# Resource Guarding



## rhian_keo

Hi everyone!  First time on this forum I'm really sorry if I have posted in the wrong topic  I wondered if anyone has any advice around Resource Guarding please?

We have seen a behaviourist about this (and will be again) but I was really looking to see if anyone else has this issue, how you deal with it etc because it's really starting to affect everyday life and I just don't know what we're doing wrong.

We have 1 cockapoo - Rufus and he's almost a year old  (he's absolutely gorgeous and we love him to pieces, will have to post a photo of him!) But around 7 months old he started guarding objects (mainly things like socks, tissues, random plastic bits picked up on walks etc) we had a behaviourist come to the house who taught us the importance of always trading objects up for something more valuable which we have stuck to religiously but he's moved onto guarding random places on the sofa, stairs, and me! 

The thing that worries me most is that no one believes me when I say he does this - he looks like a teddy bear, is cuddly like a teddy bear 98% of the time and absolutely loves anyone who will stop and make a fuss of him... but when he turns he really is nasty and he's taken me by surprise on a couple of occasions so now I can't trust him with strangers because I can't predict what he might decide to guard if that makes sense?

Does anyone else have this issue, what have you done to help it? We've never had a dog before so if there's any help you can give it would be much appreciated! Thanks xx


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## Tinman

I have it with my 4 year old human son!! 
But joking aide, it sounds like an issue for you, I'm not in a position to give you advise - maybe Kendal may be on here and better advise you.
I know my dog (Ralph) will steal things and run off with them when he wants attention, knowing I will trade for a tiny piece of cheese, he'll steal socks, scarfs, gloves, tshirts, tea towels, pens etc etc.
On times when I have reprimanded him for example, begging or stealing food from my 4 year old - he has turned around and mouthed my hand whilst I'm grabbing his collar, but never bitten or growled. He goes straight in the crate for this behaviour & ignored.
This behaviour sound like it started in his teenage years, have you had him snipped??


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## rhian_keo

Thanks for replying  not yet - he'll be having the snip in a couple of weeks I am hoping that might help a bit! 

Apart from his issues, he is such a loving dog, he just wants to be with us all the time (as I am typing he is lying on my feet!) I just wish we could get to the bottom of this. The behaviourist said we may have (not intentionally) reinforced the guarding of objects because we've taken things like tissues off of him without trading up when he was small (just didn't want him to swallow it!) or it could be he was taken away from his Mum too soon and is insecure... it's just frustrating not knowing how to help! xx


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## Tinman

rhian_keo said:


> Thanks for replying  not yet - he'll be having the snip in a couple of weeks I am hoping that might help a bit!
> 
> Apart from his issues, he is such a loving dog, he just wants to be with us all the time (as I am typing he is lying on my feet!) I just wish we could get to the bottom of this. The behaviourist said we may have (not intentionally) reinforced the guarding of objects because we've taken things like tissues off of him without trading up when he was small (just didn't want him to swallow it!) or it could be he was taken away from his Mum too soon and is insecure... it's just frustrating not knowing how to help! xx


Well we took tissues socks etc from Ralph, except for the 2 he swallowed!!  (toddlers trainer socks. So only small § thankfully sicked back up!) & you can't trade up every time - or I think that becomes a game & issue in itself (please not I am NO expert) 
How old was he when he left mum?
He may be different after his op, not so much testosterone & tissue guarding urges!! 
Keep us updated, & post picks of your rufus if you can x


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## Marzi

I'm sure that the behaviourist has given you good advice.
I'd advise that you enroll in some obedience, rally o, agility or fly ball classes with him. Do training with him at home with lots of positive reinforcement for good behaviour. Check out trick training. Up the amount of exercise he has, even when it is wet or cold. The more you do with him then the stronger your relationship will be and the more confident you will become and the more he will respect you.
I would also be inclined to make sure that he only has access to toys when you are interacting with him and you are in control of the game.
Make him work for rewards - only fuss him when he comes to your call, if he comes up to you turn away from him, once he has backed away call him to you and stroke him. Don't let him just jump on the furniture. It is your space. Use a house line so you can lead him off if he jumps up.
Make sure no one is playing in a teasing way with him. My teenage kids can be guilty of pestering the dogs...


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## fairlie

Great dog name! All the advice above sounds good. I am not an expert but I will add my two cents just to make things muddier.  

