playing or running and he often forgets the stick. Its hard to tell if its play or aggression. He does not growl or bare teeth and we've never seen him act like this up to a week ago. He is six months old, fyi, and not neutered yet. Hes also started up humping other dogs and standing over them (only males). 

Any help would be hugely appreciated. He is our first golden pup and we want to do our best in raising him to be a wonderful boy.

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## Burd

Wonderful post, Charliethree!
Very useful and informative - resource guarding seems to be a common issue, it's great for new and old owners alike to be able to see this.


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## Megora

Always remember too that people have very different ways of reading dogs and handling situations, particularly based on how they themselves have been trained to handle those situations. 

And there are different levels too based on how aggressive or nasty the dogs are to begin with. We've never owned truly aggressive dogs, and I can understand more caution and different handling if you are used to owning dogs like that. 

Our first two goldens had resource guarding issues. The first golden would definitely growl and snap over things that he wanted. The other golden sent my one sister to the hospital for stitches and the same day he snapped at my baby sister (who was very little at the time, I might add) and she probably needed stitches but the rest of us kids covered up for the dog because our parents keeping count.

We switched instructors and found somebody who helped us sort the problems out. This involved corrections (yes, corrections - I will absolutely not tolerate any behaviors that I do not like) and it also involved learning how to read our own dogs - their body language and learn to avoid conflicts to begin with. This involved trading. This involved feeding puppies with the bowls practically in our laps. Meant grooming the dogs and in other ways getting them used to being in a busy household, and trusting that their food was not going anywhere. 

Our dogs are able to eat practically nose to nose with their food bowls at meals.... and when I put plates down on the floor, they are able to eat off the same plates or bowls. 

A lot of that is the benefit of owning a well-bred golden - who has been bred to have ideal temperament and traits. The rest is a lot of socializing and handling the dogs so they know appropriate behaviors. This involved correcting the bad behaviors - like growling, snapping, posturing, etc.


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## Charliethree

meadows said:


> Hello all,
> We've noticed Marvin has started to get possessive over sticks at the park. He'll sometimes hold a stick under his body and any dog that goes near it, he does 3 quick barks and stays low to the ground. Is this a type of resource guarding?
> He has no issue with humans taking them from him and he often likes to indulge in a litle run around come get me game with other dogs. There are other times when a dog takes it out of his mouth while running and he is totally unbothered by it. Je is not like this with anything else, not with toys or food.
> How should we respond? Ive been taking away the stick after he does it 2x. I then steer him towards playing or running and he often forgets the stick. Its hard to tell if its play or aggression. He does not growl or bare teeth and we've never seen him act like this up to a week ago. He is six months old, fyi, and not neutered yet. Hes also started up humping other dogs and standing over them (only males).
> 
> Any help would be hugely appreciated. He is our first golden pup and we want to do our best in raising him to be a wonderful boy.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


 Marvin is 'guarding' the stick from the other dogs, but he is being 'polite' and not aggressive about it, so there is nothing 'wrong' with that. IF he were growling and lunging at the other dogs to keep them away, it would be cause for concern, and he should not be allowed to have them at all when at the dog park. By laying on the stick, and barking a time or two, he is just exercising the 'right of possession' ( I have it, I am keeping it) and being very appropriate about it, and it sounds like the other dogs are being respectful of that. There is nothing 'wrong' with his behavior as far as a dog to dog interaction is concerned, however, it is up to you, if you are not comfortable with it, teach him 'leave it' to prevent him from picking up the stick at all , or 'drop it' and 'leave it' should he already have it and redirect to other types of play.


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## meadows

Charliethree said:


> Marvin is 'guarding' the stick from the other dogs, but he is being 'polite' and not aggressive about it, so there is nothing 'wrong' with that. IF he were growling and lunging at the other dogs to keep them away, it would be cause for concern, and he should not be allowed to have them at all when at the dog park. By laying on the stick, and barking a time or two, he is just exercising the 'right of possession' ( I have it, I am keeping it) and being very appropriate about it, and it sounds like the other dogs are being respectful of that. There is nothing 'wrong' with his behavior as far as a dog to dog interaction is concerned, however, it is up to you, if you are not comfortable with it, teach him 'leave it' to prevent him from picking up the stick at all , or 'drop it' and 'leave it' should he already have it and redirect to other types of play.


