Friendly Guarding Behavior

[Erica]

Maybe "non-aggressive" is a better descriptor, but I've found this amusing and interesting and thought I'd share...

The room I feed Delta in has two sliding doors which Opal can, given luck, open. Sometimes she manages to open them while Delta's food is down. When this happens, he runs up to her, tail wagging quickly and mid-range (neither high nor low), ears back, tap-tap-tap quickly stepping feet never still, wiggly loose curved body and approach, and he tries to detain her by licking her face and placing his body in front of hers. (This gives me time to get up and then turn her around and send her out of the room.) His greetings when she comes in and his food is not on the ground are different - he walks up to her, sniffs, gives a little tail wag, then disengages or picks up a toy.

It is his version of guarding his food, despite how many "friendly" signals he's throwing off. I don't let Opal get close to his food, so I don't see what his next steps would be, but that original meeting in that circumstance is not what you'd expect with the description "resource guarding from another dog."

Alternate interpretations, explanations, etc are definitely welcome if this explanation is off!

[JudyN]

Bless him

Your description puts me in mind of a teenager whose parents have come home early from a holiday, and he's greeting them effusively and trying to keep them on the doorstep while panicking about the comatose friends in the front room, the empty bottles, filthy kitchen, someone's underwear hanging from the lampshade... So no hostility, but still a level of stress, I suppose.

[Nettle]

That is a perceptive interpretation, Erica, and a timely reminder for doggie owners that we don't have to let a situation progress from polite intervention to raging aggression before we deal with it. Dogs are naturally polite and much of the aggression we see only results because people didn't do what you are doing, and dealing with the situation before it becomes explosive. I can't begin to tell you the number of people who tell me versions of one of their dogs takes another dog's food, and never seem to realise they can actually do something about it.

Love the teenage son analogy, JudyN - anyone would think you'd had some in the home

[JudyN]

Love the teenage son analogy, JudyN - anyone would think you'd had some in the home

Or remembering my own youth...