Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Share your favorite training tips, ideas and methods with other Positively members!

Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost

Post Reply
bainster1
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:27 am

Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by bainster1 »

Hi folks, just new to the forum but I hope somebody might have some experience of this and maybe have some advice.
We have a male cross (apparently German Shepard and Springer Spaniel) , about 1 year 3 months old.
We got him about 4 or 5 months ago from a local family who said they didn't have the time to look after him anymore.
We visited the house to have a look and thought he seemed lovely and playful, a little bigger than I imagined but we were confident our 10 year old daughter would get along with him just fine. He also wasnt neutered.
Once he'd spent time with us in the house though it became clear he required help with what I later found was called resource guarding. This applies to bones, toys, socks, bottle lids or anywhere near what has become HIS area of the kitchen ( although the aggressive body language and growling can happen anywhere in the house).
After being advised that resource guarding was why he acted like that I decided to make things as un-threatening as possible and leave him to it hoping that might work but the problem continued to the point where he seemed to think anyone entering the kitchen wanted what was his or if he heard someone coming down the stairs he immediately darted into the kitchen and acted defensive.
We had meetings with a Dog Behaviourist/ trainer but in all honesty I feel this was time and money wasted as , although I checked with him before agreeing, he didn't seem to grasp we required help with Bailey's aggression to us in the home and instead insisted we'd be better off going to his training centre where he showed us how to train him to walk nicely.
I felt a bit let down as he assured me he had experience of this problem behaviour and I really thought we could find a way round it.
Anyway, last week Bailey went a step further and bit my hand.
I had thought we were playing and I reached for his squeaky ball toy and he snapped.
This has left me feeling that if neutering doesn't help then the only option I have is rehoming him as I can't have him doing that to my daughter or anyone else for that matter.
Were all walking on eggshells and feeling down and it just seems like Bailey's unhappy or defensive all the time so I wouldn't say he's enjoying it either.
Sorry about the long post, I realise i may be clutching at straws here but I honestly don't know what to do and any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,
Robert
Ari_RR
Posts: 2037
Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2011 10:07 am
Location: USA
Contact:

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by Ari_RR »

Hi there
Does he exhibit this defensive/guarding behavior only in "his" area of the k**chen, or in other areas of the house too?
Fundog
Posts: 3874
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:31 am
Location: A little gambling town in the high desert

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by Fundog »

Okay. First off, neutering will not have any bearing on this situation, and at the present moment could only undermine your dog's self-confidence (lack of testosterone and all that) and make him feel more insecure than he already does. So just wait on that until you have a confident, secure dog, if you plan to have him neutered eventually.

Next, this has reached a bit of a critical level, so never allow your daughter to interact with your dog unsupervised at all until this is all sorted. If he is between your daughter and wherever it is she is trying to get to, you will need to lure the dog away from that spot so she can pass safely. I will give you advice on the next paragraph how to do this.

So... let's say the dog is in the kitchen, and you need to get in there. You will need to lure him out of the kitchen. What motivates him? Food? Toys? Keep a favorite toy or a package of very yummy treats in every room-- out of his reach, but accessible to you, and even within your daughter's reach. When you need to get into where the dog is, grab a handful of treats and hold out your hand, calling him to you. Give him one to reward him for coming to you, then scatter the rest behind you. While he is busy getting those treats, you can safely go into the kitchen. It would be a good idea to get a couple of baby gates, and use those to block the dog off in certain rooms, if your house plan allows it. For example, while the dog is getting the treats you just scattered, you can close the baby gate behind you as you go into the kitchen, so the dog cannot follow on your heels and nip you for what he thinks is an attempt to get something he left in the kitchen. Bring him another "peace offering" when you come back, a reward for not chasing after and biting you.

This method is also helpful for getting something from him he should not have. Lure him away from whatever it is, then go pick up the item he dropped. If he brings the item with him, rather than leaving it behind, that is HUGE. You can now offer him something of higher value and trade him for the item you want him to give up. Never just take it from him. Either lure him away from what he has, or trade him for something better.

