Guarding behaviour

[Rachel1992]

I've posted a few times about this! First was socks and shoes and other various objects, but today Dylan has started guarding the spare bed! First he wouldn't leave and was growling and biting on a cover on the bed, then again tonight he's growling as soon as he is approached laying on the bed!

Once he gets off the bed I'm going to make sure he can't get back on. I took his cage away recently
Because he didn't seem to bother with it anymore but I wonder if that's anything to do with it?

I'm in dire need of help now I'm getting so upset

[Rachel1992]

ALSO!!
If he's now laid on the bed with a boot in his mouth not moving for anyone or anything, how do I get him off the bed and away from the boot?

It's getting to a stage now where I'm getting so upset I am terrified hell turn out to be an aggressive dog don't know what to do

[tenaille]

A light house line will let you easily move him away from problem situations, just keep leading him away every time he looks like he's going to guard something or somewhere.  I swear Beau likes me putting his house line on because it calms him instantly and lets him out of stressful situations.

[Rachel1992]

I'm sorry, never heard of one of those??

[Archie bean]

It's a long, light lead that you just leave on trailing behind them. You can then gently pull hi. Away from a situation. It might help but there is a possibility that he might chew it or start ragging and biting at it until he is used to wearing it. (rather it than you though).
I hope you have managed to get him to come out of the room. I know how upsetting it is when you have an angry dog who just won't do what you want. Archie rarely guards places but he has been known to guard my wardrobe on occasion. Getting him used to me approaching him when he's guarding has taken a long time and a lot of trust building training. I wish I had an easy, quick fix for you. 
I do have an absolute emergency last resort if I really can't get Archie to come to me and that is to show him his bowl and call "suppertime". I then give him a small amount of his food which keeps him occupied while I remove the offending object or close necessary doors. He absolutely loves his food so it usually works,  but I use it only as a last resort.
I sense that you are getting quite frustrated and upset which I can totally sympathise with. I would consider bringing in a behaviourist (positive training methods only) who might be able to give you some support and tactics for training.
Hope your evening has improved and you had a glass or two or something in the house.

[rubybella]

Both my girls have moments of guarding but I won't allow it. I have learnt that I have to be firm, when dogs sense you are nervous or upset it makes them even more determined to guard their space/object etc. We play lots of 'what's yours is also mine' which means that I give them a high value thing and then I ask for it back, then they get it back again and so on. I also swap it between dogs to reduce any aggro too.

I think it is important that your dog knows nothing belongs solely to him. It may be that you need to restrict his freedom in your house so he doesn't think he owns the whole place! I do think that when dogs are allowed to do what they want it is much harder to get them to do what YOU want. If you set clear boundaries and stuck to them it will be easier.

Obviously if there is a genuine behaviour issue here, rather than a dog trying to push the boundaries, then you will need to involve a qualified behaviourist.

Hope this helps.

[lescef]

Bramble guards things, not from us, but Maddie. She has been known to guard the washing machine when the dog fleeces went in. 
You really need a behaviourist to help with the specific problems, but try to avoid him being able to practice the behaviour whilst you wait for help. Put away anything he might be able to take and guard. I have the tidiest of houses now! As suggested, recall him and keep him busy whilst you move the objects he is guarding. Maddie will guard socks, but we have taught her to swop them for a tasty treat. Good luck!

[Helen]

How do you react when he guards?

[Karma]

Honey can be prone to guarding things... (especially from the children) she's a *lot* better than she was, but still has her moments (especially when the children have been making a lot of noise, which means she is more stressed). 

We have to be careful to ensure there aren't any little hidey holes in the hallway, as she will adopt these and guard them (not practical with young children running about).  We absolutely have to ensure my coat (with her ball in the pocket) is hung up properly, or she will guard this.  And she isn't given high-value long-lasting treats when the children are about.

If she manages to get something she is going to guard, it is very obvious, as her whole body language changes.  We generally try to distract her on to something else and then remove the object... Or we ask her for a retrieve (this is something we have trained fairly reliably in the past) and then reward.  With 2 small children, we don't live in a tidy house, and Honey will often pick up one of the children's toys - they know to ask us to get it from her, and we generally do a swap with no reluctance.  If she is very stressy with a toy, we'll leave it a few minutes, then call her for something else rather than create confrontation. 

I don't really think it's fair to say that you just "don't allow" guarding - it's a complex behaviour and some dogs are just more prone to it than others.  I'm very confident that our friend doing the taking things away and giving them back and taking them away again trick is one of the things that contributed to Honey's tendency to guard, and it's certainly not something I would suggest anyone with a dog who is already showing signs of guarding do... that approach with anything Honey is attempting to guard would intensify her behaviour 10-fold.... 

As stress is a big factor for Honey, if I see she is looking for things to guard, I'll often do some quick "find-it" work with her, as sniffing is a stress reliever for dogs, so it brings her agitation levels down as well as refocussing her on a positive activity.   

[chrisp]

As stress is a big factor for Honey, if I see she is looking for things to guard, I'll often do some quick "find-it" work with her, as sniffing is a stress reliever for dogs, so it brings her agitation levels down as well as refocussing her on a positive activity.

I didn't know this.  I will have to try this as Mollie guards my cushions sometimes.  If I try to swop she starts barking high pitched and is trying to destroy them.  I'll try the 'find it' work.  Thank you.

[rubybella]

But I don't let my dogs think it is ok to guard!  When I got my lab as a pup nearly 7 years ago I made the mistake of allowing her to keep things that she didn't want to let me have and let her think that her bed was only just for her because when she began to show guarding behaviour I was too nervous to do anything about it. Quickly this started to become a problem, particularly with a 3 and 6 year old in the house. For example if she got hold of their toy and they tried to get it from her she growled at them.

I quickly realised that if she didn't think it purely belonged to her we didn't have this problem. So I did stuff like went and sat in her dog bed, obviously not when she was in it asleep, and she would come over and snuggle up next to me and would be rewarded. She quickly began to associate sharing stuff got her a reward.

When I got my wcs puppy I didn't want any guarding of toys, I wanted them to share, although made sure there was 2 of everything! As a puppy my wcs liked socks and after a vet visit to remove one from her stomach I had to make sure that if she ever got one I could get it from her quickly and easily.

The most highly valued things in the house at the moment are 2 new stag bars, but if I ask to have them, much as they don't want to, they will give them up. They know if they give them without a fuss then they get them back, any fuss and they don't! My kids have the same rules too!

I don't deny that some dogs are prone to this and there are definitely far more ' guarding' issues on this forum compared to the lab one I am on. I believe if you start early and don't allow 8 week old puppies to get so attached to things that they feel the need to guard them then it less likely to be a problem as they get older.

This is what works for me and my dogs, and with children and visiting young members of the family I need to ensure that guarding doesn't happen in my house.

I hope this explains it better.