Thank you for the advice. I was worried that it was rude dog behaviour but it sounds like it is perfectly normal. Thats great to hear. Hes definitely very good about dog manners for the most part so I am relieved that this is OK behaviour! I was co fused as to what was aggressive resource guarding and normal "this is mine" behaviour. 

Signed, just a silly human trying to understand dog language.  

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## Seona

Fantastic post, I knew this from day 1 with my puppy.

I have a 6 month golden with resource guarding issues. 
I have already written a post and received lots of valuable information, regarding teaching the puppy to trade.
The reason I came on to this forum was that I lacked the information on how to tackle the situation, and where I'm living it's very hard to get a trainer who deal with this problem. 

I have had 3 Goldens and never experienced this problem. 

My puppy from day 1 wolfed down her food, as if she was afraid she was never going to see another meal.
This stopped and you can now remove her bowl and make her wait, or put your hand in her bowl and she will lick you. I have taught her to wait while I put a treat on her paw and she will only eat it when I give it to her. 

She has no issue over her toys, bones, food.
The issue lies with things she finds in the garden or on a walk. Be has a fixation on dirt, leaves, birds, stones, tissue etc.
The majority of the time, I can trade with her and get her to drop it, by giving her a treat and praising her. Others I cannot, and she makes it known, she will snarl, growl and then swallow what she has, regardless if I offer chicken, meat, you name it. This really is frustrating as sometimes I'm worried if the item may be dangerous to her. 

Only last week, we were on a walk and she stopped to eat something, I didn't ask her trade, just tugged her to come on, instinctively she jumped up, and bit me, right through my coat, breaking the skin. 
My question here is how should I have dealt with the situation? I went into shock and within 2 seconds she was back her to happy self. I didn't correct her as I was in shock. As I didn't correct her, I'm worried she doesn't know this behaviour is not acceptable, and may later do it again to someone else.
Any suggestions on if it does happen, what should I do, would really help. Or how can I prevent this. 
Is she too old now undo the makes I've made? 

Thank you


Seona


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## caseypooh

I'm thinking that we are falling into this category too, Jake is only 11 weeks old and I'm trying to learn as much as I can to handle this correctly.


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## meadows

Something that really helped us prevent food aggression when Marvin was a puppy was advised by the breeder. At his feeding times, we would lift his bowl for a few seconds and put it back down, just to show him that there is no threat when food is taken away because it is immediately available again. Ever since he has had no issue with food guarding and that has generalized to resource guarding with humans. With dogs however, he can sometimes get a little too scared that they will take something away and lets out a low growl. Something we are working on...


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## coaraujo

What a wonderful post by Charliethree! I have a fear-reactive golden which also includes anxiety when it comes to high value items and food. We have built a very strong bond of trust and respect with him so his issues only remain with other dogs. Reading body language and knowing his triggers and signs are key to practicing good management and handling situations effectively.

I thought this short article could be helpful for some people. 
http://behavior.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/local-assets/pdfs/The_Truth_About_Aggression__Dominance_dogs.pdf


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## Charliethree

Seona - Suggest working on a solid 'Leave it' and 'Drop it' cue, to prevent her from picking up 'forbidden' items on walks. Start with low value items, rewarding her for 'leaving it' and work up to higher value items, practicing to where she can walk past a treat or food bowl on the floor, and leave it on cue. Then take the training 'on the road' to help her generalize it to the 'real' world.
I will hold comment on her jumping at and biting you, a consult with a good trainer would be most helpful to you. There are a number of reasons a pup might do this, (over excitement, frustration, or stress/anxiety, lack of self control) and there can also be other contributing factors that may trigger this behavior. However, I do not believe that corrections are helpful in resolving behavioral issues, they may stop the behavior, but do nothing to resolve the underlying issues that may be causing the dog to behave inappropriately.

Though I don't condone removing a pup's dish once the pup has been given his bowl to eat, (adding a tasty morsel to the dish is the method I use and has worked very well for me) it is advice given to many puppy owners, and many have success with this. But, if the pup is already feeling insecure/uncomfortable with a person around/near his food bowl, (tenses up, stops eating or eats faster, tucks the tail, holding his head still over the bowl) removing the bowl risks teaching the pup that he was 'right' to be afraid of losing his food. The person has ignored his 'warning signals' and is, indeed, a threat to his food (survival)- risking escalation in 'guarding' behavior (he may growl or bite) the next time someone is near his bowl.

Dog to dog resource guarding is natural, instinctive, 'appropriate' behavior (in the dog world)- 'sharing' does not come naturally to them, the dog who 'has' is allowed to 'keep' (by 'dog rules') until he chooses to give it up. Conflicts arise when the dog who 'wants' has ignored the 'warning signals' the dog who 'has' has been displaying. More often than not dog to dog 'guarding' situations will resolve themselves without ending in an altercation. But in a situation where it seems the dog who 'wants' is not going to 'back off', and you feel you need to intervene, the dog that 'wants' should be interrupted (with a noise to interrupt his focus on the other dog) then called away and redirected to something else.


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## Leslie B

Seona said:


> Fantastic post, I knew this from day 1 with my puppy.
> 
> I have a 6 month golden with resource guarding issues.
> I have already written a post and received lots of valuable information, regarding teaching the puppy to trade.
> The reason I came on to this forum was that I lacked the information on how to tackle the situation, and where I'm living it's very hard to get a trainer who deal with this problem.
> 
> I have had 3 Goldens and never experienced this problem.
> 
> My puppy from day 1 wolfed down her food, as if she was afraid she was never going to see another meal.
> This stopped and you can now remove her bowl and make her wait, or put your hand in her bowl and she will lick you. I have taught her to wait while I put a treat on her paw and she will only eat it when I give it to her.
> 
> She has no issue over her toys, bones, food.
> The issue lies with things she finds in the garden or on a walk. Be has a fixation on dirt, leaves, birds, stones, tissue etc.
> The majority of the time, I can trade with her and get her to drop it, by giving her a treat and praising her. Others I cannot, and she makes it known, she will snarl, growl and then swallow what she has, regardless if I offer chicken, meat, you name it. This really is frustrating as sometimes I'm worried if the item may be dangerous to her.
> 
> Only last week, we were on a walk and she stopped to eat something, I didn't ask her trade, just tugged her to come on, instinctively she jumped up, and bit me, right through my coat, breaking the skin.
> My question here is how should I have dealt with the situation? I went into shock and within 2 seconds she was back her to happy self. I didn't correct her as I was in shock. As I didn't correct her, I'm worried she doesn't know this behaviour is not acceptable, and may later do it again to someone else.
> Any suggestions on if it does happen, what should I do, would really help. Or how can I prevent this.
> Is she too old now undo the makes I've made?
> 
> Thank you
> 
> 
> Seona


Young dogs often do not know how big and strong they are. They don't know that their teeth can hurt us. Dogs will wrestle and grab each other in ways that don't leave a mark on each other - but would tear our skin and leave deep bruises. At 6 months old I suspect that your pup did not realize how bad she hurt you. She was just saying "Rats, I really wanted that - I am mad that you made me leave it behind".

The only way to teach that a behavior is unacceptable is to set her up for a repeat performance and correct her when she goes to object to being asked to leave the goodie. Put food out in the yard and practice walking past it with the command you want for her to leave it. If she goes for you - you will give her a sharp correction with the leash and a VERY strong verbal correction. Praise when she obeys and give an even better reward. Repeat until you are confident that she will leave anything behind.


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## anvita

this is really helpful..my 1 year dog is showing kind of similar behavior except its not for food but for things he randomly picks up while outside.like stones and stuff..what should be don in this scenario?


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## pb2b

DanaRuns said:


> I generally don't trade, as one of my hard and fast rules in raising a puppy is that a human can take anything a human wants from the puppy, at any time, no matter what.
> 
> I work on this from Day 1 with every puppy, whether they express resource guarding or not. It's prophylactic, so that the puppy doesn't develop resource guarding. All puppies have to know that I can take whatever I want from them at any time. It's not a negotiation, and it's not a trade. It's an absolute rule and fact of the puppy's life, and this lesson is necessary for development of a well-behaved adult dog.
> 
> As with anything, your mileage may vary.



Wow DanaRuns! This is the most helpful post I have ever read about this issue - seriously. If you know of any videos (or would be willing to post one of you), demonstrating this, I would be forever grateful. I have copied and pasted your post into my doggie notes, but actually seeing it in action would be invaluable. Regardless, thank you!




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## Anon-2130948gsoni

This a very useful thread, thank you all for really good information.

For me, I do think it may be a different situation if you're dealing with a puppy you've been working with since the beginning and say, a rescue, especially since you don't know what kind of experiences that dog may have had.

The dogs I've raised from puppies, including my wiggy Aussie, I can and will take anything away from them and they know it. My rescues, especially those that were underfed, are shy, have incomplete histories, or were tie-out dogs, I didn't press the issue until we'd worked on "leave it" for a very long time and had established a very strong bond. Those dogs I did start out with trading.

