Does your dog get defensive or respond aggressively when you or someone else tries to interfere with his access to an item, resource, or individual? That’s called resource guarding, and it needs to be addressed with care.
Resource guarding occurs when a dog shows defensive body language with subtle and/or overt aggressive displays in response to another dog or person approaching something that is of value to him. The dog might stand stiffly over an item, use his body to block access to something, or show behaviors such as growling, snarling, snapping, lunging, or biting if someone gets too close. A dog might guard toys, food, locations, household objects, other dogs, or people.
Resource guarding is stressful for dogs and their guardians. Many families that live with dogs that guard walk on eggshells around them, trying to avoid difficult encounters should their dogs find resources they don’t want anyone to get near.
Why do dogs guard things?
Guarding behavior has an evolutionary survival element. For example, the dog with primary access to food has nutritional advantage over others. Even though thousands of years of domestication has changed dogs in many ways, the instinct to guard and protect something of value can remain deeply rooted. After all, guarding food means survival and guarding a mate means you have reproductive advantage over the competition.
Resource guarding is further influenced by a number of environmental and situational factors, including genetics, early experiences, or lack of appropriate care at some point in the dog’s life. It is not always possible to determine why a dog guards a resource, but there are effective ways to treat this serious behavior.
What does resource guarding look like?
Many of us know it when we see it; the dog with a bone that stands over it with his head held low, body tense at your approach. Some dogs remain quiet and still, staring intensely at the threat of approach, others growl, bare teeth, lunge, or air snap (also known as 'air bite'). These behaviors are used to warn a perceived threat to move away from the resource being guarded. Some dogs (after their warning signals have been ignored) resort to snapping or biting in order to remove the threat.
Here is a list of sample behaviors or warning signals a dog guarding a resource might display:
- When a threat approaches the dog may stop, freeze or display slow body movements.
- Intense staring and/or wide eyes.
- Lip licking, flicking the tongue out, or nervous agitated facial movements.
- Hovering over or near the item, sometimes with the head low and eyes focused on the threat.
- Low or deep growling, baring of teeth, lunging forward, or air snapping.
- Biting comes in many forms. As soon as teeth make contact this is considered a bite, whether the dog causes injury or not. Some dogs will bite and nick the skin, causing a bruise, or will puncture the skin. Some dogs bite and quickly release (I call this a "snake bite"). More serious and dangerous bites can occur when the dog continuously bites and/or holds on without releasing.
- Muzzle punching. The dog will either gently or forcefully bump his nose/muzzle into the threat. This is known as a closed mouth bite and in some cases can be a very serious warning sign.
- Fixated or intensely focused on a threat. Typically, the dog’s eyes might be glued to the threat and will be aware of their every movement. Some dogs might follow the threat around in an intense way when guarding. This occurs when a dog feels very concerned or conflicted by the presence of the perceived threat.
- Body Blocking or Body Positioning. This typically silent behavior is intentionally used by dogs to block access to their valued resource. For example, you might find a dog stands over or in between their resource and other people or dogs. If a dog is guarding a human, say their guardian, you may find that they lean against that person, usually while staring at the threat. Or they may position themselves between the threat and the resource.
- Some dogs will vigilantly look at the threat, then look back at the resource, then again at the threat, and again at the resource. This is often a silent behavior that is easily missed.
How do I stop my dog guarding resources?
If your dog is aggressively protecting resources, it is crucial to get the help of a qualified, positive trainer to help you, as this can be a very dangerous behavior to tackle without professional help.
Resource guarding is a complex behavior and a trainer’s guidance is needed to advise on effective management and behavior modification strategies needed for a safe resolution. A positive trainer will:
- Work on changing how your dog feels about events and situations that usually trigger resource guarding behavior.
- Give you workable management strategies to ensure your dog is not able to practice the behavior.
- Develop a plan that teaches your dog to respond to cues, addresses underlying stress and anxiety, and teaches your dog to feel calm and positive about someone approaching a resource.
- Ensure that everyone remains safe throughout the teaching process.
Safety First - Avoid Confrontation
Caution! Do not yell at or become confrontational with a dog that is guarding a resource. Your dog is not trying to assert his dominance over you. Confrontation increases competition and is likely to cause your dog to guard the contested resource even more.
- Listen to what your dog is saying to you and back away. When he is out of the room and you have safe access to the resource he has been guarding, remove it and do not let your dog have access to it again. This ensures he cannot practice the behavior.
- Do not touch your dog or take the item away from him. If your dog took your shoe, sock, or another item that might be yours, do not try and take it back. This could teach your dog to protect the item even more or run away from you when you approach.
- Walk away from the item instead, and implement some kind of distraction like ringing the doorbell as if someone is there, go to where his leash is and say 'let's go for a walk.' Only when there is a safe barrier between the dog and the object should you go and pick it up once he has dropped it. If your dog dropped the item at your promise of a walk but it wasn't on the schedule, take him for a little one anyway so you follow up on your promise.
- Prevent access to any objects your dog likes to guard and take a course on canine body language like the How to Speak Dog course, which will help you better understand what your dog is saying to you.
Bottom line
A dog that guards resources is potentially dangerous and if the behavior goes unchecked, it is likely to get worse. Get help sooner than later, to set everyone up for safety and success.
Find a qualified positive dog trainer and behavior professional who works in your area or can help you remotely.
