Resource Guarding

WHAT IS RESOURCE GUARDING?

Guarding anything of perceived value, often with aggression.  

Most commonly, dogs will guard their food bowl, toys, and edible items such as rawhides or bones. But dogs can also resource guard space (also called territorial aggression), such as their dog bed, their space on the sofa or floor, or even your bed. Dogs can also resource guard their owners, which is often misconstrued by the owner as being protective. Some dogs will always find something to resource guard, such as a stick, pinecone, or piece of garbage. The more items the dog guards, the harder the problem is to treat, but it's still doable if you're willing to put in the work.

IT’S NORMAL (to an extent)

Resource guarding is essential to the survival of all animals. Animals who protect their food are the animals who survive, and we guard our resources as well. If someone was breaking into our car, we’d chase them off. If someone reached for a piece of my pizza, I’d smack their hand away.

Dogs often guard their belongings from other dogs, and to a certain extent this is okay. Dogs know the rules around possession (if I have it, it’s mine), and only a very foolish dog will try to take something of value from another dog. Dogs are great at spotting the body language that says, “Hey! Back off and don’t even THINK about touching my ball! It’s MINE.” Socially savvy dogs will respect that. Even young puppies learn this from a very young age. It becomes a problem if things escalate beyond a growl or snap, however. When dogs are attacking and causing injury over resources, that’s a problem. Or when a dog will guard something they don’t even have. Oak will growl at the other dogs while I’m eating in an attempt to control the space around me lest any crumbs fall. He is guarding food that he does not even have in his possession. Aggression toward people is never okay and should be addressed immediately.     

CAUSE

There are many reasons a dog may resource guard. Insecure dogs may resource guard. Sometimes it’s an anxiety-based problem.

Sometimes it’s genetic - what a dog was bred for. Guardian breeds, unsurprisingly, are more likely to have issues guarding things - Newfoundlands, Great Pyrenees, Rottweilers, mastiffs, Dobermans, Maremmas, Anatolians, etc. Interestingly, golden retrievers have a higher than average propensity toward resource guarding, and this is also believed to be genetic.

Sometimes owners create resource guarding in their dogs by constantly grabbing things away from them, especially as puppies. This can often be escalated further when the owners do bizarre and aggressive things, like growl in their dog’s face while the dog is eating, alpha rolling their dog, or shocking them with a shock collar when the dog tries to guard something. For some dogs this behavior will stop guarding (though it is NEVER recommended), but for others it will increase it. These dogs are learning they’d better be ready to fight to protect their things because their humans are aggressive and crazy. In the canine world, a growl is generally received graciously, with a submissive and apologetic retreat from the rude almost-thief. For some reason, humans think responding to a growl with increased aggression, essentially challenging the dog to a fight, is the way to go. I’ve had several clients badly bitten doing this and seen dogs euthanized because the owner continually pushed the dog toward increasingly severe aggression.

TRAIN, DON’T PUNISH

Not only is punishment ineffective, studies have shown that it makes aggression worse in the majority of cases. Don't go overboard in trying to be the boss or the alpha. Don't take things away from him just to teach the dog you're the boss. Work with him, not against him.

GROWLING IS GOOD

Growling is a socially acceptable way for dogs to express discomfort and worry. It's how a dog says, "Hey! Knock it off, buddy! I don't want to bite you, but I will if you don't stop!" Growls are a warning. When you punish a dog for growling, you might end up getting the growl to stop. However, you have not stopped the aggression, you've simply taken away your warning.  

SUBTLE WARNING SIGNS

Dogs give lots of warning signs before they ever growl or bite. Unfortunately, most people know little about dog body language and fail to recognize these signs. If these early signs are ignored, the dog will escalate to growling, snapping, or biting. Some common things to watch for include:

• stiffness, tightness, or stillness in the body as someone approaches them while they have a valued item

• putting their paw on the item

• standing over the item, usually with head lowered close to the guarded object

• fast, frantic eating

• hard stare

• whale eye (seeing the whites of the eye), usually accompanied by a stiff body

• taking their item and going away with it, often leaving with it any time you approach  

• turning away from you

• vigilance, inability to settle and relax with it

STANDING OVER OBJECTS

Notice how this Boston is standing over the bone. This is the dog’s way of claiming the object as his and is a warning sign of potential resource guarding.

LOWERED HEAD

This dog has his head lowered to spine level, directly over the bowl. His closed mouth and short lips indicate stress.

PAW ON OBJECT

The dog has his paw on the bone, even though he isn’t chewing on it. His head is slightly lowered over the bone, his mouth his closed, and his ears are back, indicating stress.

TREATMENT

In most cases, this problem is treatable, but there is no quick fix, and it's a potentially serious problem, so you must work with a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT) to get help for your dog before you're dealing with a bite. Punishment will likely worsen the problem, so it's critical that you use only positive training methods. 

HOW LONG?

Each dog is different. Some will learn quickly, in as little as a training session or two, others can take 6 months or longer. Results depend a lot on the dog’s temperament, level of training, and impulse control, as well as the owner’s commitment to training.

MANAGEMENT

While your dog is training, you can manage the situation by keeping high-value items picked up, keeping children away from dogs while they're eating, and crating your dog when they have a chew that they’ll likely guard. 

VET TRIP

If this is a sudden problem, a vet check is in order to ensure it's not a medical problem, such as pain or vision loss, causing the aggression. Because this is sometimes an anxiety issue, a behavior medication for anxiety can also be helpful in reducing resource guarding. Providing your dog with plenty of exercise, mental stimulation, and play will help lower stress levels overall. 

ONSET

In most cases, resource guarding begins in puppyhood but is often overlooked or ignored with owners either not recognizing the severity of the issue or thinking the puppy will outgrow it. They will not outgrow it. The earlier the problem is identified and treated, the better the prognosis will be. It’s not uncommon to see young puppies show early warning signs, and these should not be ignored or chalked up to simple puppy antics. Checking for resource guarding is something I cover in Puppy Class, as well as teaching some preventative behaviors.