Resource Guarding

[hoover]

Hi there, I'm new to this forum but wanted to get some advice on my 18 week old cocker spaniel Ollie.  Ollie is an attentive and intelligent boy who learns quickly, is good with other dogs and other people, but who has tended to get a bit cheeky with myself and my partner at times in terms of pushing boundaries and being more mouthy than he should be at this age - when excited he takes to lunging and snapping at us to get a response; we squeak loudly to show he is hurting us, tell him firmly 'No', ignore the behaviour as best we can and then if it continues we carry him to his crate for a few mins time out. More recently he has taken to resource guarding especially prized bones; he growls and if you even say his name from the other side of the room, or walk by him he barks aggressively. This came to a bit of a head yesterday when he lunged for arm as I sat 1 meter away from him in a bid to try to desensitize him to our presence at these times.  He bit down hard and I responded by telling him 'No' and moving him away from his bone..I tried to take him through to his crate for time out but he went into a complete frenzy of barking and lunging for me and there was little I could safely do.  I moved slowly away from him and he went back to his bone.  I'm really kind of devastated by what happened - I didn't know that he had it within him to respond so aggressively.  I'm obviously going to ensure he doesn't get this kind of bone again as he gets so worked up about it, but I'm just wondering what I should have done differently then, or what I should do in the future should a similar scenario arise.  At the time I felt I had to take him away as a sign I would not tolerate his bad behaviour of biting me and to show him that this sort of behaviour would not 'work for him', but of course this set him off even more.  And then when I had to move away after his frenzied response I feel like he has 'learned' from this that he can act like that to get what he wants (of course he went back to the bone) and that this is what he can do in the future.  We have already tried the swapping valued treats for a handle of the bone method, and this worked previously, but things just got way out of hand so suddenly yesterday.

[daw]

Can be shocking. We've had four spaniels now and the third was the fiercest, pushiest pup ever. We learned quickly we didn't play games in the house to excite him, didn't give treats. Kept it really calm. Visiting children were not allowed to run and shriek.  But we walked him longer when out.  Luckily once we got him into search exercises out in the garden he seemed to gradually get over it. I would say no food in the house apart from meals. No valued possessions he can guard like toys or bones. You can try feeding him by holding the bowl while he eats and taking it as soon as he's finished - but not taking away and giving back which I've heard some people do. Makes them more anxious in my experience.

He is very young. But it's not a quick fix...which is why the little cross  breed we took off death row two years ago (yup for resource guarding) still eats his meals in the summer house, has no toys and has a bed that is put down last thing at night and taken up in the morning. But then he'd had several years of bad stuff happening to him before. And our third cocker grew up to be a model citizen!

Lots of trainers seem to think resource guarding is about dominance. In my experience it's can be about a dog's uncertainty and even fear.   

[tenaille]

Don't forget a short houseline so you can control him as necessary. Beau is also guarder, it started all at once at about 6 months old with a soft toy.  Anything he values is a potential problem, whether it be a bone, toy or sofa place (but strangely not his food), so its easier to just do without.

[Ben's mum]

You will get good advice from others with resource guarders, don't be too shocked or upset with Ollie there are lots of ways of managing it.
Ben as a young dog started to resource guard certain highly prized food e.g. bones or some treats - simple answer we didn't buy them and there was no other issues he doesn't guard objects so have never had a problem since and he is 12 now.

Harry came as a rescue who already had guarding issues with food and some objects like socks or toys. We are careful what we give him, don't leave toys on the floor just get them out to play and put them away after.  If he picks up a sock or slipper etc and starts to get possessive we have a lovely trick of one of us opening the fridge and getting out some cheese, completely ignoring Harry and calling Ben for a treat, nearly always works, my cockers love our fridge    We then just remove the object once he is out of sight and although he will look for it briefly when he gets back he is not too bothered.
We never interfere or go near Harry when he is eating so he doesn't feel under pressure and he is fed well away form Ben.

I know a few others on here have had more serious guarding issues so will be able to offer advice as well.