I also have a policy with all of them that if it's prize enough to be a butt over, even to the other dogs, you're never getting another one! 

But that's much easier to control when it's a rawhide or squeaky toy we're talking about, not a stick or a rock!


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## sylvangold

*Honey is resource guarding!*

Ive had dogs for many years and have puppy walked for guide dogs for the blind.It has come as a shock to find my adorable 8 month old golden has this problem.She first growled when I moved her rawhide chew when she was about 3 months old,no more rawhides!
Since then she has guarded things she finds in the garden,sticks,stones even her poo! I was bagging up tree prunnings ,went to pick up the one she had and I had the growl,lip curled and air snap.
Recently a friend she knows and loves innocently tried to take a leafy sharp stick from her,she growled,snarled and snapped at him.I am seriously worried now as I just don't know when she is going to react this way.What can I do?!
(This is my first post,hope its in the right place)


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## Gratitude14

Any help on puppy biting hands would be appreciated. We just got our 8 wk old pup last week & both of us have hands that look like we are living with a mountain lion! I've tried the loud ouch and replacing my hand with a chew toy. The loud "no bite" doesn't work either. I try to cuddle him & all he wants to do is taste my hands?


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## JimboGG

I make my 4 month old puppy wait before he gets his food bowl, yet he just recently start to growl when I'd hold the bowl. When it comes to pig ears, cow tracheas, and bully sticks... he will guard it intensely. He's so calm and nice normally, but it is the opposite when he has a treat.


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## ktaylor320

Hey guys! 
So, I think I am having a similar issue. Rex will go to the off leash dog park, find a toy, part of a ball, you name it, and immediately decide that it is HIS. He has gotten to the point where he will growl and bark about other dogs getting close, and when I try to come and correct, he picks up his "insert item here" and plays keep away, and won't let me near him, so I can't trade or tell him to leave it.

Any ideas on how to correct?


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## bixx

Amber has growled at my hand a few times when she had something in her mouth that she shouldn't have and knows i'm going to take it away from her. Since I started doing an exchange with her, the growling has stopped. I have a treat in my hand to give her and she gets it the moment she drops the object. 

Hope this method helps.


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## Charliethree

We need to keep in mind that guarding behaviors can surface in any dog, at any age. We should remind ourselves not to get too comfortable with the fact that our dog has not guarded from us, they can and will if they have something of high enough value, they would rather not give up. My seven year old girl had never guarded anything from me, not her food bowl, not her toys, not the branches that she so loved to chew, I gave her a raw bone, something of extremely high value to her, and she stopped me in my tracks when I approached her. Her head hung motionless over the bone, I could see the tension in her body, and 'whale eye' as she 'silently' warned me away. Had I not been paying attention and reached to take the bone, as I would have a stick or a toy, which she would reliably 'trade' for, I would have put her in a position of escalating to a growl, snap or bite. Instead I walked away, gave her a little more time with the bone, returned with some high value treats, tossed them on the floor, so that she needed to move away from the bone to eat them. When she did, I picked up the bone, waited until she was done the treats, and then gave her back the bone. After a couple of repetitions, I gave her large handful of treats, while I picked up the bone and put it away. I do still give her the bones, but remind myself that it is something of very high value to her, so I need to mind my 'manners' (behave appropriately), respect her desire to keep it, so that I do not make her feel that she needs to guard it from me.

We can minimize the risk of causing our dogs to feel the need to guard, by teaching them to 'Trade', by paying attention to their body language, they cannot speak, but they are trying to communicate with us, take the time to learn what they are 'saying'. By giving them their food bowl, allowing them to eat in peace, and adding more good stuff, helping them understand that they can trust us. By respecting the reality that they have wants, needs, desires, and emotional lives that we need to pay attention to.


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## Carolynobo

the pup exhibits "aggressive" resource guarding behavior like growling or snapping, I deal with it very aggressively, right away, with the kind of dominance they understand (nonviolent, of course, with posturing, sounds, etc.), and I repeat it with toys and anything the puppy wants, so that the puppy knows that

Would you mind elaborating on this further? Our nine month old was great until we left her with another family who had three dogs for 9 days. I have her a bone last night after making her wait for it and when I touched her back (which wouldn't have been a problem before) she growled in a way she wouldn't have done. Thank you.


