How to stop resource guarding?

In puppies, early training is one of the best ways to prevent resource guarding, because you can teach them they don’t need to worry about losing a specific item. The ‘drop it’ command – and the similar command ‘leave it’ – is a particularly important one for puppies and older dogs alike. To teach a dog to ‘drop it’: When your dog is playing with a toy they love, offer them something they like even better. This could be a high-value food reward or another toy. Show your dog the new item, a little distance away from the original item. Encourage them to come over and investigate. Pick up the original item. During initial training sessions, return the original item after a minute or so. This helps your dog learn that they can share without stress. Good manners around food are also important. Don’t allow your dog to share your food, and treat their own food with similar respect: it’s theirs, and shouldn’t be taken off them unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you notice resource guarding behaviours in your dog, there’s plenty you can do to encourage them to become more relaxed around items they perceive as high value. It’s fine, and can be helpful, to remove favourite items such as toys if they’re causing problems, with a view to potentially reintroducing them later – but this shouldn’t be done without good reason, and never as a way to punish. A qualified behaviourist can work with you to get to the root of the issue for your dog and provide tailored advice – but while you’re working on reducing their possessive behaviours, make sure your family and visitors know not to approach your dog when they’re near their preferred resource, whether that’s food, treats or a specific location. If you’re a multi-pet household, you may notice your dogs resource guarding from one another, or from other pets such as cats. Feed your animals in separate areas of the house (or if that’s not possible, at different times), from different bowls. If toys are becoming a battleground, manage access by handing them out for specific play sessions, then tidying them away. Ensure each animal has their own comfortable area to rest, with a favourite blanket or bed – and if they’re competing over a particular space, it’s best to block access unless you’re there to supervise. If you’re noticing this behaviour, try to gradually reduce the amount of time your dog spends one-on-one with that person, and encourage them to spend more time with other members of the household. A clinical behaviourist will be able to advise you on the best approach to meet your dog’s specific needs.

If your dog shows guarding behaviours, leave them well alone when they are enjoying food or playing with toys by themselves. The best way to prevent dogs from resource guarding is to teach them from the start that there is no need to worry about losing anything they find valuable. This is a very important lesson and means they can always relax and enjoy the things they love without having to worry. Always swap the dog's item for something else, being consistent and always swapping items will help dogs learn to share without being worried. If you need to take something from your dog, swap it for something else that your dog considers to be equally or even more valuable. You could drop several treats on the ground near your dog, so they have to leave the item to go and eat them. Then you can calmly pick up the item while they’re enjoying themselves. You can teach your dog to drop and swap during fun training sessions. When your dog is playing with a toy, get something they like even better, offer this to your dog a little distance away from what they already have. Your dog should be enticed to drop what they have and come to get the new item, you can then pick up the original item. Where you can during training sessions, return your dog’s first item to them soon after you have swapped it, this will help them to learn that letting go of something they love can be a positive experience. Once your dog has the hang of this, you can add a cue word ‘drop’, over time, your dog should associate the word ‘drop’ with letting go of their toy, and you can ask them to ‘drop’ what they have in exchange for a tasty treat.

To start, you will need some treats. The trick is to teach your dog that a person approaching is a positive thing. As your dog is finishing a meal, approach close to where they are eating, drop some treats near to their food bowl and calmly move away. Allow your dog to eat the treats and then return to finishing what is in their bowl. Repeat this a couple of times over a few days, always moving away and allowing your dog to eat the treats. As your dog starts to anticipate the treats, you can then approach while they are eating and drop the treats slightly closer to their food bowl before moving away. Once they’re comfortable with you dropping the treats closer, you can step it up again. At mealtimes, keep back some of their dry food. Wait until they have finished their food then approach and add another small handful to their bowl. Let them finish it completely then approach again and add a little more. Make sure all family members and everyone who visits know never to approach or interrupt your dog if they are eating or have a chew. As best as possible, hide or remove any items that your dog may steal and guard so that you do not have to confront your dog. If you do have to remove something from them, make sure it’s an exchange rather than just taking something away. When you are trying to exchange items with your dog, put down some food or treats a good distance away so that your dog has to move. Another helpful tip is to teach your dog the “leave it” cue. This will allow you to ask your dog to leave whatever they are guarding in a safe and positive way.

A big part of stopping a dog from resource guarding is to help them learn that when humans approach when they have the object or place, that we are not going to take it. I think the dog’s resource guarding problem was greatly influenced, if not directly caused, by the guardian pulling and taking things away from the dog. In cases like this, literally the worst thing you can do is take the item away forcefully, but thats exactly what many people do when their dog guards things. I showed them a simple drop it exercise that I added into a simple game of fetch. By holding out a treat when Loumi returned with the toy, then marking and treating her after she dropped it, his guardians can develop a great drop it cue while they play / exercise thier dog. I strongly recommeneded they stop taking things away from him forcefully and instead teach him to drop things like this so his guardians can trade the item for something safe and appropriate for him to chew. A better way to stop dogs from guarding things is to first develop a strong drop cue and help the dog see the arrival of the person as a good thing and not a threat to loose something. Since this happened many times for Loumi, his guardians will need to practice the drop it cue with low value item toys and completely stop forcfully taking things away from Loumi. When Loumi has something she isnt supposed to have, after having him drop it, they need to trade the item they take away with something of equal or greater value.