With the exception of resource hoarders who become more anxious the more the have, life in paradise is the best way to promote resource security and prevent resource guarding.
However, defending an important possession is not bad, but normal behavior. Here is Bowie appropriately telling the shepherd to leave him alone.
All animals do that. Including us. Our house, car, bank card. For our dogs it’s food, the bone, a toy, a resting place. Loss aversion means that behavior is more intense when one is already in possession of something that matters.
We are also protective of our own bubble—the area around me that is still me and not a neutral zone. Same with dogs. The less a dog trusts, the larger the bubble. In a broader sense, safe space is the house and yard. So-called territorial aggression is the fear of losing that anchor. Especially rescue dogs can be very determined to retain the status quo—home life without strangers and visitors.
Possession aggression and guarding one’s own space is not a dominance or respect issue. It is a trust issue.
Even though possession guarding is normal, with our dogs we have to address it. Dogs who are in defensive mode can be seriously dangerous. Bites are a risk. Although it doesn’t start with a bite. There are a slew of expressions that indicate distress: body blocking the item, eating faster or pausing, tension, direct or side-eyed staring at the perceived opponent, growling, teeth flashing. Stupidly these are often ignored or punished. Frustration and anger accumulates and turns into an explosive rage. You won’t get warnings any longer.
Good news: We can solve this differently. With most dogs in a considerable short period of time. And for good.
How? Read on!
Let’s start with food.
Food is a basic need for survival. Dogs who have experienced scarcity, which can begin at the place where they were born, have a deep-seated insecurity in regards to food. An existential fear. The still popular advice to take food away for a moment to make an ‘alpha’ point furthers distrust. How could it not? If your social partner were to take grub off your plate, would you get used to it because it happens every day? Ot would you become nervous the moment you begin to eat? Nervous or angry. Your dog won’t get used to it either. Plus, the competitive relationship you created in the context of food transfers to other resources. Any possession is a big deal when a experienced that it can vanish at any moment in association to a people (or dogs), and big deal affairs are defended. Even if you give it right back, you are taking it first.
Experiencing pain, like being shocked for growling, adds an extra layer to the felt distress.
The ways to prevent food guarding are obvious:
Provide food predictably out of a food dish twice a day without strings attached. Providing for the basic needs of life is critical for a dog to form a secure attachment to where and with whom he lives. Food toys for enrichment are great, but use treats. Enrichment is only fun when the tummy is full. Otherwise it’s frantic food searching, not enrichment.
Do not take your dog’s food away. Ever.
Release your dog to her food after a few moments of patience, just so that she doesn’t jump up and rips the dish out of your hand. Emphasis is on a few moments. No dog should have to sit, look, spin, shake the right and left paw, before she gets to eat. I admit, perhaps I exaggerated, but my point is that you aren’t feeding your kids only after the completed a skill question. They are hungry, you provide food. Because they are dependents. Do this for your dog as well; she is a dependent, too.
Let your dog eat in peace. Stress-free eating aids digestion. There is no reason why a dog should tolerate being stroked and patted while she eats. None. Children can learn that rule.
What if food guarding already exists? Some second-chance dogs come with it.
Don’t ignore or punish away the warning signals.
Investigate whether your dog could feel hungry despite getting the correct quantity of food twice a day from a bowl. Does the food meet his nutritional requirements? With dogs that can be an individual thing. Are there digestive problems: parasites, gut microbiome out of whack?
Hand feeding is a popular recommendation, but is rarely effective and can, in fact, increase the insecurity. After all, the person still exerts control over every kibble and the non-trusting dog does not experience resource safety. However, depending on the dog’s past experiences, the bowl in itself could be a cue that triggers fear or anger. If, getting rid of the dish and piling the kibble directly on the ground can work.
Remove the dish when it is empty. If your dog is teased by its presence all day, food that finally manifests in it is a big deal. It’s like having the world’s best buttercream torte in a locked class container in front of me. When someone at last gives me the key, I’d be so psyched out that I would snarl at anyone who came near it, especially if I knew there’s not enough to share.
