Resource Guarding

Resource Guarding is present in a large variety of dogs, and the severity can greatly vary. This type of aggression tends to be the most complicated to unravel and also often the hardest for clients tot understand because it can be so varied in the ways it manifests. We have seen dogs who guard:

• High Value Food Items • Spaces • People • Toys • Their Own Body •

Often times when we see cases where the aggression feels random to the client it has a basis in resource guarding. Dogs can show aggression to dogs or people, or both. The general public understands this issue as a dog who bites when you take their bone. While that is true of some dogs who resource guard this type of aggression manifests in many different combinations, causing it to be missed and left unaddressed. We believe in raising dogs correctly to help mitigate this issue by being very intentional about creating scarcity or resources. Because there is a genetic component to this type of behavior it is very challenging to resolve and is a multi stage intervention. We reduce pressure around resources by eliminating scenarios in which the dog is triggered to guard, detox from stress over scarcity, teach alternate behaviors, and finally add consequences for guarding choices.

Resource Guarding is a complex core behavioral issue and we recommend Board and Train for trying to address it if dogs have bite history.