Resource Guarding - Saturday, June 1, 2013

Francis sent me the following message. I've edited it slightly.

Just received this message from one of my new puppy owners. I've never had a problem with resource guarding with my own two Icelandic sheepdogs. They've always been fine with other dogs eating next to them.

"The sweet little dog pictured here has begun to exhibit signs of resource guarding and I wondered if you had any advice for me. In the past, Pála would snap at the air every so often if I reached down to move her food dish or take away a kibble-stuffed Kong, but last weekend she turned into a snarling, biting little monster with my Mom’s dog. It happened when Pála was consuming the small poodle/terrier’s food (Willy is a notoriously slow eater, while Pála inhales her food). There was no injury, but other than avoiding the situation in the future by separating the dogs while eating, I wondered if we could try some training regimens. I’ve started following Pat Miller’s advice in The Power of Positive Dog Training, but wondered if you had any other tips.

Other than this episode, Pála has been wonderful—my new best friend."

First of all, everyone must find by experimenting, by trying different training methods, the one that works best for themselves. Dogs, like humans, are individuals and what works for one trainer/dog team may not work for another team.

I have several dogs and they all eat their dinners together in the confined space of my smallish kitchen-dining area - about 12' x 12'. They each have their own bowl to eat out of but all the bowls are the same. However, I put the bowls down one by one when feeding and I don't put the bowls of the dogs in the same places for every meal. In other words, no dog has his/her own bowl or feeding space. Does that make sense?

I do not disturb my dogs while they are eating. I am sure I could take their dishes away but why would I?

Please don't be aghast!  I give my dogs their breakfast by feeding them like chickens. Using my hands, I scatter their kibble in my family room. I try to make sure they all get their fair share. They do not fight over the scattered kibble - ever. I have to be fair. Tryggur eats lots so I make sure that there is more kibble near him; Kria is a very slow eater and I try and keep her slightly away from the others. Even when the other dogs stray into Tryggur's space or Kria's space, there are no incidents. I don't recommend that method of feeding to anyone else but it works for me to get the day started.

For lunch they get raw carrots cut into chunks, pieces, slices, strips. They sit and wait as I feed them one by one and each dog gets several pieces of carrot. (They eat lots of carrots!) I like feeding carrots, cabbage leaf ribs, broccoli and cauliflower stems, etc. because they don't add calories and they fill the dogs up. I make them sit before I give them each piece and they do it now without any command. They know they will not get their share without sitting first. They also trust me to portion the pieces out so that they all get their fair share.

A little history: - puppies nurse together; then, as they move on to semi-solid and solid food, they eat out of the same "hubcap" bowl. They get along fine. If there's any squabbling (and there usually isn't), they quickly seem to learn that the 'squabblers' will not get as much food as the puppies that get along well together.

However, when puppies leave their birth homes, they may move into a home with no other dogs and they may forget how to eat 'collectively' and peacefully. (I don't know if Pála lives alone or if she and the poodle/terrier live together.)

I never take food away from a dog - well, almost never. That would discourage trust. 

However, there may be times when you have to take something from your dog. It may pick up a piece of broken glass, or a bit of rusty or sharp metal, or some 'food' that could be harmful to it. So to prepare for that certainty - it will happen one day - I sometimes practice taking things away from my dogs.

You can start with a toy or a chewer or a kong or a bone. Start slowly and carefully. Always, ALWAYS, show them a more desirable treat than what they have and let them sniff it. Use the same command word so they learn it. It might be "Out!" or "Drop It!". That doesn't matter but always use the same word. When they drop the toy, treat, etc. quickly give them the 'better' treat. (It has to be a more desirable treat.) At the same time quickly and quietly remove the toy or treat they had and hide it behind your back or on top of the fridge, or kitchen counter, or a table. While you are doing that, repeat the praise for what you are teaching. That's important. Your dog has to know what has happened and that that is good. So repeat, "Good Out!" or "Good Drop It!" Your dog will quickly learn that when it gives something up to you, it will always get something better in exchange. Do not try to teach this UNLESS you have something better to give the dog in trade and you must give it immediately.

If the guarding extends to chewers, toys, kongs, bones, etc., then I would pick up those items and put them on top of the fridge. Anytime there is that misbehavior, if you cannot stop it by a command, take it away

That lesson (above) is a little off base for this issue/problem but the idea is similar. YOU are the boss. YOU are the alpha. And you are nice and reasonable.

When I feed my dogs their dinners, they must each sit before I put their dish down. This teaches them order and respect and also focuses their attention on me - the boss. I don't hesitate and make this a big deal. To begin with I use the command "Sit!" before I put the dish down. Because Icelandics are so smart, in two or three days' time they learn that they have to sit before I will put the dish down. Now they all sit automatically without commands when it is their turn to be fed. 

Tryggur is fed last but he always finishes first anyway. He will eventually visit all the other dishes when each dog is finished. Kria is fed first but finishes last. Indeed, all the dogs visit all the other dishes when the other dogs are done eating but not while they are still eating. I honestly don't know how that happened. I do not discourage visiting - after they are finished. I think it lets them know that they all got the same thing; there were no favorites. (There are actually differences in their diets - slight differences because of age, tendency to put on weight easily, etc.)

So a question might be, "How did they learn not to visit empty dishes until each dog has finished eating?" Maybe I discouraged them with an: -  Unh Unh! or a chin scratch or an attention grabber like, "Was that a good dinner?", "Did you enjoy that?". Regardless, they know not to visit any other dog's dish until that dog has finished. Even slow Kria gets her chance to finish before anyone can go visit her dish. They all visit all the other dishes. I think it's partly their way of checking up on me to see that I don't have favorites. Maybe. 

Related to these lessons is the "Leave It!" lesson from many blog entries ago. The point of all of them is that the food does not appear magically. It comes from me. I am the one they must listen to if they want their food, treat, toy, etc. That is not a mean thing to do. Dogs are pack animals. They are programmed genetically to follow the pack leader, the alpha dog (wolf). I just happen to be that alpha. 

In the case of Pála I might try feeding the poodle/terrier first and a few feet away from Pála and perhaps behind a barrier - an open cupboard door, around a corner, etc. Then I would hold Pála's dish up where she can see it and repeat stuff like, "Are you hungry?", "Do you want to eat?", "Are you the best dog ever?", "I've made the best dinner for you!", etc. with the idea of distracting her and making her feel really special. Before putting it down I would make her sit. When I put the dish down, I would continue to talk to her while she's eating repeating sentences similar to the above ones. (I would not ever pick her dish up until she is completely finished.) Talking to her would make her feel, perhaps, special. During this time I would be keeping track of the progress of the other dog's meal.

If the other dog is still eating when Pála is finished, I would make Pála the center of my attention maybe by having her do tricks, rewarded tricks, or talking with her. When the other dog has finished and has walked away from her dish, I would definitely let Pála visit the dish. 

It doesn't sound like this issue has developed into something extreme yet. If necessary, Pála might have to be fed in her crate, or perhaps both dogs will have to be crate fed but I would only do that if things get worse or are worse than they sound. I would avoid that for now.

Do they share a water bowl? Then this is not a biggie yet. Pála is still a very young puppy. I think she was born in January. It should be relatively easy to mold her behavior now while she is still young.