What is your very favourite meal or desert? Imagine if each time you were eating this, I came up, gave you $20, and took your food. Maybe I give it back, or maybe I don't. Either way, you won't be excited to see me coming.

Worse, imagine each time you are eating, I approach you, stir my hand around in your food, look you in the eyes, and walk away. Pretty annoying right?

Traditional methods of treating or preventing resource guarding can cause MORE anxiety and MORE guarding.

Instead of trading, we play games to help our dogs look forward to us approaching them when they have a treasure. Watch the video below to see how I help Riker give up his treasured chew.

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Punishing dogs who who guard is a mistake.

Punishing a dog for communicating suppresses that communication and creates more anxiety. A dog who is punished may become still or cower, or even look like they are sorry for the behaviour, but the underlying emotions are staying the same or getting worse. When we play games like I did above with Riker, the dogs learn to look forward to us coming near their treasures as it predicts fun games. We change pessimism into optimism!

We all make mistakes, especially if we don't understand what is happening or have a plan on how to help our dogs.

If you react and get upset when your dog guards, give yourself a break, and make a plan for the future so you know what to do if it happens again. Often us humans resort to anger when we are frustrated or afraid. If we have a plan in place, we can avoid that scenario.

Aggression is on a dial

Resource guarding is a type of aggression that rarely can be 100% eradicated. If we work with a very young dog, the chances of it going away are much higher than if we have a mature dog who has been practicing guarding for a long time.

For all dogs however, our training games turn down the dial on the aggression/guarding behaviours. We need to keep an eye on things though as stress or illness can turn that dial back up.

For instance, Riker has been great at not guarding, but we have had construction workers at our house for a week. They tore down the deck (Riker's favourite place to nap), and have been hammering away at the house for days. This has Riker very worried, so his guarding is back temporarily.

Resource Guarding is a normal and natural behaviour

Many dogs were selected over time to have big feelings about possessions. Part of owning dogs is recognizing when they are doing normal dog things and allowing them that space. We train certain things and manage others. We all love our dogs and it's important that we meet them half way with natural dog behaviours.

In the case above with Riker, I train him to allow me to take his treasures away, but I wouldn't expect him to allow another dog or a stranger to take his treasures. Those are fair expectations =)

The Next Leash Reactivity Deep Dive Begins Jan 2025

Check out the LEASH REACTIVITY DEEP-DIVE, my group mentorship program in which I spend 8 weeks with a small group of people struggling with leash reactivity. Submit videos, ask questions, and meet awesome people and dogs.

You'll receive daily support and feedback on your training for 8 whole weeks. This is a fantastic way to jump start your training and to get some real progress for both your dog and yourself. Build your dog's skills and confidence, as well as your own!

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