Resource guarding by a dog refers to certain behaviours that the dog uses to control access to an item of value - this value is according to the dog in question.
Resource Guarding is not about control it is about fear and uncertainty. When a dog guards food, toys or people they are not trying to be in charge. They are worried about losing something that matters to them. That fear can come from past experiences, uncertainty or a lack of predictability in their environment. A growl of stiff posture is not disobedience but communication. Your dog is saying I don't feel safe right now.
Instead of working on stopping the behaviour, start by asking what triggers it.
Three different ways that this is done:
Firstly, avoidance and so that's when their dog will run away with an item or position their head and body to maintain control such as hunkering down.
Secondly, rapid ingestion of the item and
Finally, probably the one that causes the most problems which is aggression.
A few facts:
- Dogs with higher levels of impulsivity are more likely to show all three types whereas the more fearful dog will just show aggression.
- Male dogs and mixed breeds are more likely to show aggression than others.
- Teaching dogs to drop items and dropping food into a bowl can decrease resource guarding but taking away a bowl of food which is often something that's taught a lot can actually increase resource guarding.
- Owners are obviously more likely to identify aggression than other behaviour patterns.
Owners who are more experienced with dogs and trainers are significantly better at identifying patterns of behaviour and it's often a misconception that starved and underweight dogs are more likely to resource guard. There's actually zero evidence for this according to research that was done on dogs between 2012 and 2016.
In the world resource guarding is an adaptive survival mechanism so dogs' ancestors and wolves have been shown to display competitive nature to secure food and mates and that has been retained in domestic dogs, some more than others. Resource guarding is an adaptive mechanism to increase survival there are differences however to our dogs ancestors but it does explain an evolutionary basis for resource guarding in dogs however, the intensity and frequency of these behaviours is different which suggests domestication has influenced resource guarding and led to significant differences in canine breed behaviour.
These are shown with hand raised dogs and wolves retrieving a ball more than wolves and if a wolf did they carried it away. Dogs guard a wider variety of items and it's a very multifactorial issue between genetic factors and environmental factor.
Early canine history was marked by resource scarcity which may have led to humans to select dogs that could effectively guard resources. This would ensure that dogs once domesticated could protect their foods and by extension their whole human's food. This play between natural selection, survival of the fittest and artificial selection of human preference of domestication processes may have further embedded resource guarding into dogs but adaptive or not it does certainly create challenges in the modern home where resources are identical and protection is unnecessary.
Feeding methods in early puppy life may also influence resource guarding so there are pros and cons with this such as separate bowls helps monitor food intake but the con is that they may not learn how to share resources and cope with competition.
It has also been found there are significant differences between breeds, dogs used to guarding may have an inherited predisposition for resource guarding but there is not evidence to back this up, other studies show the desirable and undesirable behaviour traits have genetic components but genes have not been found. Dogs that are experiencing pain may feel vulnerable and addressing underlying physiology can solve resource guarding issues.
Resource guarding is multifaceted and a collection of neurobiological and hormonal responses.
A structured approach is often used to manage this to counter condition this behaviour such as that detailed in the excellent book Mine by Jean Donaldson.
Here the trigger is established then the baseline distance is established and desensitisation is worked out with gradual exposure to triggers.
From a distance you then use an approach of counter- conditioning with treats e.g. toss a treat and as the dog becomes comfortable the complexity is added say touching a bowl and so on.
Possessing and parading are in a dog's predatory sequence regardless of the breed - a hypothesis with high resource holding potential is no problem in a house where other dogs don't have the need.
It is important to recognise that resource guarding is a scale and all dogs sit somewhere on that scale where they sit is usually due to a combination of things such as genetics, physiology, personality and experience.
There's possibly three types of motivation for resource guarding and they all present differently:
1. Dogs that are scared stiff when something gets taken away these dogs have usually experienced trauma where they have not had enough
2. Dogs taught such as Gundogs to possess and parade
3. Guarding breeds probably the most common, popping the dog in the kennel or a crate can trigger this on leaving they shake off and are completely normal but they can be defensive dogs and also seek opportunities to defend.
The key question with this is what biological itch needs to be scratched:
- Think of a list of things that you can never take from the dog and spaces that you can't enter,
- Next a list of things that can be taken and
- What are the hours when the incident occurs.
The aim is to seek a pattern. After identifying the pattern it is important to establish what rules you have, what are the non-negotiables and how will you ensure the dog understands. How do you feel about the dog and their behaviour or what actually happens when you try to take the item or when the dog predicts that you are going to do it.
It is important that dogs have a safe space eg a crate or a pen and if they are defensive dogs they will often get worse with muzzles. If the dog is scared or has a predisposition to fear then counting-conditioning by adding food to bowls, hand feeding and avoidance of confrontations, whistle conditioning etc will all help. Also working on cues such as go to crate with speed if guarding food bowls or toys and train to go on a platform or a pen. If guarding food have a safe pattern around feeding use a pen or a raised bed so make sure to work on boundary training.
With regard to food and item guarding, train behaviours on items that the dog doesn't like to guard, a great game is kitchen pickups, also go to bed, put this in a box, stay with item, leave the item and join me.
Remember the value of an item increases the longer it is in possession, the key is to try with 10 green items for every three amber items for every 1 red item and this will depend on the capability of the owner and may need to focus on green items for a while first.
Pattern and repetition is everything in these cases so try and do training in some places but with the same movements.
Essential oils can aid in this behaviour what you use will depend on the motivation but oils can help with calming down to boosting confidence and reducing frustration - all key areas in this challenging situation.
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Please remember: Information shared is for educational purposes and not a substitute for medical or veterinary advice. Always consult with a qualified professional for specific health concerns.