Free feeding can be a fantastic option with dogs who won’t overeat and where there is no competition between other non-human animals in the family. Nothing is better to instil food security than to have food available all the time—dogs rarely defend their water dish exactly for that reason.
If your dog is most concerned about food, have a filled Kong ready when the last kibble is swallowed. That draws the dog away from the bowl, and no more food in it becomes less of a big deal. I had one client who was chill until there were 3-5 morsels left, but then aggressed. In fact left the food dish to drive people away from the whole area. The Kong was the solution.
To recap, when it’s the basic need of life, food, provide it without strings attached and leave your dog in peace. We technically could do this with all other resources as well, but I also want to build trust so that, if I must remove something that could be harmful, that I can do it safely.
We can instil and build that trust with other than food possessions. First, let's play a thought game.
A person you don’t fully trust has access to your bank account and regularly withdraws money. I bet that makes you mighty nervous even if, at the end of the day, you didn’t lose money because it was deposited back by the same person. You are nervous because you learned that this person has the power to remove something of value; that you have no control over it. Now imagine that person, instead of withdrawing money, predictably deposited a 1000 bucks each day. Would that change things? For me would. I would begin to trust.
With your dog this scenario unfolds when you add something of higher value to what he already has. A few days after we adopted Bowie, our border collie who was an adult when we got him, I gave him and Will a knuckle bone. Each dog was on their bed, chewing away, when I passed by on my way to my work station. Even though I curved to signal to Bowie that I would not contest what I had just given him, he growled. I went to the kitchen, cut up five pieces of cheese, tossed them when I passed by again without giving him any other attention, and he never growled at me again. Granted, it’s not such a quick fix with every dog, but that’s the route to go. Let your dog experience that when you approach while he has a possession that he gets to keep it AND gets more. Naturally, when you orchestrate that the possession must be something you don’t have to take away because it is safe for your dog. A filled Kong or raw chicken foot, turkey neck, or ox tail, can work. What you add on has to be of equal, ideally of higher, value: cheese, ham, people pepperoni. When you toss, try to gauge the distance that your dog is aware of your presence but doesn’t feel threatened yet, but the add-on is not contingent on behavior. In other words, even if your dog growls, toss and walk away. I know that this is counterintuitive, but a must to change a dog’s emotional response: from feeling threatened to feeling anticipatory excited because a person approaching announces more and better. Once that foundation is in place, you can get closer and closer, then add treats directly, then exchange—for example a filled Kong for an almost empty one, or a super-yummy filled Kong for a meh one, or a harder-filled Kong for an easier to access Topple that has the same stuff in it.
Rehearse this with every member of the household, including children. With young kids the dog should be safely leashed and the child holding the hand of an adult. Do not allow the child within teeth range until you see loose, anticipatory happy, body language.
Important! Even though you want to practice this there, too, mostly let your dog enjoy his loot in peace. The 90/10 rule is good. Being bothered all the time is still irritating. When I am eating a bowl of ice-cream, a truffle hubby Mike brings me is bonus. Or two, but after walking in and out the fifth time it’d be annoying and I would tell him to buzz off.
What about the dog who is protective of something more arbitrary: her own bubble, a preferred resting place like the couch, a beloved person (or dog)?
The same rule of not confronting a dog who gives warning signals applies. So no petting the dog who doesn’t want to be touched at the moment. In fact, it is common for dogs to seek closeness, body-touching, but not hands on body. Be consistently gentle and patient in your handling and demand that from everyone who interacts with your dog. Consent-driven groomers and veterinarians exit increasingly more. And kick your balanced trainer to the curb. When fear already exists desensitize and counter-condition. Playing hand-target games helps to make hands feel safe because they are part of a fun interaction. Once the association has been made, you can also move a dog playfully, for example over on the couch.
A dog on the sofa who snarls when someone approaches isn’t necessarily guarding the sofa, but wants to be left alone because she is tired or overstimulated. I am absolutely not against dogs on furniture—all ours were, but when they wanted to be left alone I encouraged them to snooze on their own bed. So that we didn’t have to bug them. Every dog should have a safe and cushy get-away-space she can retreat.