At meal times, practice casually walking past him from a safe distance while he eats, and toss an extra yummy tidbit his way, to land near him and his bowl. He will learn that you are there to add, not take away. You can do the same when he is enjoying his toy-- casually toss him a treat and walk away. Later, as he begins to relax at your presence in his space, you can try to do "trades" with him, trading whatever he has for something more awesome. This will not happen for a few weeks yet, so don't rush into it. Just focus on getting him to be comfortable with you and your family members entering his space for now. Go slowly, don't rush. That's very important.

You need to really pay attention to body language, and learn when he would welcome being stroked and when to keep your distance. Growling is communication, biting happens when nobody listens to the other cues a dog gives about feeling uncomfortable, so definitely welcome the growling and heed it.

I hope this helps. I'm sure Nettle, Emmabeth, or Erica will have more to add later.
If an opportunity comes to you in life, say yes first, even if you don't know how to do it.
katej215
Posts: 302
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:05 am

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by katej215 »

Hi there

I am not an expert, but also have been working through issues with a very resource guardy dog of my own which we too have only had for 5 months ...

just to add to what Fundog has already said...

first things first...5 months is VERY early days in terms of him settling in with you and feeling at home...way too early for him to trust you..

your dog is basically terrified that you are going to take away the thing he finds valuable.. even if this seems ridiculous to us, its true. As a starting point I would honestly give him absolutely no reason to guard. That means putting his toys away some where out of the way for now, feeding him somewhere where he absolutely does not get disturbed, (somewhere where you close the door and he is left in peace till he has finished eating) and also managing things carefully so he dosent get the opportunity to steal things he shouldn't have.

Guarding is incredibly stressful for him, and stress builds quickly and dissipates slowly, so giving him the time and space to allow his stress levels to come down is important. We think we're doing a nice thing for our dog letting him have toys around etc, but honestly they can end up being a real source of anxiety for guardy dogs .. and this is not forever.

I would be working on impulse control games with him and trading games , ie he gives you something in return for something much better. Does he have a toy he dosent really like that much ..which you can exchange for a high value reward (Meat /cheese)? I would only bring this toy out in training situations and not leave leave this lying around and at this stage it is important not to use a toy that he really likes. Fun training games (check out the links on this site) will also really help him start to build a bond with you which will be key in you moving things forward.

Fundog mentioned body language, honestly this is so important, and this has really helped me understand when my dog is feeling uncomfortable with a situation. find out about calming signals in dogs and once you have a starting point of what to look for, watch how he reacts to things , other dogs, you approaching etc etc. The more you study him the more you will see and learn. I actually have found that turning my body away, looking away, has helped my dog start to understand me, ie: i am not a threat when walking past him in his bed.

Finally i would consider looking for another behaviourist. I think you are right, working with you in your home is really important in helping you tackle this, particularly as you mention having a child, I really think having someone on the ground to guide and advise is important.
there is no magic solution, certainly not neutering. You are going to need to be prepared for the long haul.

I'm sure the experts will be along soon with amazing advice.
bainster1
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:27 am

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by bainster1 »

Hi, thanks for the quick replies.
Having always had a Dog I thought I had a decent basic understanding of how to train or understand them but this has shown me how little I really know when it comes down to it.
For instance I didn't consider that after 5 months he may not be used to us yet and also in regards to having him neutered I had thought that had a chance of making a difference.
I'll take the advice about shelving that idea just now then.
Yes, his behaviour seems mainly confined to the kitchen. If he hears someone coming down the stairs or he's grabbed a sock or something he immediately goes there.
To be honest he's a bit funny about going upstairs into other rooms, we've only got the living room and the kitchen on the ground and he never strays far from there.
We've had to rearrange the kitchen a couple of times as he was taking to going under tables or chairs and snarling if we tried to move them.
The 'trading for treats' idea is a good one, however when he's in a real guarding mood he simply won't move no matter what I put in front of him. Even going so far as to turn his head away if I take it over to him. Maybe I need to stick with this though.
It's strange because add I'm typing this he's bringing me his rope toy into the living room, chasing it and bringing it back. I just can't figure out why other times his behaviour is totally different.
I'm going to read over all your advice again and try to put it into practice.
Thank you so much for taking time to help.
JudyN
Posts: 7018
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Dorset, UK
Contact:

