Puppy Resource Guarding
Most puppies will not resource guard but every now and then I see a young puppy that guards food or toys or places - like beds from other dogs.
It is important to recognise this and to get on to it early or it can lead to further problems in later life. It may even increase the guarding to special people, or extend to guarding items from people as well, if left. We never want to stop the growl per se, as the next step, if your puppy feels they have no option, is to bite. Rather we want to address the cause of the growl so that the puppy can feel relaxed about other dogs being around their special resource. They will not likely just grow out of it as some people suggest, it will usually escalate, so it needs to be addressed.
If this is a puppy you may be able to deal with it with some good training however if this is an adult dog with resource guarding then please seek professional help.
Firstly the best thing you can do is to start journaling the behaviour so that you can see exactly when and what your puppy is actually displaying. Things like time of day, circumstances (are they hungry, tired etc) and who or what was nearby, are all important things to consider.
Then you may, at first, need to remove the triggers if that is possible, though of course if your puppy is guarding a number of things then this becomes more difficult.
Next I would create a safe space for them to be in - a playpen type arrangement or small space where you can ensure the puppy feels comfortable but is still around people.
Once you have established a safe space I would then give the puppy a medium value treat - not the highest value, in that safe space. With some high value food I then walk a dog (on lead)at a distance past the area while tossing high value treats to the puppy. This is the beginning of desensitizing the dog and counter conditioning.
Along with these actions though a number of other things need to be put in place. Getting the puppy to bring something to you and swapping it out for a high value treat, teaching a ‘leave’ and a ‘get it’ so they learn not to just pick up anything on the ground, getting the puppy to learn about ‘Its your choice’ game. All these factors come into play when your puppy is learning to share or at least NOT resource guard.
Once again I must stress though that if you have an older dog resource guarding, or you are not managing to turn this behaviour around please seek help from a professional.
Happy training!