That said, it can also be about the sofa or parental bed. Or about the person the dog is hanging out with in that space. Being possessive of their people is common—and I like to distinguish between possessive and protective. Most dogs know that their favorite human isn’t in danger when a family member approaches. Rather, they they claim their person as theirs. Admittedly, kicking the dog off the couch when he growls is intuitive, but from the dog’s point of view confirms that the other’s appearance is “bad news”. Instead, reassure your dog that what he is nervous of losing with the approach of the other is not happening. That, to the contrary, the other predicts more of it: affection, attention, treats. At most, if you also want to let your dog know that you are the one who decides who hangs with you, ask her to “wait”, then go to the family member (person, dog, cat) and bring them into the mix. Super reinforce your dog when they join you—for heeding the “wait” as well as for sharing the space. “Wait”, the taught and rehearsed ‘hold on a moment’ cue, works quite well in that context because it it gives the dog a job. She knows what to do in a situation she isn’t comfortable with at the moment. This general approach also works outside when another dog approaches. At the park of trail it typically isn’t about the person, but about what the dog knows the person carries: the ball or treats. Ignore the incoming pooch completely while paying extra loving attention to yours. Stay connected to who belongs to you. Stranger dogs don’t matter, and with family and friends dogs who do follow a gentle and positive introduction protocol.
There is more aspect I want to discuss: guarding random things the dog managed to pilfer. Often this is a puppy and teenager behavior, but not always. Hence I want to address it here and not in the puppy post.
These dogs typically aren’t possessive of anything else but that shoe, or sock, or tissue, or dish rag. The illegal stuff. The primary reason for the pilfering when the toy box is full of stuff: connection seeking; an attempt to engage the humans; an invitation to play chase. It is innate dog behavior to snatch whatever is in visual view and use it as a prop. In other words, your dog is communicating with you. Unless taught, dogs have no concept of right and wrong props. The value you put on your Blundstone is elusive to them.
What typically happens is that people ignore the pup who plays with his own toy—who quickly is bored with it because he is a pup. Anything within his visual view and reach grabs his attention next, and if happens to be something that belongs to you, he learns that this is what’ll get off the couch. If you chase your dog, so much the better from her point of view. What fun…until you take the prop away because you are annoyed. Game over, back to ignoring. Because the pup doesn’t want the game to be over, he holds on to the item, and increasingly resists your attempt to take it from her. Being smart and not using force but trading the pilfered prop for a treat might also not work. After all, didn’t she get your attention and a treat? She’ll be looking for that same thing again when she wants connection and a treat. Don’t force it out of your dog’s mouth either. Any pressure causes her to clamp down harder and you foster resource guarding each time you succeed taking it from her. And because it is connection seeking, your dog also loses a way to communicate that need when he loses the item he learned prompts your attention. That causes additional distress.
So what are the solutions?
Eliminate the opportunity for your pup and teenager to snatch stuff. Puppy proof the house. Manage with a leash and exercise pen.
Teach your dog a solid “leave”, “wait”, and “drop it”.
Don’t ignore your dog when he brings you a legal toy. Play with him, play chase, make a big deal out of it, trade it for a treat and then play some more. Teach your dog that he gets exactly what he wants and more when he uses anything out of his toy box as a prop. In the beginning, accommodate your dog each time to let him experience that this strategy works. Once the behavior is conditioned, meaning he’ll ignore everything else lying around, use your trained “all-done” cue to signal when you are not available. So, no, you don’t have to be on call all the living-long day for the rest of your dog’s life.
If your dog’s heart is set on something that isn’t necessarily a dog toy but will also not harm him, periodically place it in the toy box. Make it legal so that he doesn’t have to sneak it. For example, most dogs love to shred paper. Provided your dog doesn’t swallow the whole thing, it’s safe.
It your dog did manage to pilfer something and defends it, try to direct her to the toy box, then play and treat and play some more. It’s always back to the toy box.
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