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by JudyN »

You've had some great advice already, but you might find some more useful info here: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=18074 Definitely look for a new behaviourist - teaching your dog to walk nicely on lead will have NO bearing on this issue at all (and neither will any approach based on the incorrect and dangerous belief that if the dog sees you as 'leader' he will let you take things in his possession). Be aware that trading doesn't work for some dogs - in their view, if you are offering a lamb steak in exchange for a sock, you must REALLY want that sock and they're REALLY going to have to fight you for it.... :roll: Focus not on how to get stuff off him, but on making him feeling relaxed when he has something. He is more at risk from the consequences of you trying to get a cooked chicken bone or a kitchen knife off him than he is from the bone or the knife.

Think very carefully about whether you can keep your daughter safe. It may be nigh on impossible for you to rehome your dog now he has bitten (and you could get into legal trouble if he should do so in a new home) which leaves you with very limited options. But the unexpected can happen, such as your dog finding a dead squirrel in the garden without you realising, leaving it there, and then attacking someone when they head towards the back door. I've lived with a severe resource guarder (far, far better now but still needs a lot of management) and no one should criticise you if you put your daughter's safety first.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Fundog
Posts: 3874
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:31 am
Location: A little gambling town in the high desert

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by Fundog »

Are you the only member of the household he brings stuff to? Is his rope toy the only object he will "share" with you? If the answers to either one of these questions is "yes," then it has to do with trust, and identifying you as the person he is most comfortable with and trusts the most. Keep building on that, and don't try to rush his relationship with anyone else just yet. If the answer is "not really," then it is still a trust thing. He wants to trust you, and he is making an effort, but just is not fully comfortable all of the time. It is much the same with people, if you think about it. We start to get close, want to get closer, but then we get nervous and back off.

Just so you know where I'm coming from: I have a rescued dog-- we've had her for approximately seven years now-- who was extremely resource guardy, and to some extent still resource guards, but at a level we can manage and tolerate. (We also have another dog we have to protect from this dog's issues at times). She had come from a very bad situation, having been abandoned and left to die with no food or water, so naturally, she was especially food aggressive.

Though she did settle in more quickly than your dog did, the work we put in to help her was intense. Though she now has come to love and appreciate all of us, she has bonded most closely to me, and secondly to my husband. She has growled, even snarked occasionally to both of our sons and even my husband, but never to me. Ever. This signifies the level of deep trust she has placed in me, and the solidarity of our relationship. Or maybe I just am more adept at reading her body language. :wink:

Regardless, be patient and persevere. You will eventually develop a very satisfying and rewarding relationship with this dog. :)
If an opportunity comes to you in life, say yes first, even if you don't know how to do it.
bainster1
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:27 am

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by bainster1 »

Fundog wrote:Are you the only member of the household he brings stuff to? Is his rope toy the only object he will "share" with you? If the answers to either one of these questions is "yes," then it has to do with trust, and identifying you as the person he is most comfortable with and trusts the most. Keep building on that, and don't try to rush his relationship with anyone else just yet. If the answer is "not really," then it is still a trust thing. He wants to trust you, and he is making an effort, but just is not fully comfortable all of the time. It is much the same with people, if you think about it. We start to get close, want to get closer, but then we get nervous and back off.

Just so you know where I'm coming from: I have a rescued dog-- we've had her for approximately seven years now-- who was extremely resource guardy, and to some extent still resource guards, but at a level we can manage and tolerate. (We also have another dog we have to protect from this dog's issues at times). She had come from a very bad situation, having been abandoned and left to die with no food or water, so naturally, she was especially food aggressive.