My Rufus is insanely smart, I know it is a cockapoo thing. He quickly learned to misbehave because he liked the treat that came when he was rewarded for the good behaviour following the redirect. He used it as a strategy to get treats. I can't help but wonder if always exchanging his "loot" with a higher value item might be counter intuitive with a cockapoo? I like what Marzi said about keeping him busy and playing games that will help you to regain control. Good luck with him!


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## JasperBlack

Sorry to hear of the problems you are having with Rufus. The whole bonding advice through play and training is a great advice and so important in building a relationship with your dog and also teaching them about boundaries and their place in the pack! It sounds to me that Rufus possibly sees himself as pack leade at the momentr. Our poo Jasper hit his teenage years quite late at about 14 months and I had to work hard with him to reinforce boundaries. He hasn't been neutered either, I questioned my decision at this point but now He has calmed down again. As for toys, as a puppy jasper only had a small selection of toys out at a time. I would be in control of the others and bring them out at playtime, he has them now in a toy box and goes and gets what he wants now, he doesn't like me moving and tidying his stuff but he's not possessive, funny little man. I'm sure if you persevere with Rufus you will help him through this and build on you bond with him along the way, plus neutering should calm him down too x


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## DB1

I imagine the behaviourist talked about the whole 'pack leader' thing, although some people don't like it named that but I do know some dogs are just more dominant and likely to challenge you over things, one thing Dudley has never done is show aggression over food or items but that is something we worked hard on from day one, however I would say he was quite feisty as a pup and didn't always like being told what to do (still doesn't at times) and would stand and bark at me sometimes when I gave commands, like a teenager pushing boundary's I suppose, that was one of the reasons I did get him neutered, he calmed down over the following months but maybe he would have done anyway. Like Rufus he is a big cuddly bear 99.9% of the time but I think the fact that he is not allowed upstairs and on furniture has helped him know where he is in the pecking order, I did look into the 'nothing in life is free' style dog training (google it), and although couldn't bring myself to follow the strict version I did start asking him to sit before letting him out for a wee or before doing anything he was asking for, as Marzi said also don't play with him or give attention when he is asking as it soon becomes a demand from them (Dudley still barks at us occasionally if he thinks we are not paying him enough attention), but you can call him to you for a fuss as often as you like so its not all about ignoring them, oh and when you come in ignore him for a while then call him to you for a fuss when he has given up pestering. The actual guarding I have not experienced and would only know the swapping for higher value training that your behaviourist suggested, although as fairlie says he could possibly learn to show the bad behaviour to then be rewarded with a higher treat, good luck, let us know how you get on.


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## RangerC

That's what I love about this forum - there is always help and and sympathy out there. 

Barney guards bones (until he has lost interest) and I generally leave him to it although I will go over and stroke him to let him know that I am not afraid but will not take it off him. In his case, there is nothing higher value that I can trade so I assert my position in the pack in other ways!

I Havn't got any advice for you Rhian but am learning from the replies to your question! I do sympathise with you, it must be very worrying that Rufus guards random things but everything I have read here makes sense. I just wanted to say though that it doesn't sound to me as if you are doing anything wrong - you have taken advice from a behaviourist and asking advice here. You will get there with training and love.


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## rhian_keo

Thanks everyone for all your replies 

We reckon he must have been under 5 weeks - I'm not sure how long they're meant to stay with their Mums for though. We're definitely hoping that less testosterone will mean less tissue guarding issues Tinman 

You're right Marzi our behaviourist is lovely and really helpful. We're going to get him booked onto Agility in the new year (he's a year old next week and the classes nearby won't accept a pup under a year old) I think he will love that can't wait to take him! He gets around 2 hours+ exercise each day (not all at once - he gets an hour in the morning, then lunch time and evening times vary) he went through a phase of being REALLY naughty out on walks (running off, stealing other dog's toys and guarding them, nipping people's hands if they tried to hold him by the collar when he ran away etc) but he seems to be past that now thank goodness  I think we need to be more strict about the sofa, which we have started being - to begin with we weren't going to let him on the sofa at all but then those big teddy bear eyes got the better of me and I couldn't resist sofa cuddles! We have started only letting him up when we say so, and telling him off (which he does usually obey) when he's not allowed... hoping that might help with the guarding, time will tell!

Thanks Fairlee  you're right about them being smart, I can't believe how fast he picks tricks up, he just loves training, we show him something a few times and then he's got it! And he makes me laugh because if he thinks you've got a treat in your hand he will do his full list of tricks without being told to! Little monkey  But you're right - he might just know now that if he guards he will eventually get a treat... 

