Resource Guarding in a puppy.

This is a place to gain some understanding of dog behavior and to assist people in training their dogs and dealing with common behavior problems, regardless of the method(s) used. This can cover the spectrum from non-aversive to traditional methods of dog training. There are many ways to train a dog. Please avoid aggressive responses, and counter ideas and opinions with which you don't agree with friendly and helpful advice. Please refrain from submitting posts that promote off-topic discussions. Keep in mind that you may be receiving advice from other dog owners and lovers... not professionals. If you have a major problem, always seek the advice of a trainer or behaviorist!

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Ava, NTD

Miss Ava Roo

Barked: Mon May 7, '12 6:58pm PST


	We just got a 4 month old husky pup today - kind of a rescue situation. And, well, she has some serious resource guarding issues. She seemed great, but a little bit shy in the house, until I put water in her crate and Ava stood close to the bowl. She absolutely flipped out - snarling, growling, snapping through the bars. Her old owner then told me that she didn't like her food/toys messed with I'm not sure what to do. I've never dealt with resource guarding before and she gets absolutely scary about it. I know this is only her first evening home (she's been here for about 2 hours), but this really worries me and I'm considering returning her because she's so crazy. I googled some about how to break her of it, but if anyone here knows, I'd appreciate it. Right now, if she snarls/lunges/gets defensive, I cover the crate. After a few minutes, I'll uncover it. Just a few minutes before I put the water bowl in with her, her and Ava were playing through the crate door, so I'm not sure what to do.

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Trigger

*Blackdog*

Barked: Mon May 7, '12 7:17pm PST


	That's tough stuff in a puppy so young. Would you be willing to get professional help? I completely understand your concern with keeping her. That would make me super nervous too...for what it's worth sounds like you're doing the right thing keeping them separated until you sort out what to do. If she's going bonkers over water who knows what else might set her off in a similar way. If you choose not to keep her and she's coming from a rescue type situation perhaps consider rehoming her to someone who would keep her as an only pet instead of returning her to whoever landed her in the position she is in today.

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Kodiak

The cheese ninja

Barked: Mon May 7, '12 7:18pm PST


	You might try this book: http://www.amazon.com/Mine-Practical-Guide-Resource-Guarding/dp/0970 562942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336443088&sr=1-1 it's available in print and on Kindle. It's a really straightforward, step by step approach on how to give her positive associations with people messing with her food. There's one exercise where you teach her that interruptions when she's eating means she's about to get a treat. First you throw it into her bowl, and as she catches on, you work up to being able to stick your fingers in her bowl without her getting upset.

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Ava, NTD

Miss Ava Roo

Barked: Mon May 7, '12 7:36pm PST


	I plan on calling my trainer and asking her tomorrow, but I'm just so bummed about this. And she doesn't care if its me or Ava who gets near her bowl - she flips out the same for either one of us. Poor Ava though, she thinks that Miya is playing with her and doesn't seem to understand that she needs to stop. Right now she's still fairly nervous in her new home, so I don't want to be too harsh on her. If I do end up letting her go, it will have to be back to the same owner. They're great and everything, I just don't know how this would have started. She was the only pet in the household and their only kid was 20. They have a friend who also has a husky and mentioned that he could maybe take her if I didn't work out. Aggression towards Ava is something that I am not willing to risk though.

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Tanuk, CGC

Sherpa Tanuk of- Everest

Barked: Mon May 7, '12 8:30pm PST


	Wowzers. Tanuk didn't even start that young and he's pretty darn determined in his guarding. The problem we've encountered is that no books address dog-dog resource guarding. If anything they'll have a quick blurb. The human-dog guarding you can totally lessen and work on, but dog related guarding is super hard if not impossible to work on. Your best bet will be to teach her a rock solid "leave it" command and extreme supervision. For probably the rest of her life no toys, food, or anything that could be construed as a resource, can be left out. Constant management will be necessary, and yes a behaviorist consultation would be beneficial. It's always possible she'll grow more comfortable with you and your pack over time, but she might never be able to go out and socialize with other dogs safely. She'll basically need to be treated as an aggressive dog, even if that isn't truly the issue P.S. My guess would be that it started partly by her breeding, possibly by being taken from mom and sibs too young, and also from a lack of socializing and sharing with other dogs from the get go. Northern breeds have a somewhat higher incidence of resource guarding anyway. i.e. Like the kid in kindergarten who never went to preschool and so doesn't know how to share. Edited by author Mon May 7, '12 8:34pm PST

