Resource Guarding is the term for a dog or puppy’s possessiveness towards anything he likes—this can be food, chews, toys, beds, space, and anything else he deems valuable. While we humans may think of behaviors like growling, snapping, or biting to protect valuable items is extremely naughty, it is a completely normal issue to have with your new puppy.
If you think about it, if a dog in the wild wasn’t protecting its food and other resources from other animals, they wouldn’t have much chance at survival. Knowing this, if your puppy is growling or snapping when you approach its chew toy, it makes sense that punishing your puppy can make the problem much worse, and can lead to aggression.
The good news though, is there are effective ways to prevent your puppy from developing resource guarding issues, and even change the way your puppy feels about you approaching his items.
How to work on it:
For several days, we’ll want to start by hand feeding your puppy. During meal time, sit with your puppy and put a handful of food into his bowl. Once your puppy has finished, continue to add another until he has eaten the entire meal.
After doing the first exercise for several days, start by feeding half of your puppy’s food in the bowl. While your puppy is eating, approach his bowl and add the other half of his meal a little bit at a time, making sure to take a few steps back in between each small amount.
After working on the first two exercises, you’ll know you’re ready to move onto the final step when your puppy gets excited and looks up at you in anticipation when you approach his bowl.
Finally, approach your puppy’s bowl and take it away while simultaneously giving his something even better, think juicy meat or something yummy that he’s never had. Once you’ve given him the better food, immediately give him his meal back. This exercise will teach your dog that you taking things away predicts awesome.
Training tips & troubleshooting
Be sure to offer your puppy a treat or toy whenever you take something of value away. If your puppy takes something you don’t want them to have, don’t immediately yank it out of their mouth—instead, try asking your puppy to “drop it” and offer them a really yummy treat. Not doing this could lead to a dog that hastily consumes items that guardians try to retrieve.
If your puppy is displaying resource guarding behaviors, we highly encourage you to consult with a qualified and credentialed dog trainer(that’s us!) to address the issue.