Resource guarding

[Marlene]

Hi, I need some advice, I have a husky X shepherd.

He is lovable, trains well and just loves being around us. He is super friendly and doesn't mind strangers.

I do not free feed him, I sometimes train him whilst he then received his food, or he eats his food in snuffle matts or puzzles or go find it scenarios ect.

My issue is when walking outside, and he grabs something he shouldn't, like food that is sometimes wrapped in foils. I tell him to drop it, leave it, sometimes if it's something small I can get him to let it go but mostly he will growl. 

In this scenario, if I have tried to grab it from him he has bitten me.

I'm so dis heartened right now because he is treating like a king and he doesn't need to want for food. 

I'm not sure how to stop this behaviour, I feel he should trust me to know it could be dangerous for him.

This morning, I put my foot on the wrapper he was eating to try and move it away from him and he bit my foot.

I immediately Brought him home, we were just starting out walk.

I also out him in our outdoor fenced area where he cannot have free play as I feel he needs to know he has done something wrong.

What am I to do.

 

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome back,

The behaviors you are reporting sound concerning, especially since he's biting. Hopefully he has good bite inhibition, but even if so, we don't want him to rehearse this biting behavior.  Firstly, because the more a dog rehearses a problematic behavior the more it puts roots and establishes. Secondly because every time we try to forcibly take something away from a dog we are giving him a reason to bite and proving him we are not trustworthy, and thirdly, most likely before you are grabbing the item he is sending you some subtle distance-increasing signals (stay away signals), but these are being missed so he's put into the position of having to resort to more evident signs of aggression leading to him reverting more quickly to the more offensive strategies to alleviate perceived threats.

In other words, it's important to not put him into the position of having to resort to biting, while also preventing access to things he shouldn't have and teaching him that we are trustworthy when he has access to something. Unfortunately, dogs don't understand that when we are removing something potentially dangerous from them we are doing it for their own good. From a dog's perspective we are simply stealing a treasured item from them. 

For sake of comparison, when a dog has access to a valuable resource such as food, it's like us carrying our wallet in our front or back pocket of our pants or in our handbag. We keep our wallet as close to our bodies to protect it and the only person who would think about grabbing it is likely a thief. We would never expect our neighbors or even our close friends to start opening our purse and getting money from it. For many of us, we don't even allow this freedom to our family members!

So here are some general guidelines on how to manage this issue and prevent rehearsal, but to tackle this issue directly you will need the intervention of a dog behavior professional for safety and correct implementation of behavior modification.

Implementation of Management

Management is often overlooked when it comes to dogs who grab things they shouldn't. Management simply entails keeping things your dog shouldn't have out of the way.

So in the home, you would keep foods he shouldn't have out of the way and you would keep the trash can out of reach (or you would invest one with a lid).

In the yard, you would regularly inspect it and keep it clear of tempting things such as food remnants or carcasses of animals.

On walks, you would steer clear of things your dog may be attracted to by always walking your dog on leash and scanning roads so that you can walk away from the path where there are temptations. 

While management sounds like a no-brainer thing and doesn't seem to accomplish much in changing the behavior problem, it actually accomplishes many goals.

1) It prevents your dog from rehearsing the grabbing-things-he-shouldn't-have behavior.

2) It keeps your dog safe as ingested things can be toxic, cause choking or an intestinal blockage

3) it keeps you safe since some many dogs will feel compelled to bite when in possession of a perceived resource and us trying to forcibly remove it.

In an Emergency Situation

It goes without saying that many dogs will strongly object if we must forcibly remove something from their mouth. Prying open their mouths, pulling it out or trying to remove anything from their hold will only make matters worse. This especially tends to happen when we haven't established a base of trust through fluent responses to drop its and leave its from an early age and maintained them with routine trainings, but it can also happen when we haven't practiced with things that are high in value enough or when a dog finds frequently tempting things and we are not around, and they may therefore naturally and automatically feel inclined to think that anything they find belongs to them and will object if we attempt to remove it from them. 

If therefore grabbing the item out of the dog's mouth is counterproductive, how can I  get something out of a dog's mouth without him biting me? This is a good question. There are fortunately some ways around this problem.

The first way is the fast method to use in case of an emergency situation. This method comes handy for when your dog has gotten something he shouldn't have and you want him to relinquish it, but as safely as possible.

So if your dog stole something he shouldn't have, you can do the following to safely retrieve the item. Find something edible that is higher in value than what your dog has. Think about something your dog loves and drools for and that is safe for him to have. Maybe it's a bully stick, a pig's ear or his Kong stuffed with something tasty such as some smelly canned dog food.

Whatever it is, keep it always handy so that you can reach out for it at a moment's notice.  Make noise with the wrapper, open the fridge, unlock the jar storing his favorite bone. Chances are, he'll prick his ears and watch you carefully. Let him clearly see what you are doing.

At this point, your dog may drop the item he had in his mouth voluntarily to come see what you are doing or he may approach you carrying the item in his mouth to check what you are doing. Once you have the item in your hand, let your dog see it, and as soon as you notice interest, walk past an open door or baby gate, toss the desired item and as soon as he's past the door/baby gate  to go get it, close the door/baby gate between you and your dog so that you can safely remove the object.

This method works well because on top of getting your dog to voluntary relinquish the object, you are also teaching him the art of "fair trading." In other words, instead of dreading you coming his way when he has a possession in fear of you pulling it out of his mouth, rep after rep, he looks forward to it because he has learned that you always have something better to offer.

What to Do on Walks

If you are on a walk and your dog happens to grab to something from the ground, you can do something similar.

Make it a habit of carrying in your pocket or in a treat bag one of the highest value foods your dog enjoys so that you can offer it at a moment's notice. Your dog should rapidly drop whatever he picked up without much thinking involved. If you are offering the right type of food, this should be a no-brainer decision and he'll drop without hesitation.

Training the Dog to Trust 

If you have forcibly removed items from your dog in the past or your dog hasn't learned the perks that come from learning leave it and drop it from the get-go, not all is lost. You will have to though work harder on convincing your dog that you are no longer a threat and that you will actually add things or swap things for something better. 

This is mainly done through behavior modification, using desensitization and counterconditioning techniques.

Training the drop it and leave it command can turn helpful too, but in the case of a dog who is resource guarding already, it requires a more gradated, systematic approach incorporating some elements of behavior modification versus the regular way of training it. For this very reason you'll see how in the drop it section it reads "Some dogs may be reluctant to drop items they are possessive of. If your dog shows signs of aggression such as stiffening, growling, or showing teeth, please stop training this exercise and consult with a professional."

It is therefore fundamental for safety and correct implementation of behavior modification to enlist the help of a qualified dog behavior professional, such as a board-certified veterinary behaviorist (DACVB) or an Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB).

Unfortunately, keeping him in a separated area where he can't have free play after the fact won't do much in terms of him learning from his earlier behavior. In order for dogs to associate a behavior with a consequence it needs to happen immediately. On top of this, any type of punishment applied to resource guarding is a cocktail for disaster because it will further convince the dog that we are not to be trusted. 

You can read more about resource guarding here:

 

and here:

I hope this helps,

Let me know if you have any questions,

Best, 

Adrienne

 Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance.