# Resource Guarding Puppy



## jhooper465 (Mar 1, 2015)

Hi all,

I just want a bit of reassurance that things with our pup will get better!

He is now 6 months old abd started very early (around 13 weeks) with what we now understand was resource guarding and because it took a while for us to identify this it has got quite a lot worse. 

Essentially, he is absolutely fine during the day apart from if we give him something he really wants, he tends to run off with it to enjoy in a different room. He also barks at the slightest noise (not ideal as we're in a terraced house and he hears the neighbours every 5 minutes) and once he's been set off he continues barking and growling for around 10 minutes. In the evening - his fuse is a little shorter and he seriously guards his space. We have learnt not to provoke him any more and are trying to desensitise him to this - but he snarls and snaps at anyone approaching him while he is resting in the evening. 

We have had a behaviourist out last week who said it is very unusual for him to be doing this at his age but suggested he is very stressed which is making his guarding worse, and has given us a management plan to follow to try and help him and sort this behaviour out. 

I took him to visit a friend who has a golden retriever at the weekend and he was AWFUL. He is usually great with other dogs - he spends time at the dog walkers house 3 days a week and has never had any problems but this dog clearly rubbed him up the wrong way. He was guarding everything - food, me, toys that didnt belong to him which he had played with briefly an hour before. It was terrible. 

Essentially, the point to my rant is I would just like to hear from anyone else who has been through the same thing, especially with a puppy at such a young age. I would just like to know if these problems do tend to get better and if it being present when he's so young is a real bad sign or not. That plus just a bit of moral support! We are willing to give 100% to try and help him in any way we can.

Worried dog owner


----------



## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

It sounds like you are really going through it - but well done for getting a behaviorist on board and I hope you will soon see some positive rewards.

Molly was rehomed at 17 months for resource guarding aggression and at the time would guard almost anything especially in a new environment. She had not been walked in her first home so one of her worst triggers was dog leads (leashes) and if she saw one hanging up she would sit underneath and try to attack any dogs coming close - and would do this for hours or until someone realised and removed the lead. She would also guard me (her new owner) and would not allow other dogs within several feet of me. She did not eat biscuits, instead she buried them under cushions and then guarded them, similar with toys, dirty laundry or anything she could lay her paws on to steal 

She was hugely stressed and struggling to cope with everything basically.

I learned to not confront her over her stolen things and let her calm down herself so she could become less stressed and generally more calm. 

She is now a very different dog  she would prefer not to share me with anyone or anything but copes and even has some canine friends. She does still get stressed at times and guards, but is easily distracted and it is generally a sign that something has worried her elsewhere in her life so not a big deal.


----------



## jhooper465 (Mar 1, 2015)

Thanks for that  

It's just nice to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that all the work will be worth it in the end. I just hope that it being an issue from such an early age is not a sign that it's such a part of his personality that it will be too difficult to change...


----------



## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

I would actually turn it on its head and say you are catching it early enough to turn round the behaviour patterns whereas Molly was very very well established having practiced for over 12 months


----------



## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

Hopefully your pup will grow out of it. Out dog didn't have that issue with non food related items. Only food she had an issue with. Which was a major deal when she was younger. But about 1 she started to "grow" out of it. But also we give her "her space' when she eats. But also had helped as she doesn't want the cat near her food, so will eat it more quickly.

She got "ok" with wanting to protect her food. But I think our dog would go back to biting to protect her food if the conditions were right. So we do make sure she doesn't have to do that.

But she never had that issue with NON FOOD items.


----------



## alfiemorton (Mar 28, 2015)

Hi there,

I have been working with Alfie on his guarding issues and general insecurities since he was a young puppy. He first went for me and bit me when he was 6 months old.

I have done a lot of reading, and recently found an excellent article on owner-directed aggression in dogs. If you go onto the following site www.veterinarypracticenews.com, and in the search box, in the top right hand corner, type in exploring owner-directed aggression. You will find an article by Nicholas Dodman. It has really helped me to understand Alfie, even down to why his fuse is so much shorter in the evenings.

Hope you find it of some help. I understand how worried you must be. What I have learned is that behaviour can be managed, if not eradicated.

Christine


----------

