Woofology - Trainers Academy, LLC - Dog Training and DayCare

 

 


Think your dog may be aggressive? Click here.

 

 
Resource Guarding


This section provides information about the behavior known as resource guarding (characterized by a dog's defensive reaction i.e., stiffening,gobbling food/eating faster, growling, snarling, snapping) when in possession of a valued resource such as food, toys, chews, sleep/resting space, etc. It is a very common (and normal!) behavior in both adult dogs, and puppies. 


Watch  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nyt2WLdQGs&feature=em-subs_digest  for a prevention exercise to get started on with your puppy (or adult dog)

Teaching your pup (or an adult dog) to drop objects (happily!) on cue: 

Sticking your hands in your pup or dog's food bowl while he's eating...is this really a good idea?  We say no!  Read  https://paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/i-stuck-my-hand-in-his-bowl-when-he-was-a-puppy/ to learn why we never recommend it. The article includes suggestions for a far better way to teach your pup or dog to feel good when you're around their food bowl!


Help for a Resource Guarding Puppy (this is a Q&A regarding a 6 month old dog, but the same applies for an older/adult dog) 

The Q&A at the following link discusses growling from a dog when her human tries to pet her while she's eating. This Tip also discusses tension brewing between the dogs who live together in the home (also resource-related); http://woofology.info/troublebrewing.html

**For more information about dog/dog resource guarding (also a very common problem!) click Housemate Problems

If you're thinking about adopting siblings/2 pups at once, or have already done it! The article at the link below discusses adopting 2 pups at the same time and discusses how to do things properly, so both your puppies develop in a healthy way:  http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/13_1/features/Problems-Adopting-Two-Puppies-At-Once_16190-1.html?pg=3.

A great book to consider for you and your new pup: Control Unleashed; The Puppy Program  By Leslie McDevitt