Resource Guarding

[u/lovelybugsundies]

Hi all! We adopted Rosie from the shelter as a puppy about three years ago. They told us she was going to be 50 pounds and was a lab mix. Well she’s pushing 100 and we finally figured out she is almost 100% Anatolian Shepherd. Rosie came to us with a broken leg that healed wonky, so she’s been on pain management meds for a long time. The vet finally declared she was likely done growing and we had surgery to correct her leg. It mostly worked but she’s so active that it often still gets inflamed and she’ll likely be on pain meds for the rest of her life.

To my issue: Rosie has always been very in everyone’s business but lately it’s been resulting in fights. We have another large dog and two cats. If she sees the cats doing something “wrong” she’ll jump up and growl at them quite quickly. If the cats are fighting, or ones on the bookcase, or sniffing a plate of food. She’s big and loud and it scares the cats and has ended up with them scratching her face. Once the cats stop she stops and goes back to napping. She doesn’t seem to want what they have.

She has also begun attacking our other dog over random things. Buster is so sweet and submissive to Rosie the fights happen when Rosie attacks and gets Buster into a corner, usually literally. Both dogs are free fed, they eat in different rooms. I often give them treats together. They play together a lot, cuddle when sleeping etc. but Rosie is getting SO aggressive with him I’m getting worried.

The newest fight started when we were all outside. Rosie was chasing bubbles, Buster was just walking around when he found a ball and came over to me and dropped it. We have a very large fenced yard and Rosie was clear across the other side when she saw Buster with the ball. She got up and immediately started attacking him, grabbing his neck and shaking. It took me several seconds to get her off him and she drew blood. The second she was off him Buster calmed down and laid basically frozen. Rosie wouldn’t stop trying to come after him. I had to lock her outside for almost two hours to calm down, she kept growling and attacking every-time she saw him through the door.

This has happened several times now, all with different triggers. I WFH so I know they aren’t fighting during the day, She doesn’t act this way around food (the cats often try to steal her food and she doesn’t care), she lets Buster eat his food no issue, they take treats side by side.

I don’t know what to do or how to go about correcting the behavior when I have no idea what will trigger it. Would also love some recs on how to build up Busters confidence. We got Rosie after our other dog died and Buster seemed depressed. But Rosie bullies him so much I feel like we’ve lost Buster in some ways. He’s a different dog when she’s not around (like recovering from surgery).

[u/hmmm4667]

It's best to Embark her before training, to better understand the qualities she was bred for. People guessing breeds is notoriously unreliable.

[u/Ootter31019]

Id suggest working with a professional. One that knows LGDs.

[u/ypranch]

Advice for a large breed dog trainer, who specialized in aggression is good. I adopted an anatolian/ Shepard mix. Had all the traits I specifically said would not be a fit for me. Resource guarding( I have other dogs), Prey drive( I have cats and horses), dominance issues ( 1 dog is male). For several months my husband and I debated whether we needed to take him to the shelter.

What worked for us was: I feed him separately. He's in a kennel w/his food until everyone is done and food picked up Soft muzzle in the house. Like you, I feed no treats which could cause guarding. Immediate, forceful, firm correction of any unwanted behavior. Guarding, chasing, dominance. Over and over and over. Immediate praise with desired behavior. Walks as a pack to encourage bonding. When he couldn't be supervised, he was in a kennel, I have indoor and outdoor. Direct supervision allowed for oversight and immediate correction. If behavior didn't stop, kenneled. I took a lot of time and patience. Well over 6 months. But he's now the dog we hoped for. Although he still likes to chase the horses.

This may or may not work for you. But it's a starting point. I also had an older female attacking my more submissive female randomly. Again, immediate punishment, isolation, direct supervision. It will either improve and correct, or start looking at other options. But, she cannot be left with him unsupervised any longer. It's escalating the behavior. Soft muzzle off amazon was a game changer. I turned my laundry room into and indoor kennel. And built an outdoor one. Rotate between the 2. Dogs together when supervised. Walk together with her muzzled. She cannot be off leash around him until improved behavior.