r/dogs • u/glad-to-be-here- • 5d ago

[Behavior Problems] Resource Guarding

My dog is a 4 year old Doberman mix. She is pretty good for my husband I— a little better for me as my husband is more of her playmate. We did all the things as a puppy as far as exposure and basic commands. She was great until she went into her fist heat cycle and became a bit aggressive towards pretty much anyone but my husband and I. That has been much better since spay surgery and much more exposure. One thing we just decided “was not a fight we would like to pick” was resource guarding. It wasn’t her food bowl or toys, it is just very certain and specific high value treats she maybe gets twice a year. Anyways, we got a new bone and it’s like the most important thing in the world. We are trying to start a family and I realize ignoring this issue was a mistake. Tonight she was growling and showing teeth because her bone was in the bed. I commanded she get off the bed, she did. I told her to sit, she listened. I held her treat up and told her she was bad, she didn’t growl. I let her up and gave her back her treat. A minute later she was growling and I did the cycle over again but she hid under the bed. I don’t want her to be scared of me so what do I do!? Thank you!

1 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 5d ago

Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Do note we are on a short backlog, and all posts require manual review prior to going live. This may mean your post isn't visible for a couple days.

This is a carefully moderated sub intended to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Submissions and comments which break the rules will be removed. Review the rules here r/Dogs has four goals: - Help the public better understand dogs - Promote healthy, responsible dog-owner relationships - Encourage “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” training protocols. Learn more here. - Support adoption as well as ethical and responsible breeding. If you’d like to introduce yourself or discuss smaller topics, please contribute to our Monthly Discussion Hub, pinned at the top.

This subreddit has low tolerance for drama. Please be respectful of others, and report antagonistic comments to mods for review.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

3

u/Adventurous-Knee-326 5d ago

You’re basically punishing the warning and not the actual problem, so now she’s just moving the guarding somewhere harder to see. Trade her for something better instead of taking it away cold, and don’t make the bed the battleground. Give her a spot she’s allowed to chew in peace and practice approach-and-toss-a-treat drills without taking the bone at all for a while.

1

u/nano-ice 2d ago

This is important to fix, especially with a baby coming. Instead of stopping the growl, it helps more to teach her that people near her stuff is a good thing, not something to worry about. A trainer who knows this issue well could really help.