Though she did settle in more quickly than your dog did, the work we put in to help her was intense. Though she now has come to love and appreciate all of us, she has bonded most closely to me, and secondly to my husband. She has growled, even snarked occasionally to both of our sons and even my husband, but never to me. Ever. This signifies the level of deep trust she has placed in me, and the solidarity of our relationship. Or maybe I just am more adept at reading her body language. :wink:

Regardless, be patient and persevere. You will eventually develop a very satisfying and rewarding relationship with this dog. :)
Hi, in general he doesn't really bring us anything. When he's in a playful mood, as he is just now, it's either the rope toy or his squeaky ball he brings to anybody nearby that will play :) .
Sometimes when I try to coax him to play though he doesn't respond and instead he just looks at you with that defensive look on his face, so usually we wait until he comes to us with toys. I just can't figure out what triggers his 'moods' though as on the occasions he wants to play we haven't done anything different that I know of.
I'm just terrified really as I'm willing to persevere and I don't want to give him up but I'd never forgive myself if he bit anybody else.
User avatar
Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by Nettle »

A bit more information please :)

Tell us about his typical day in as much detail as you can.
What is he like when exercised, and how do you exercise him?
Do you leave food down all the time for him?
Is food left out in the kitchen?
What happens at family mealtimes? Do you eat at a table or on your laps or does the family 'graze' and walk about when eating?
Where is his bed?
Where does he prefer to sleep?
Have you done any training with him, and if so what and how?
Are there any other animals/birds/reptiles in the home?

Note there will be NO criticisms - just need to know more.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
bainster1
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:27 am

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by bainster1 »

[quote="Nettle"]A bit more information please :)

Tell us about his typical day in as much detail as you can.
What is he like when exercised, and how do you exercise him?
Do you leave food down all the time for him?
Is food left out in the k**chen?
What happens at family mealtimes? Do you eat at a table or on your laps or does the family 'graze' and walk about when eating?
Where is his bed?
Where does he prefer to sleep?
Have you done any training with him, and if so what and how?
Are there any other animals/birds/reptiles in the home?

Note there will be NO criticisms - just need to know more.

Hello, I'll try and give as much info as I can.
We have a huge field just behind our house and that's usually where he's exercised for roughly half an hour twice a day. In between this we have a good sized garden that he gets the run of if he likes.
He loves to just run crazy so when he's over in the field he's belting about the whole time. It's strange when he comes in though because again he heads straight for the kitchen and growls if you go near him.
He's fed twice a day, morning and night, two normal tins of dog food and some dry Iams each time. He eats this in the kitchen and clears the bowl straight away, the only other food hell get is scraps or treats.
We just eat in the living room, he's a bit of a moocher like most dogs but we try to give him the scraps in his bowl at the end instead of giving him bits as we go along (I'm not very strict with him with this).
His bed is in the kitchen, we did just have a couple of blankets in the corner but after a few days of having him we had to start using the large cage given to us by previous owners ( didn't like using it and the dog hates it but he was chewing kitchen up at night and the wife was going mental :) .
At night he sleeps in the kitchen, I tried to get him to sleep in our room upstairs a few times but he really didn't want to. During the day hell nap in the living room but if he hears us moving on the couch or coming into the room he has a habit of daring into the Corner of the kitchen again.
Training wise, apart from the basics of sit, leave etc then not much. We've tried things suggested like a halter for walking and basic treat games but I've not spent a lot of time on training if I'm honest. Most of that time has been spent trying to solve the aggression problem first but I've obviously not had much joy.
We have a cat, apart from annoying the cat by sniffing, barking or wanting to play he's not that bothered although twice when he's guarding he has snarled when the cat got too close.
Actually as I'm typing this at work my wife texted saying her cousin popped round with her daughter and that Bailey started growling at the daughter when all she did is look at him.
It sounds pathetic but I feel like crying with all this, it'll break my heart to re-home him but what if something happens.
Sorry for the long post, I've tried to go into detail and thank you so much for trying to help.
katej215
Posts: 302
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:05 am

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by katej215 »

bainster1 wrote:The 'trading for treats' idea is a good one, however when he's in a real guarding mood he simply won't move no matter what I put in front of him. Even going so far as to turn his head away if I take it over to him. Maybe I need to stick with this though.
Hey there

I just wanted to clarify a point specifically on trading games. This needs to be done initially only in a training environment, with an object that is not valuable to the dog and some high value rewards. This will be the start of rewiring his brain to understand that giving things up to you is a good thing. Please do not try trading games when your dog is actually already guarding something (unless of course he is guarding something you consider could harm him) , but then its not a game, its a damage limitation exercise!! . Trading when is he is guarding is likely to be counter productive, as he is likely going to be too stressed to learn anything, you'll likely be confirming to him that you are going to take the very thing he is protecting, and thirdly, you are on the backfoot here and not able to guarantee a positive outcome for either of you.