JasperBlack I think he may see himself as pack leader too... which is probably our fault as he is a little spoilt. Before we brought him home we were adamant he wouldn't be allowed on the sofa, the bed, upstairs etc... and then we turned soft! Definitely need to re-establish the boundaries.

DB1 he definitely likes to challenge us - he looks at me sometimes like "why should I do that" and will reluctantly do what I ask like a naughty teenager! It is strange, he has never guarded his food (I wouldn't like to attempt to take a treat off him given how he is mind you!) but in terms of his food bowl he's always been fine, it's usually weird objects that I have no idea why he would want to pick up that he sees as valuable.

RangerC I'm so glad I found the forum and thanks everyone for your advice and replies  Rufus guards rawhide bones too - he's ok with the actual bone but if he breaks a bit off of it he will guard that! And thanks for saying that - will let you all know how we get on  here's a couple of photos of the monster himself!!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=168948003255795&set=a.149890518494877.34784.149882148495714&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=193513254132603&set=a.149890518494877.34784.149882148495714&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=207207962763132&set=a.164466103703985.38102.149882148495714&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=216895478461047&set=a.164466103703985.38102.149882148495714&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=259796550837606&set=a.229013743915887.1073741828.149882148495714&type=3&theater


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## JasperBlack

Awwww what monster?? He is adorable, I can see why he's spoilt 😊 he looks very much like Jasper. Jasper is spoilt too and is always on the sofa, I know I shouldn't really but I love sofa cuddles xx


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## rhian_keo

Hehe we always call him the little monster  the little dog in your pic looks just like Ruf, is that Jasper? He's gorgeous  xx


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## fairlie

It must be something about the name! Our Rufus still gets called Monster regularly! 

I always try to think of behaviour from the perspective of the dog. His oral fetish might be explained by the age he left his mother. Five weeks is way too young, eight is the bare minimum, many breeders insist on nine. I bet your trainer can help think of ideas to help him recover from the broken bond with his mother.


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## Marzi

Lovely pictures of Rufus, he certainly looks as if butter would not melt  
I'm sure he will love the challenge of agility - it makes them work physically and mentally.
Do keep posting because it would be great to hear how well you can implement the behaviourists advice and how much it helps.
Good luck.


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## rhian_keo

I love the name Rufus <3 he's definitely a little monster though! Have you got some pics of your Rufus fairlie?  

I did think it was longer until they should leave their Mum and we were very naïve (and probably soft and stupid!) when we got Ruf (won't go into the long story now) but he has all our love and attention so hopefully we can help him 

Thanks Marzi, he's certainly a cutie  he's learnt "up" and "over / under" as tricks when we're out on walkies and he gets so excited when he does it right, can't wait to take him to classes  he just loves learning new stuff and his whole body wags when he sees we're pleased with him! Love him 

I'll let you know how we get on with our next session xx


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## JasperBlack

There you go, this is jasper when he was little. He looks a little like Rufus I think!






















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## JasperBlack

He's a big boy now!





















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## JasperBlack

Look forward to heating about Rufus's progress xx


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## JasperBlack

Doh......hearing!!!!


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## rhian_keo

He really does look like Rufus! He's just got a bit more white on his front, he's gorgeous!!  will keep you posted with how we get on xx


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## drsummer

*drsummer*

I'm not sure if you are still dealing with the resource guarding issue, but I have a 3 year old Cockapoo named Summer and have been dealing with resource guarding since we got her at 12 weeks old. I read many articles and worked with a trainer. In general, in my opinion, it is very important to train your dog to sit, lay down, and stay put in a lay down position until you release her verbally. If you can, hire a trainer or take a course to work on these and other commands, and every day put your dog on a sit stay down position. E.g. when you are eating, make sure she is on a down position away from the table until you release her. when you are watching tv, put her on the down position until you release her. This is establishing dominance over her and that will help with the guarding over time. I do also believe in "trading up," and teaching your dog to trade whatever they are guarding for something of higher value. When my dog guards her toys, we pet her a lot and practice taking them away, so she starts to associate love and affection with people around her toys. We give her a lot of verbal praise for letting us be near her, pet her, when she has her toys and she is not growling. I would not let her guard you or the couch. I would probably tell her "no"in a deep serious voice if she growls at anyone and remove her from your lap or the couch spot. When she guards or growls, I would also immediately put her on a sit stay down position to establish dominance. you can keep a small training leash on her to help with this, so if you need to take her off of the couch or move her away from you when she starts to guard, you can quickly put her into the down position. but i would not do this without getting help from a trainer. they will show you exactly how to correct her behavior with the training leash and how to consistently do the commands. practice and consistency is everything. we never yell at our dog - our trainer taught us to be calm and in control. also, we removed all bones because she was guarding them heavily. good luck -