[PennyB]

My 1st cocker would be like this at this age and while she was still learning I decided not to give her the high value treats like bones until she was older and steadier and listening to me more and I worked on challenges that were easier to solve therefore not setting her up to fail so I could work on this in a less frenzied environment with lower value items. Practise makes perfect as well so rather than wait till certain behaviours appear work on them as if they are already there

Re this " being more mouthy than he should be at this age " - all dogs are different so deal with it rather than thinking in terms of this dog has worse behaviour than he should

[hoover]

Thanks so much for all your replies.  Yes, I did find it rather shocking when it happened.  I think from reading the replies and other threads that I found in this forum that we're just going to have to work really hard on this and accept it may be part of Ollie's disposition - something to be managed and contained rather than expecting it to be easily thwarted.  Previously I had wanted to apply a very strict behaviourist / conditioning perspective to this - be clear about unacceptable behaviour and make it an unrewarding thing to do and they won't do it (and praise as soon as they stop or do anything that is more acceptable), but it seems like that it might not be so simple with this behaviour.

He relishes exercise and gets lots of it and we take him tramping through the bushes so that he can sniff around to his heart's content. He also gets lots of activities in the house; we leave scent trails for him to find small treats by dragging the treats in elaborate patterns throughout the rooms, and he has kongs and other puzzle toys where he has to work for his food.  He's a very smart pup, he's also great with children and vulnerable adults (he has a weekly trip to my granny's nursing home where I take him around the residents and he is superb with them.

I just worry a bit because he is definitely challenging us as owners more in other ways and becoming quite bolshy and using his mouth more when he doesn't get his own way in the home.  I really don't want to convey to him that this is acceptable in any way. 

[wendall]

I'm afraid the bolshy behaviour is quite normal for a cockerdile  . I found time out the best for this, they do grow out of this....

[Mudmagnets]

He relishes exercise and gets lots of it and we take him tramping through the bushes so that he can sniff around to his heart's content. He also gets lots of activities in the house;

Is it possible that he is getting too much exercise & stimulation for an 18 week pup and that is making him tired? I found with all  mine at this age - whether cocker or not that they were at their naughtiest when tired and usually a good sleep certainly helped.

[hoover]

He relishes exercise and gets lots of it and we take him tramping through the bushes so that he can sniff around to his heart's content. He also gets lots of activities in the house;

Is it possible that he is getting too much exercise & stimulation for an 18 week pup and that is making him tired? I found with all  mine at this age - whether cocker or not that they were at their naughtiest when tired and usually a good sleep certainly helped.

Yes, I guess that is possible.. we are trying to keep him occupied so that he doesn't wreak havoc about the place - when up and about he has to be monitored constantly otherwise he is chewing furniture or plants or attempting to jump on top of them or pulling cables out of walls or books our of shelves or something or other..so we give him something to do to keep him focussed and mentally stimulated in other ways (the bone was part of that strategy as he can happily gnaw away for an hour).  Maybe we need to promote more calm time somehow. He does get decent sleeps in his crate but I don't like to leave him there when he is wide awake. 

We've taken up all his toys now and just give him 2 or 3 at a time to play with, which he has to sit to receive.  He doesn't seem to be guarding them or his food, it's mostly just highly prized bones, or things he finds and we want back! Which is the worst, because when out at parks of course we really want him to drop things we don't know might be dangerous for him, and he senses this and holds onto them even more! Trying to exchange a treat sometimes works but sometimes is disasterous as he quickly gulps whatever is in his mouth to get the treat!

[daw]

  Sorry but I do remember what it's like living with the dog version of The Omen! It does get better- unless like me you're an anarchist in which case you learn to love it. One thing we did was beg those really tough cardboard veg boxes from the supermarket. Then in the evening he would happily destroy it leaving a sort of tickertape welcome in a thousand bits that we swept into the woodburner. He used to get really excited starting a new box. They took him through the whole of puppy teething. 

[Archie bean]

Having had 3 cockers myself and a further 3 in my immediate family, only one of whom (Archie  ) is a resource guarder, I would say that normal cockerdile puppy behaviour is really not the same as real resource guarding. The description from the OP does sound like real guarding. Its impossible to say for sure without actually seeing it though. I do appreciate that it's very hard to understand what real resource guarding is like when you have never been on the recieving end of it. Before Archie, I would have been the first to say, oh it's normal, he'll grow out of it etc. but now I know different. 

