How to Deal with Toy Aggression, Food Aggression, and Resource Guarding
Resource guarding is a natural response
Resource guarding is genetic. It’s important to survival of the species. Some level of resource guarding is natural. It is a natural instinct to be a little protective over something of high value. Obviously this can grow to a level that needs to be addressed, and which I will address here. However, it is good practice to not bother and not let your kids bother your dog when they are enjoying a nice chew or eating their food. You wouldn’t let your kids steal from others and you wouldn’t let others steal from your kids. And if they did, you inflict some sort of repercussion on the perpetrator. Just as you would advocate for your kids, you need to advocate for your dog. They are a living, breathing member of your family that deserves some respect, and those in your home should learn how to treat them. With that said, you don’t want your dog to be on edge every time they have a toy, or are eating, or chewing on something. They shouldn’t be quick to growl at or bite anyone who comes within their proximity. There may be times that the thing they have in their mouth is dangerous to them and you need to get them away from it. Here are some steps to helping your dog overcome their resource anxiety.
Advocate
One of the primary steps to help a resource guarding dog is to help them learn they don’t have to. The resource guarding probably developed because a dog or person got too involved with their resource and they felt the only thing that would protect them is what they did. Teach them they don’t have to do this and you will. If your dog or kid is getting ready to mess with a dog chewing on something or eating something, step in. Teach them you’ll take care of it. Chances are if you are reading this, your dog probably acts aggressive well before this point now, but this is a great way to prevent resource guarding and will always be an important part of the process.
Show them where resource guarding is acceptable (pretend)
As already stated, resource guarding is genetic. If it’s part of who they are, your dog needs to know where it’s acceptable. Dogs with this predisposition tend to benefit most from tug. So play tug! And let them win! If you win all of the time, it won’t be fulfilling! And make sure what they do is what earns the win. Fight them over the toy and when they tug or shake their head, let it go and act like they just beat you! Then try to get it back! And fail more often than not! If you win, act like you want the toy! Don’t just give it back like you never wanted it in the first place. This needs to be a fun, fulfilling interaction for them so it’s easy to let go of the instances where resource guarding is unacceptable. Learn more about play here:
https://www.thetrustedcompanion.com/thetrustedcompanionblog/play-why-its-important-and-how-to-do-it
There will need to be structures to ensure that they always know you are in charge, but that shouldn’t come at the expense of them winning, having fun, and feeling confident. One of those structures is “out”.
Teach “leave it” “drop” or out”
The next step in rehabbing this process is teaching your dog a reliable “out”. This best done through formal training, but this is a way you can try at home. You can use any term here. The word doesn’t matter, so long as you’re consistent in what you say. We want to create a positive association with letting go of something. You can condition the term by following it with the high value reward, but you’ll want to toss that reward on the floor away from you, so your dog begins to expect to have to move for the reward. You’ll say “out” and then toss the reward on the floor without the guarded resource present. This teaches the pup that the term means something good is coming and it is probably coming on the floor. After your dog has a good understanding of this concept, you can layer it into your counterconditioning protocol. Instead of tossing the treat into the food bowl, you’ll stay far enough away so your pup doesn’t feel threatened, and say “out” then tossing the treat somewhere on the ground a small distance away from the resource. It is best to set your dog up for success here and if the resource in question is too high a value for them to want to leave right away, you will most likely need to build the concept with lower value items, like maybe an empty food bowl or a lower value food. When you can say “out” and your dog looks up at you letting go of the food bowl expecting your reward, it is best to apply some previously conditioned marker training if your dog understands and values a marker like a word or a clicker. A marker is any word or sound you’ve conditioned them to believing precedes food. We use “break” and “yes”. Marking them looking up at you after you say “out” and then following the marker with tossing food on the ground begins to turn counterconditioning into operant conditioning or obedience.
Obedience and changing the relationship
The other pieces to this puzzle are obedience commands. We definitely will need a recall command like “come” or “here” and then a stationary command of some kind, I prefer “place”. You’ll want this to be well understood before using in this situation, because if you create stress while your dog doesn’t understand what you’re asking of them, you could develop a negative association with the resource, turning them off of it completely. These commands need to work every time you ask them, so they will need to be well proofed and practiced in normal situations before using them in resource guarding situations. You can use a leash with a prong collar or slip lead, or you can use an electronic collar if that’s a communication your dog understands well. Practice recalling your dog from a food bowl with only a tiny amount of food in it, and graduate to more and more food and then maybe low value toys to higher value toys. You want your dog getting used to leaving a resource to pay attention to you, and you want to be successful, increasing the difficulty as your dog is ready. Once well understood, we can put it all together by beginning with the “out” followed by reward on the ground, and then you will recall your dog to be stationary which is most easily accomplished with “place”, rewarding them again in the stationary position. Then, with the dog a safe distance away, you can retrieve the resource, pay your dog a reward again after they see you pick up the resource , or you can release your dog from their command to finish consuming their resource or to practice leaving it again. Yes, it seems like a lot of protocol. However, positive emotions come from positive experiences and clear communication. Setting yourself and your dog up for success and having lots of successful repetitions is what helps your dog reach those positive associations with you around their resource.
You need to be the controller of the resources
Finally, you will continue to struggle if you can’t change your relationship with your pup. If they feel in charge and like the leader in your home, they will feel responsible for interpreting what is a threat and then responsible for handling that threat on their own. Obedience training is a huge component in developing this new relationship, but so are how resources are distributed at home. If your dog’s toys and chews are always out, they will always feel like they need to acquire and protect them. However, if you are the one who brings the resource into the environment as well as the one who removes it (using the protocol described above), then your pup will begin to learn that those resources aren’t theirs to guard anyway. Don’t let them be pushy for things like couch space and affection. There is certainly nothing wrong with your dog on the couch or you giving your dog affection, but if they feel like it’s up to them to control it or acquire it, you could be facilitating your problem. Don’t pet them if they demand it. Push them off the couch if they get possessive over it. Don’t let them control these resources either. It’s not a fast process, but we can certainly be successful!