With my guardy dog, I initially removed all toys from around the house and then as part of a standard training session, where the dog is relaxed and enjoying working for food, i introduced a wooden object (something this particular dog had no interest in). With positive R training I taught him to pick up the object and put it in my hand (note, I was not taking it from the dog, he was freely shoving it in my hand for massive food rewards). I have now moved on to a ball, a hard rubber one that he is not that keen on, and asking him to place it in my hand. I am not reaching out for the article, or moving my body towards the dog in any way, he is moving towards me and firmly placing the ball in my hand (which is by my side, not reaching out) . Believe me, if I was using a squeaky tennis ball at this stage, he would be off to the furthest corner of the room and guarding like crazy....so we still have a long way to go but I have seen positive changes. I now have some toys around the house (no squeaky tennis balls tho!!) and when he wants a game of tuggie and he's prancing around with his toy, I give him the cue 'in my hand' and he will come and shove the thing at me for a game, I will play for 30 secs then let go and move away, and if he follows me and keeps shoving the toy at me I know he is comfortable and we are in a safe place. Hope that makes sense.

Anyway hopefully Nettle and others will be back soon with lots of great advice :D
Fundog
Posts: 3874
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:31 am
Location: A little gambling town in the high desert

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by Fundog »

Establishing a relationship with this dog is very important. The best way to do that is proper walks in addition to belting around the property on his own. For a dog of his size and energy level, 30 minutes a day is not enough anyway. So if you can get a 30 minute leash walk in addition to the 30 minutes of off-lead time, that would be a good thing.

Another thing that will help to tire and relax him and help with bonding is some mental games and puzzles. Check out the "Exercise the Mind" thread in the Health, Diet, and Exercise section. There are a lot of homemade puzzles you can create with stuff you have around the house. The neat thing is, these puzzles do require supervision and are meant to be interactive, which will help further with relationship building and association of good things happening when you are nearby.

Do get some baby gates, for the protection of the children. Instruct all children and guests who come over to ignore the dog and pretend he is not there-- that includes not looking at him. Meanwhile, you are tossing treats one right after the other to the dog for seeing the people and not growling.

Aside from this-- and the work is going to be intense-- it is possible that you are simply out of your league with this dog's level of anxiety. Naturally you do need to put the safety of everyone who is in your home or comes into your home first. If you don't feel you can adequately keep everyone safe, then re-homing the dog to an experience rehabilitator would be best.
If an opportunity comes to you in life, say yes first, even if you don't know how to do it.
User avatar
Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: Aggressive resource guarding.... Don't want to re-home but has become a big problem.

Post by Nettle »

Some great advice here - I hope you are still with us :) I can offer a little more.

Stop feeding him in the kitchen. The kitchen has become too valuable to him. It is his 'safe place' his food-place, his go-to default. So feed him outside. Create a sheltered area for rainy days.

Put some beds in other parts of the home where you don't mind him being. Thus he can choose to be with the family rather than hide in his bed in the kitchen.

The taking out for walks and playing mind games is vital. At the moment, he is amusing himself. By becoming a more valuable part of his world, you become more valuable to him. At the moment the family is ancilliary to his needs (he thinks). When you (you are the person who should walk him, with or without any other family members) become the person who interacts with him on a level where you fulfil his exercise needs, he will begin to find courage and stability. Those are the foundations of a dog wanting to be obedient. The caveat is that he might try to guard you as well - this can be managed quite easily and may never happen but you have to be aware that the potential exists. Walks should be calm, and interaction in the home must be calm. No rough-and-tumble, shouting and running games.

And as Fundog says - you may simply be out of your depth, and it is no shame to rehome with someone who can handle this level of insecurity in a dog. In an ideal world, you could work with an experienced professional, but finding the right one is difficult because there are just too many of the pack-dominant-alpha type trainers about, and that is the last thing this dog needs. It would tip him over the edge. IF you can find a more empathetic trainer to work with that would be such a help to you, but no help is better than the wrong help.

Keep your child safe above all.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Post Reply