Resource Guarding Advice

[joelle]

Hi, my thread is prompted by a comment in another thread so I thought Id throw it out here for advice :D

Our 3 yr old desexed JRT is a lovely little dog with no issues - bar one ;)

He has always appeared to be protective of Mstr 12 (and at times me) but then since being attacked at training by 2 large x breed pups together he is more so. We think he may have triggered this attack, and we may have missed the cues, I think he may have been warning the dogs away form mstr 12 and they challenged him :rolleyes: We dont know this for sure but it would fit with his personality so Im open to accepting that.

He now certainly does not like large dogs (adult or pup / teenager) near him, he will not stand in line at agility calmly, he appears to be on edge and anxious. Mstr 12 does agility and obedience and they work well together. he trains and treats him regularly. He is well mannered in the home, eg, sits before food, waits to be invited onto furniture and beds, (or, if he forgets, he will get down then wait to be invited ) he comes though the doors after us etc.

Is there anything we can do to ease his anxiety around cetain dogs? And is it actually resource guarding his humans or is it a fear response? When the other dogs were here, he would sometimes sit up on the chair and growl if he didnt want them near him (or was it us?) . We always put him down immediately if he did this.

He is a very sociable chap, loves coming to the kids sports and beach with us, it seems to be more around (certain) other dogs, his anxiety grows. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[GoldenGirl85]

Ive had similar problems with Tess, her main problem was poor socialisation though. I quickly learned that off leash parks were a bad idea, at agility Id only let her near dogs that I knew wouldnt snap at her, she is still much better than she was but I have to be ready for her to snap.

Unfortunately I think its a part of the breed, not saying every JRT will go like that, but its there, and his experiences with the other dogs wont help that, you could try giving rescue remedy or something like that before he goes into a stressful situation (like lining up at agility) and only let him be near dogs that wont retaliate if he snaps at them

Im about to try T-touch with Tess (when my book arrives) so if it has an effect on her Ill let you know

[poodlefan]

Thought I had posted a response to this.

It does sound like fear aggression (often more intense when a dog is on leash and therefore restricted in its ability to distance itself from others) but I'd suggest you call a behaviourist for a consult.

In the meantime, I would avoid situations like asking him to line up close to other dogs at agility. Giving him more distance may relax him somewhat.

[ChristineX]

Hi Joelle, thank you for starting the thread! Normally when I post, it tends to be about Duke, but today, it's Kates turn - 8 yr old irish terrier, normally placid, tolerent to the point of absurdity (hey, she puts up with Duke). Wed night at ob training (with gingerbread treats, which apparently top good-o's), every dog that came close got told to "GO AWAY". Kate's attention would then swing totally to me (she really has fantastic focus at training).

Is this resource guarding? Do I need to do anything, or just not bring the gingerbread to training again?

[joelle]

Thought I had posted a response to this. :D

It does sound like fear aggression (often more intense when a dog is on leash and therefore restricted in its ability to distance itself from others) but I'd suggest you call a behaviourist for a consult.

In the meantime, I would avoid situations like asking him to line up close to other dogs at agility. Giving him more distance may relax him somewhat.

Thank you, it does seem to be more when he is on leash, he is fine off leash. I like the rescue remedy idea, where do I buy this? We do watch who we stand next to at agility and remove him if he shows any anxiety / aggression. ;)

Can anyone recommend a good behavourist South of perth?

[GoldenGirl85]

You can get rescue remedy drops from most chemists in the aisle with the vitamins, the human one is fine to use on dogs