Resource / Bone Guarding - Best Training Methods To Minimise This?

[UltimatePup]

Hi

Our adorably friendly, wiggly, waggy 7 month old female Golden Retriever can turn into a little monster when given a bone, which is two days out of three. She will growl, lift her lip and even snap if approached or touched, which is very detrimental to our relationship to say the least!!! Has anyone here successfully modified this behaviour? How, exactly? Are there any good videos which showcase effective methods?

Initially we tried essentially dominating the situation, which had no positive effect in my view. It just seemed to cause confusion and more stress.

Then for the past three months we have tried a wholly positive approach, exchanging treats for being 'allowed' near her bone. e.g. Walking back a forth dropping treats, or approaching her with juicy morsels of dinner and petting her as we give them. This appears to work as she does not react at all, but it really is only appearances because when we are not armed with food she is still as threatening as ever. The behaviour has not changed. As she's getting bigger and now has her adult teeth, this is no fun at all! It's a stark contrast to her usual ultra-friendly, playful, humble self.

First and foremost we want her to be safe around people in all situations, which means this behaviour has to stop. We also just want to be able to feed her without tension for all concerned.

(BTW, she does not resource guard her regular food - only when it's attached to a bone!!)

Please help!

Thanks

[corvus]

I think you should just get professional help. It's hard to tell what's going on without knowing how you've been working with her so far and without seeing what she's doing. It could be quite dangerous for all we on the internet know.

Edited May 13, 2011 by corvus

[Aidan3]

but it really is only appearances because when we are not armed with food she is still as threatening as ever. The behaviour has not changed.

We wouldn't necessarily expect the behaviour to change in the absence of food treats unless some sensible attempt was made to take them out of the picture. It's fair to say the behaviour has changed, but you've got a way to go before you reach your goal and perhaps would benefit from some one on one help in achieving this sooner.

Professional help would offer the most efficient solution, and it's the sort of problem that benefits from an efficient solution. It's certainly not abnormal for pups to resource guard, and it's definitely not a dominance issue, but it's very useful to be able to take anything from your dogs and may save their life, or avoid damage to someone else one day.

[cmkelpie]

Professional help! I have an appointment tomorrow for my 5mth old Kelpie pup that does this. From the day I bought her home from the pound this was an issue for her. She is completely gorgeous in all other areas The problem with resource guarding is that it may progress to her finding other items of value and displaying the same behaviour. E.g. one day you may not be let near her toy or even her bed. It can potentially become a very dangerous problem.

Best of luck!

[poodlefan]

Personally I think the more you 'interfere' with the treasure, the more you make the dog anxious and likely to guard.

I'd be opting for feeding bones in crates. If you must get the bone, offer a swap or practice calling the dog off the bone and reward like crazy.

I agree that a professional consult is a good idea but resource guarding can be a hard wired behaviour that can recoccur under different circumstances.

The easiest and safest option IMO is a crate and to remove the dog when there is food around kids.

Edited May 13, 2011 by poodlefan