Hoover, I have a (now managed) resource guarder so I really feel for you. It's horrible to see the behaviour in such a young pup and really worrying for you. I don't feel qualified to offer practical advice because I'm no expert. I know what has worked for Archie and I and if you read my earliest posts you will see what I was dealing with and how far we have come. The good news is that it is manageable and with carefull hard work you can have a dog who is as loveable and trusting as my gorgeous rogue. You are right  in my experience, to be careful about telling him off. This was definitely the WORST approach with Archie. He is fundamentally a very nervous dog who needed reassurance, not reprimands. Even a raised voice had disasterous results when he was very young. The book "Mine" by Jean Donaldson is a good start to understanding the problem and giving some tips for training. Be warned though, it is a very academic book and quite a tough read. I got quite a lot of advice from my training classes which was really helpful and  if you are very concerned then I wouldnt hesitate to contact a qualified (positive, reward based methods only) behaviourist who can help you understand the reasons behind the behaviour and give training strategies to help.
One other thought I have is regarding his trips to the care home. Archie as I say is quite a nervous dog BUT he overcompensates when meeting new people or in new situations so he actually comes across as being very friendly and confident. It could be that Ollie finds these situations a little overwhelming but doesn't react until he is feeling safe and in his own territory at home? I'm not sure if that's possible or not, hopefully someone with a better understanding of dog psychology will be able to put me right! I do remember this article being posted on here and finding it very useful.
http://www.clickertraining.com/dont-socialize-the-dog
Good luck with your little fella.

[PennyB]

Also as cockers are retrievers by nature they will often retrieve more items than another breed might which can put them into conflict more with their owners. Some owners will remove everything the dog gets hold of but sometimes you have to ask do I really need to. One of mine (sprocker) does guard items he's stolen (he's 2 now) and while he does growl he is easily distracted with other things usually a call for biscuits for the whole crew and he's forgotten it was actually a problem.

I find if swapping doesn't work with some dogs a trail of treats works - by throwing them liberally away from them

However, is there any reason why you want to relieve him of his bone - if its a case you want him to have one then why not make sure he has a spot somewhere in peace to eat it rather than trying to take it away from him - may be attempt that challenge later if it is a case of ensuring he is safe to be able to remove bones in the future. Sometimes you have to try one challenge at a time so may be starting low with other thigns 1st then work up to bones.

[hoover]

I think as many of you are saying it may well be a case of smaller challenges first rather than setting him up to fail. We're trying not to make an issue of things so much today..and when we don't he doesn't either.  I think I had it in my head that I should always be in control, that I should always be able to get something from him if I needed to (for safety's sake as much as anything else), and that to do this I had to enforce the rules consistently .. but actually this approach seems to be making things a bigger deal and creating a much larger response from him, so that he is always failing badly, and we are often saying 'No' and resorting to time out.  And I could see there was a 'hangover' from this as well - after that very frenzied response to the bone he was twitchy all evening and more growly when I went to touch him, which normally isn't a trigger at all.

He's stll just a young pup, I probably have to rethink my expectations of what he should be capable of, and hope we can manage this effectively if it does turn out to be true resource guarding. I think we'll just have to take things down a notch or several, but I don't feel I can give him this type of bone even if I leave him alone with it - I need to feel confident I can take it from him if he manages to break it into smaller pieces or something. He'll just have to make do with the sofas and chair legs, lol.

[hoover]

One other thought I have is regarding his trips to the care home. Archie as I say is quite a nervous dog BUT he overcompensates when meeting new people or in new situations so he actually comes across as being very friendly and confident. It could be that Ollie finds these situations a little overwhelming but doesn't react until he is feeling safe and in his own territory at home? I'm not sure if that's possible or not, hopefully someone with a better understanding of dog psychology will be able to put me right! I do remember this article being posted on here and finding it very useful.
http://www.clickertraining.com/dont-socialize-the-dog
Good luck with your little fella.

I dont't think this is the case with Ollie, although I could be wrong..he's really not nervous at all apart from at appropriate times eg. being suddenly surrounded by 4 or 5 large bouncy dogs, and even then he is appropriately trying to make friends and tentatively sniff.  Most new situations/ people don't bother him at all and he's very keen to get stuck in and investigate.  I always feel like I'm doing a drugs bust with him at the care home, he is a complete sniffer dog and there are so many smells for him there!

[Emilyoliver]

Hi, do you encourage him to bring you things?  All things?  and not take them away?  I've not had a resource guarder, however I very rarely approach my dogs and take things from them.  Instead I encourage them to bring me whatever it is that they have.  I say 'thank you' if I want what they have and they give it up, but most of the time if I take something from them I give it straight back.  so they very rarely feel like I am after them to get something from them.  as said I've not had a resource guarder, and all of my dogs will happily bring me high value objects (including bones) to show me as they get loads of praise and don't worry about me taking them away.  It is their decision to approach me and come in close rather than me entering their space to take anything from them.  May not help, but just my experience.