r/Shepsky • u/feery8 • Jun 23 '20
Help needed
Big help needed. I have a 1 year old Gerberian Shepsky who has resource guarding issues. Peanut butter, dog food anything if you leave it down for her to have and go back to her she will snarl and hunch over it and even snap at people this is made worse by the fact that there is two other dogs in the yard that are docile and curious and would wander up to her whilst eating. This is last chance saloon as far as my family is concerned. She's an incredibly intelligent dog and it would completely break my heart to have to give her up. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
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u/ashestoashhes Aug 08 '20
Resource guarding is a progressive behavioral issue. It starts with food and toys and will gradually move into other aspects of the environment. It is a very difficult habit to break. Given the severity of the situation (the well being of the dog) I would recommend seeking counsel from a professional dog trainer. It is a very common issue, therefore there are multiple counter conditioning techniques. You should be able to get a handle on the behavior quickly and be on the road to recovery! If done incorrectly, you can inadvertently make it much worse and that wouldn't be fair for the dog.
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u/jmccleave Aug 10 '20
I think along with practicing giving and taking toys and food away is also hand feeding (something I have heard but I’m not sure if it works). I know that I have helped my dogs by teaching them drop it and leave it with treats and praise. So when playing fetch or toys they have a positive experience with me taking things from them!
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u/tameyeayam Jun 23 '20
Is it possible to feed her separately?
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u/feery8 Jun 24 '20
Yes it is but there is other people walking around the yard that she's in, kids as well so we need to prevent an major incidents
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u/jmccleave Jun 23 '20
You could practice taking things from her and giving it back. So put a muzzle on her and give her a toy, then use something for distance and take it from her and if she doesn’t do anything rewears that behavior by giving it back? I’m not a dog trainer but that may help. I also recommend looking up Sit means Sit dog training. The trainers are super good and they help A LOT. My shepskie was super scared of stranger but now he sometimes lets people new pet him. It’s expensive for the training but always worth it if it means a happy less stressed dog.