Aggressive resource guarding

[ShelleyHall]

Hello, I'm Shelley, I currently have 2 dogs. Nala, 106 pound mutt (pit, great Dane, German Shepherd, great Pyrenees) and Spot, 20 pound Jack Russel. Nala has resource guarding to an extreme. She guards food, water, toys and me. Only from other dogs. Both my son and I cant take food and water toys and all with no problem. She has full on gone after Spot and about half a dozen times we have had her in 4 years. One of those times was bad enough that Spot was at the vet for a week and the fact that puncture wounds are a big deal to me anymore is a little worrisome.  Now, Spot and us have learned Nala's triggers and we do what we can to minimize them. We have recently gone to  trainer to work on the food guarding and now Spot will eat when Nala is in the crate while getting rewarded for letting Spot eat. Both dogs have been throw a basic train but I will be trying to refocus and go throw the course here with them. I know this isn't a fix but hoping it may her Nala with her commands.

The two new main issue is that my boyfriend has a male pit that we are wanting to introduce to the house. The second and most important that I just found out that I am about 8 week pregnant. So with that is going to come a lot of changes. I also know that in the end I might have to find Nala a new home for the safety of the baby. She has NEVER shown aggression to humans. We go to fairs with her and she is gentle and let the kids even little ones pet and pull on her. What I am wanting is resources and articles and anything that I can use to try and help her to better. We currently live in a small duplex and are currently looking for a house with a big back yard. 

I know we can get all the dogs on the same page with time and training. The baby being mobile is the concern or Nala guarding the baby in a negative way. I am going to spend the 6 months working with her as much as I can. I am not naive to think that she will be 100% "fix" in 6 months. But I wont just give up on her with out trying everything, plus maybe I help her get better for the next home she is in. 

[Adrienne]

Hello, 

Welcome to the forums.

Every time a new dog is added to a home there is a good amount of stress going on. The new dog will likely be insecure in his new environment, as he doesn't know how to fit in relation to the other dogs, and on top of this, he needs to adjust to new sounds, sights and smells, not to mention new routines. On the other hand, the resident dogs are expected to accept an "intruder," a dog who they don't know well and who may be a potential competitor as to getting food, attention,  access to sleeping areas. 

For Nala, the stress may be highest, considering that dogs who tend to resource guard are often on edge and hyper-vigilant. Weighing 106 pounds and with a history of biting, the risks at stake are high. Yet, we can never make predictions. It could be that Spot, being small and belonging to a breed known for being tenacious and strong willed, may have gotten so much in trouble for not backing down.  It could be that your new dog may be more mellow and not willing to engage in a fight and may give the right signals of: "ok, ok, that food is yours, I will move away and pose no trouble, big girl." But then, maybe not. Only time will tell. 

In any case, we would need lots of management, possibly even micromanaging things to make sure there is not much to fight about if your boyfriend's new dog happens to pose a challenge to Nala. Then again, we might not know much about him and how he may interact with other dogs if he was always "the only dog" living with your boyfriend. He could come to see your Jack Russell as a challenge and then he may team up with Nala against him. So many possibilities and outcomes can take place when we put several dogs together, and things tend to get more challenging when we have two dogs and add a third dog. 

Because your dogs have a history of getting into fights and now a new dog is being introduced into the home, and on top of this, there is also the arrival of a baby, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of working with a dog behavior professional for safety. When dogs tend to fight, it is easy to become targets of redirected bites if we happen to be nearby or attempt to separate the fighting dogs. This is a risk for all members of the household.

On top of this,  when we deal with behavior problems involving aggression, we often need to implement behavior modification more than training, especially initially as we aim to change the emotional response and this requires a plan in place based on individual factors. A certain level of skill, a good eye and delicate judgement calls are often needed based on careful observations and assessments. So I will be leaving here some reading material to look over, but these are just examples of work and meant to be conducted under the guidance of a professional: 

Here are some tips for introducing new dogs:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/introduce-dog-new-dog/

Here are several threads on dogs who resource guard. You may find it interesting seeing how there may be different dynamics going on and a variety of prognostic factors and ways to tackle it with the help of a professional:

For getting dogs used to a baby, you may find these article helpful:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/get-dog-used-crying-baby/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/get-dog-used-crawling-baby/

We must also consider that some dogs tend to get protective as well when owners are pregnant, so we need to watch carefully for signs of tension. 

I hope this helps!

Feel free to post if you have any particular questions.  

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your dog is aggressive, please use caution and consult with a dog behavior professional for in-person coaching, safety and correct implementation.

[ShelleyHall]

Thank you. I will look over all this. Yes we have a local person we have worked with and call on occasion. I just want to get as much knowledge as I can and ideas that I can to try and help. The boyfriends dog goes the the dog park and plays with all the other dogs there and normally will walk away when I knows what the other dog is saying. I appreciate the ideas that we can use and help to make things a little easier in my house.

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome. It's good news that your boyfriend's dog gets along with dogs at the park, this certainly ameliorates the situation as likely he'll apply his good communication skills with your other dogs. Keep me posted on how things go. I am always here if you need support or have questions.

Best,

Adrienne