Most of the time he’s loving and sweet, BUT…
If you get between him and his favorite toy, person, food or sleeping spot… EVERYTHING CHANGES. Growling, snarling, barking, lunging.
If this sounds familiar, your dog may have an issue with resource guarding. You might have also heard this called “object guarding”, “territorial aggression”, “possession aggression”, “food aggression”, “dominance”, “jealousy” or “being an a-hole.”
This is something that can be treated with a rather high success rate, but it takes more than simply yelling “no.” With some dogs, resource guarding resembles paranoia — for some reason they think that everyone is out to get their stuff. I have seen dogs charge across the room to guard a clump of dirt from another dog that had ZERO interest in the dirt, and was pretty confused as to why his pal was suddenly snarling at him.
While some guarding is obvious — kid dropped steak on the floor, dog did not want to give it back — other triggers can be less clear. (Like the dirt hoarder mentioned above.) It’s important to remember that value is the eye of the beholder. While animal-based products are the most likely to be guarded, pretty much anything the dogs sees as a valued possession can lead to inappropriate guarding behavior.
What we need to go is change how the dog views these things and how he views other encroaching on his space.
Patricia McConnell goes deeper into the science:
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/resource-guarding-treatment-and-prevention
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/resource-guarding-dog-to-dog
What other training is useful?
– Teaching the dog “Leave it”, “Drop it”, “Trade” and “Off” are essential, as “challenging” a resource guarder by taking items from them can worsen the issue and get people bit.
– Teach the dog to ask politely for things. They need to learn that pushiness and growling are not the way to get attention or prized resources. This can be as simple as having the dog sit before getting attention, food, or access to where he wants to go.
– I know it can be flattering to feel like your dog is “protecting” you, but this is not something you want to encourage. This is especially true with a recently rescued dog. Here is an interesting read from an exasperated rescue operator on this issue. This is something to address when it first to show up.
On to questions:
A growl is a warning signal and simply getting rid of the growl will not stop the problem — it just results in a dog who goes from zero to bite without warning. When that happens, the dog has usually run out of chances.
Should I frequently take items away from my dog so that he knows everything is mine?
This risk with this approach is that the dog can learn “people approaching” = “my stuff will be stolen.” And while the dog may learn to never challenge Dad, the same won’t hold for the nephew he barely knows. A large percentage of guarding incidents/bites do not involve the primary handler, so treatment needs to involve more than the “strong leadership” of a single person.
If your goal is to encourage deference in your dog, better approaches are the “Say Please” protocol discussed above, hand feeding, cycling toys, or teaching behaviors like “Trade”, “Leave it” and “Drop” as well as impulse control behaviors like “Stay”, “Wait” and “Settle” on a mat.
This sounds really complicated and I’m nervous I won’t read the signals right. Can I have a trainer do the work for me?
Resource guarders are good candidates for both board and train and day training. The subsequent management and followup will be much easier if a strong foundation has been put into place. There are no magic fixes, but there are accelerated pathways. A good trainer will teach you to read the signals right and set up proper structure in the household.
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