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## Charliethree

Carolynobo said:


> the pup exhibits "aggressive" resource guarding behavior like growling or snapping, I deal with it very aggressively, right away, with the kind of dominance they understand (nonviolent, of course, with posturing, sounds, etc.), and I repeat it with toys and anything the puppy wants, so that the puppy knows that
> 
> Would you mind elaborating on this further? Our nine month old was great until we left her with another family who had three dogs for 9 days. I have her a bone last night after making her wait for it and when I touched her back (which wouldn't have been a problem before) she growled in a way she wouldn't have done. Thank you.


Perhaps she has learned through experience, from the caretaker, or just being with the other dogs that she needs to 'try harder' if she is wants to keep what she has? That if she 'guards' (protects her 'right' as a dog, possession is 100% in the dog world, to keep what she has, a dog with good social skills understands this without question) she will not lose what she has . Perhaps she has learned well, what you have taught her, that you are a 'threat', you will steal what she has, and she has now reached the point where she is feeling threatened 'enough' to request that you do not do that anymore. Through experience she has learned that it is useless to give those silent warnings, that other dogs would heed, to you- tension in the body, whale eye, lip licking, turning the head away, freezing with the head over the item, are all signals to another dog that they should stay away, that she intends to keep what she has. If those signals are ignored, the dog may not display them, or if the intruder, the threat persists, the 'guarder' is forced to 'get louder' and growl, (which we should never ignore) if that doesn't work, they may escalate to a snap or bite.
We can 'teach' our dogs to resource guard by taking/stealing/forcing them to give up, through what they perceive as 'aggressive' /threatening behavior of our own. We can teach our dogs to voluntarily surrender an item to us, by teaching them to 'Trade' - that when they give up an item they get 'more' something of higher value that is rewarding to them, and more often than not, will get the item back, working with their natural instincts to repeat behaviors that are rewarding to them, and building their trust in us that we will not 'steal' from them.

A dog's growl is a warning, it is not a 'threat', telling us, firstly we missed or ignore the early warning signals, that the dog is uncomfortable, anxious or afraid of or with what is going on or what we are doing. The appropriate response to a growl (on our part) is to stop what we are doing, give the dog some space, and work to figure out how to change how our dog feels (create positive associations with) about how we are interacting with them.

Suggest acquiring the book: 'Mine' by Jean Donaldson, which can shed some light on why dogs resource guard, and provide some guidance in helping you, help your dog. And/or enlisting the help and guidance of a reward based, positive reinforcement trainer who has a solid foundation in dog behavior who can help you work with her.


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## NGolden

Are there any books/articles that have more about how to teach a dog to stop resource guarding (Except "Mine")?


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## gdgllymissmolly

*Resource Guarding against the cat?*

Dublin is a sweet 15 week old. I've worked on trading her for things since day 1 and never had an issue with resource guarding. Only this week have I noticed that it has started. When she has a teething ring and the cat jumps on the floor anywhere in the living room even when she's not even close to her, Dublin has growled and barked and today jumped after her.

It has happened only once before when the cat went near the empty food bowl which I now remove after she eats to be safe.

Any thoughts on how to deal with this with another animal?


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## glenhaven504

I have a 20 month male. He is coming along pretty well but does have some issues. He will guard but this has declined over the months. He is a great trader and that has helped quite a bit. Does anyone notice their dog's personality or behavior change when the three little grand kids come over for an event like Christmas. All of the excitement seems to promote guarding and food scavenging.WE held off the presents until after we ate. My dog seemed to do a lot of pacing throughout the evening. Any suggestions.

Also what to do with the initial burst of excitement when the little ones come for a visit. Usually lasts a couple of minutes and then he is calm. I have been using place for this and the ringing of the doorbell. He has been getting better, but frustrating. Maturing seems to have a positive effect.

Thoughts anyone?

Steve


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## Aislinn

gdgllymissmolly said:


> Dublin is a sweet 15 week old. I've worked on trading her for things since day 1 and never had an issue with resource guarding. Only this week have I noticed that it has started. When she has a teething ring and the cat jumps on the floor anywhere in the living room even when she's not even close to her, Dublin has growled and barked and today jumped after her.
> 
> It has happened only once before when the cat went near the empty food bowl which I now remove after she eats to be safe.
> 
> Any thoughts on how to deal with this with another animal?



My dogs are all crate trained. They eat in their crates. Once they are given their food they are left alone. Their crates are 'their rooms' their safety zone where no one bothers them. If they pick up a toy and don't want to share, they'll walk into their crate and settle down with it.


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