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## wellerfeller

Glad you found the help of a trainer and most of what you say is good, as in the trading up BUT there is one thing in your post that may be the reason you are still dealing with these issues after so long. You say you pet her lots and then practice taking her toys away. She will be taking the petting as a precursor to you taking something away. By doing this I think you are inadvertently reinforcing her guarding behavior. Trade up by all means but never just try and take things away, even if you see it as just practicing good behaviour. She will be seeing it as justification for guarding.


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## Cat 53

When I went to dog training we were taught that a treat doesn't have to be food, it can be play, touch, or just praise so trading up is not always necessary. We were told to keep the best treats for sparing use. Also, when treating to make the dog wait longer and longer so that you don't reward immediately. When playing, you decide when to start the game and when to stop it and when stoping it you are in charge of all the toys. Now Max could be obsessive about balls, so he is never just left alone with one, he gets a play with them but I always have three on the go at a time ( that way Phoebe gets a turn without Max getting nasty) and he can't get three in his mouth at once. By, in essence, overwhelming him with balls he cannot get possessive. The look on his face is priceless. Try it.


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## rhian_keo

Hi sorry for taking so long to reply, we are unfortunately still having the same issues with our Rufus. 

Drsummer In terms of commands he's great, he will sit, down, stay etc when he's told to. The trouble is once he's got something he wants, he won't listen to the commands, he becomes fixated on guarding the item and the only way to get him to drop is by trading up. We're the same - he's never been yelled at we've always used positive reinforcement to reward good behaviour. Ruf isn't allowed bones anymore either, he really does get too nasty to risk it 

Cat 53 that's one of the games the behaviourist told us to play! (With the 3 balls or 3 similar toys!) he loves it  

We've seen the behaviourist a couple of times since I last posted. She thinks a lot of Rufus' issues come from him being extremely attention focused and very insecure (possibly from being taken away from his mum too soon). For the guarding she did say it's a case of persevering with what we are already doing, playing games with multiple toys, giving him a chew in his crate and dropping in other treats while he's in there, trading up if he does get something he shouldn't have etc... it's the guarding me that's worrying me most at the moment because he just seems to be getting worse and it seems to be the trigger for a lot of his aggression. Just as an example, I got home from a weekend away earlier today and my friends came in briefly to say goodbye ... Ruf got very excited when we all arrived , but as soon as my friend went to hug me goodbye he started snarling at her and barking aggressively. It seems to be happening more and more and he guards me from dogs as well as people (eg. When we are out walking if another dog comes over for a fuss!) I've never entertained him doing this, I've always walked away if he's done it at home (sometimes if I'm sat on the sofa he guards me from my poor hubby!) the behaviourist said it's because he wants my undivided attention and when I take it away or give to someone else he gets insecure and sees that as a punishment. I just hope one day he will snap out of this!


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## 2ndhandgal

Molly came to me at 18 months as her previous owners were struggling with her "unpredictable aggression" it turned out to be resource guarding and despite all the bluff she was a very insecure little dog. Initially she would guard just about anything but as she became MY dog the primary thing she would guard became me. 

She needed to learn that objects were not always going to be taken away from her and most of all that I was going nowhere and other dogs close were not a threat. We started by establishing the distance we could be from other dogs without her stressing and I gave her lots of rewards for that - praise and treats - and doing training around them too so that she could focus on me and earn rewards for that. If she does react I know that I have made the mistake and misjudged things so no punishment or telling off. She progressed well enough for me to get another dog and she has learned to share at long last. 

She is not perfect - but generally guarding is not a problem and only rears its head if she is stressed. We had a lovely walk at the weekend with 17 other dogs of all shapes and sizes (of which she was the smallest) with no issue at all.


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## drsummer

hi again. i would keep a training leash on him and
never give him the full opportunity to get nasty. 
as soon as he begins to snarl, i would make a leash
correction, put him immediately on a sit stay down,
and take him off after a period of time. it takes a lot of 
consistency to do it, but maybe eventually he will
understand that he will not be allowed to snarl and growl at
people/guard you. if you dont keep the training leash on him,
you never have the opportunity to correct the behavior
consistently. i probably would not let him sleep in your bed
or sit on your couch. i would have dog beds and keep him close enough
so you can correct the behavior. with a lot of praise when he doesnt snarl
or growl. i would also spend 1/2 hour daily with
basic training- even if he knows the commands- to 
establish dominance. keep us posted and good luck. this is a hard issue.


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## drsummer

karen- thanks for your response- i may not have been clear-
when we approach my dog with toys she is guarding, we pet her
and love her and if we touch the toys or take them, we immediately give them
back. we only are able to do this after a ton of general training that
helped to establish dominance. she is open to the experience (she is not snarling
or growling). we see it as trading love and affection for the toy, then
we give the toy immediately back, or we dont take it at all. 
although the books stressed taking the object then giving the treat then giving
the object back, we found her too anxious for us to approach without
a lot of love. of course, there are some higher value objects she still guards aggressively,
for example, she finds a tissue and hides under the bed. 
in that case we leave her alone until she looses interest. thankfully she hasnt guarded anything dangerous to her. if she did, we would bring out higher value items to trade. she never eats people food because we will rely on it as a super high value item if we need to. 
all suggestions are welcome!


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## wellerfeller

drsummer said:


> karen- thanks for your response- i may not have been clear-
> when we approach my dog with toys she is guarding, we pet her
> and love her and if we touch the toys or take them, we immediately give them
> back. we only are able to do this after a ton of general training that
> helped to establish dominance. she is open to the experience (she is not snarling
> or growling). we see it as trading love and affection for the toy, then
> we give the toy immediately back, or we dont take it at all.
> although the books stressed taking the object then giving the treat then giving
> the object back, we found her too anxious for us to approach without
> a lot of love. of course, there are some higher value objects she still guards aggressively,
> for example, she finds a tissue and hides under the bed.
> in that case we leave her alone until she looses interest. thankfully she hasnt guarded anything dangerous to her. if she did, we would bring out higher value items to trade. she never eats people food because we will rely on it as a super high value item if we need to.
> all suggestions are welcome!



Hi Nancy, I don't think I misunderstood your post. I know it's a popular thing to believe you have to take things away from your dog to establish 'dominance' but I personally am not a fan. Every single time you take things away from your dog you are reinforcing the guarding, even if she is letting you do it and containing her growl, it doesn't mean she is happy with it. The very action of taking it, even if you give it right back is telling her she will lose her toy, although only briefly, I believe it still backs up her way of thinking. She still guards high value things because she knows 100% that it's going to get taken away. How does she know? Because that's what always happens. I will say though that I have no qualifications what so ever, so perhaps your trainer is right and I am wrong but I have never had a dog that guarded aggressively nor one that I feel I have to 'dominate'. Dogs do not think nor process information like we do, so I do not try to put my human feeling and thoughts on my dog, they react to situations and if the same situation keeps arising then the dog will react exactly the same way.
I know I am on my soap box now but I also disagree with correcting a growling dog. A growling dog is a communicating dog. He is telling you he is unhappy with what is going on. If you punish or correct the dog to stop growling how do they tell you? They will eventually not growl and just snap.
I hope I don't come across as disagreeable or rude! I just really do not like the theory that dogs are out on a mission of world domination and unless you dominate them they will become aggressive horrible animals. Yes they need firm, calm leadership but there are too many confused dogs being trained (dominated) by equally confused owners on the say so of 'professional' trainers.
I really wish you all the best with your dog and would advise maybe seeking out another trainer with good credentials and a more modern view of dogs and how they tick.


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## 2ndhandgal

Totally agree with Karen. Molly guards because she is afraid of losing things, if she is insecure about something she is more likely to guard and if I attempted to dominate her or punish her for growling by putting her into a long down stay that would make her more insecure and more likely to guard rather than less. 

We do training - but pretty much clicker training which we both enjoy and we teach all sorts of daft trick stuff for fun. She rarely guards anything now although a few months ago while I was out the dogs got hold of a box of biscuits and I was confronted with this when I got home 










I guess I could have dominated her or otherwise dealt with it - but as it was a whole box of biscuit I needed to remove from her I got out my clicker and her target mat and invited her to do some training with me instead which she was very happy to do and she was well rewarded for - the only person told off in my house was me for leaving a box of biscuits somewhere they could reach!!


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