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Ava, NTD

Miss Ava Roo

Barked: Mon May 7, '12 9:15pm PST


	Thanks for being so honest, Tanuk. Thats what I was afraid of with her I'm hoping that she's just being bad about it because she feels like she needs to assert herself in a new house. I mean, she played with Ava and they got along so well, even after the incidents over the water bowl. I took the bowl out of her crate and made her eat dinner from my hand, kibble by kibble, so we didn't have any issues there either. Even after playing a ton, Ava and her drank water from the fountain at the same time, side by side. I can't wrap my head around it. I don't really know as far as the breeding and such goes. I know that she didn't come from a very reputable breeder, but I think she was old enough to leave mom at the time because I remember when Miya came in for her first puppy visit. She's also had way too many puppy boosters, so is it possible that that could be part of it? edit - Ava just went over to her crate and glanced at her and Miya flipped. She was dead asleep, jumped up and started snarling and lunging. There's not even anything in her crate for her to be guarding. Sigh. I'm afraid she's gonna have to go back Edited by author Mon May 7, '12 9:22pm PST

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Trigger

*Blackdog*

Barked: Tue May 8, '12 5:41am PST


	I don't buy the whole vaccine thing...but I realize that's become a near religion to some. You have to research for yourself and decide what's valid. If her parents were wonky that's plenty enough to do it. Doesn't matter how short or long she spends with her littermates if their genetics are off. Additionally, if they were just allowed to be out of control in general that likely didn't help. Add a smidge of not being socialized with anyone outside of the owners and their older son and bada bing, the perfect storm. I wouldn't hesitate to return her if you know she's got another home waiting that might be a better fit. If her reactions are that knee jerk I'd be terrified for not just Ava's safety but yours as well.

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Member Since
01/04/2009

Barked: Tue May 8, '12 5:54am PST


	First off, I'm really glad no one is giving you crap for wanting to rehome this puppy. Rehoming is a personal decision and one that you're obviously not making lightly. My only real caveat to that is just make sure goes to a place that's aware of her behavior and is willing to help her work on it. I'm sure you would do that, anyway. I would not rehome her with someone who has any other pets or kids, just because you don't want someone coming back to you and blaming you for any injuries. Some dogs are just not wired right, and I agree with the other posters that resource guarding is something that is a lifelong committment between you and the dog. She is a liability, especially if there are kids involved. No toddler is going to have the wherewithall to think, "Oh, Miya has resource guarding problems. Maybe I shouldn't put my hand in her kibble." :-P I have heard of doggie prozac helping in situations like this, but I don't know how much it costs or whether you're willing to do that. ETA- is she only aggressive in her crate? I've heard of some dogs that specifically have issues with guarding when it related to their crate. Maybe if you were able to find a way to test that theory, you would have a better idea of what you were working with. Edited by author Tue May 8, '12 5:58am PST

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Tyler

Whippy- The- Whipador

Barked: Tue May 8, '12 6:12am PST


	So it sounds like she's guarding her crate rather than the resources inside it? You said she drank out of the water fountain perfectly fine with Ava outside the crate? I know people love using crates and all that, but if that is the main cause of her issues, could you do away with it? I'm not saying that that would cure her issues, but it's a way of dealing with that particular issue with simple management. Of course, you'd need to know for sure that it is her actual crate she's guarding or whether it's her personal space in general. If she's guarding her personal space i would have imagined she'd have shown similar behaviour outside the crate too. Did she come from a kennel situation? I know that when i spent a short time working in a rescue center, some dogs would show the exact same behaviour when people/dogs walked by their kennel. Yet get them out of that environment and they was totally different. Kennel environments can make dogs go stir crazy with boredom and all sorts of behaviour issues due to being contained can develop. If it was me i'd definitely be getting the advice of a really good behaviourist before making any snap decisions in rehoming her. The guarding issues could be as a result of her early upbringing and with the right kind of training she could become a totally different dog. Who's to know whether the issues are life long or not? If all else fails, and you get advice from behaviourists that you know is out of your depth or whatever, at least you gave her a chance

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Kodiak

The cheese ninja

Barked: Tue May 8, '12 7:20am PST


	I unfortunately have to second Tanuk's advice that dog-dog guarding is really hard to deal with and not covered on any book or website I could find. We had a very similar situation- a foster dog who resource guarded food, water, treats, us, his crate, and the front door. Kodiak had shown absolutely no resource guarding prior to that. He loved having a friend over to play in the yard, and as soon as he dropped a ball or treat he considered it fair game for someone else to pick up. The foster's reactions were quick and very intense- if we put the dogs on opposite ends of the yard and gave each a pig ear, he would drop his and sprint for Kodiak's. He would quickly escalate to attacking Kody over resources, or, after we started making sure there were none to fight over, in the middle of play with no warnings that we or the behaviorist could pick up on. We separated them for a day and then tried again. Half an hour of nice reciprocal play with both dogs rolling over, etc, then a sudden attack. He also ignored Kody's warning growls and got way too locked in to respond to a leave it command. We found that this wasn't a situation that we could handle- things were getting more and more tense, both dogs were in physical danger, and Kody started becoming more aggressive and resource guarding out of necessity. It made me really sad to take him back- he was super affectionate and wonderful with me, but it had to be done. So, I understand too well the hard decision you're faced with.

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