Resource guarding protocols

Overcoming object, food and place guarding.

Management strategy, desensitization and counterconditioning.

Introduction

Every element and every step in training/re-training a dog – especially in behavioural reactions to certain stimuli – will be a slow process over many months. The steps cannot be skipped or speeded-up. There is no quick-fix magic wand. Patience and persistence are the keys to success. Think separately about a “management strategy” and a “training strategy”.

The initial “foundation” training – that is, teaching the steps, which at first may appear to have nothing to do with solving/curbing the undesirable behaviour, are critical foundation elements. If these are not fully learned and ingrained, then the later attempts to work directly on the particular behaviour will eventually crater.

As well as the strategies of the training protocols outlined, there is a prior step of behavioural management, that is, not allowing the unwanted behaviour to be rehearsed by the dog, as such episodes are self-rewarding and reinforce the undesirable behaviour.

Don’t be fooled by TV “dog whisperers” who are shown using techniques such as pushing, bullying and baiting to stop a dog guarding a food bowl, or those who offer “10-minute cures” to behavioural challenges, as these will invariably entail punishing coercive techniques. At best, the dog will become rapidly confused, fearful and, therefore, seemingly to “back down” in its unwanted behaviour. At worst – and most likely – the dog will react explosively in a violent outburst at a future time, perhaps when a child is walking past the dog as it is eating (if the behaviour was food resource guarding). Those forceful methods are not just stupidly short sited and cruel, they are bound to long term failure with potentially disastrous results.

The basics

1.     Always remember the foundation sequence in any training of (a) CUE the action (b) say, “YES”, in an upbeat, happy and snappy voice the split second the dog does what is asked then (c) REWARD with treat and “good dog” within 3 seconds.

2.     Also – a good training/practice session is just two or three repetitions over the space of a couple of minutes. Can be repeated two or three times a day and it’s good to take a break and not train just one or two days a week.

Object guarding - action steps

1.     Start with an unguarded object (a toy, not a bone or the food bowl, if that is the issue – see below).  Approach dog which holds the object (handler may have given it to the dog) from 2m and gently take object and then deliver treat with other hand, then give object back. May need the dog on-lead so she won’t be able to run away with the object before completely understanding “the game” – use treat in hand to illicit the desired giving up of the toy.

2.     Add in the cue “GIVE” (hand flat under the dog’s mouth) as gently take the object – offering the treat (or even an alternate more desirable object/toy).

3.     Progressively increase the distance you approach from, repeating the outlined actions protocol.

4.     Repeat earlier steps but pat the dog instead of treat delivery before taking object.

5.     Practice exchanges for other unguarded objects as an alternative to food rewards.

6.     Hand the dog the object, then don’t let go, but take it back (“GIVE”) and – YES - praise plus treat REWARD.

7.     Repeat Step 5 but let go of object for a couple of seconds, take it back (GIVE) and YES, REWARD.

8.     Progressively increase the time the dog holds the object before taking it back – then eventually walk away and return to take the object – each time delivering the GIVE cue, the YES and REWARD with praise and treat.

9.     Repeat Step 8 with increasing distance walk away and time lapse before returning to take the object back.

10.  Then – when this is working – just place the object in the room to let the dog pick it up, then approach after 2 seconds and take the object – GIVE/YES/REWARD.

11.  Repeat, but increasing time lapse.

12.  Up until now – these Steps have been performed with low-guarded objects.

13.  Now introduce the high value guarded object – such as the well-loved toy you had previously removed - and step through the protocol from the beginning all over again.

After each session, it is best to leave the object (toy) with the dog and walk away showing no further interest (say “OK, Finished, Good Dog”). Later, pick up the toy when the dog is ignoring it and hide it ready for the next session.

At each step, you reward and return the object to the dog. When the dog has an object you cannot return (e.g., a visitor’s sock) then replace it with an object the dog also favors (a favourite chew toy).

Food guarding - action steps

Food guarding – usually a food bowl (with food in it) or a bone – is quite common and understandable, in that the dog simply wants to be sure it has exclusive domain over this essential resource. This is partly instinctual, but can also be learned, for example, when a litter of pups are all fed from one large bowl – especially if the food is a little insufficient – or when the older litter of pups is given a single bone, perhaps because the guardian misguidedly thinks it is amusing to watch the pups growling and snarling trying to keep the bone to themselves. Unfortunately, that learned aspect of the resource guarding behaviour can become ingrained and presents a real problem in the adult dog.

Advice is commonly given that the guardian should put the food down for the dog and once it starts to eat, take the bowl up again – apparently either to “show who’s in control” or to prevent food guarding. This is a really bad idea, even if the dog does not have a resource guarding issue. Once a dog has a seriously developed food guarding syndrome, the best strategy is management. Forcing the dog to give up a half-eaten bowl of food is not just counter-productive, but is rather mean and stupid – no human would respond well to that treatment when they were in the middle of an enjoyable plate of food.

Management involves a number of simple steps, according to exactly how the resource guarding manifests, but as a general guide:

1.     Feed the dog at a set time and place. The place should be quiet, out of the way of family traffic and protected from disturbance. If there are two or more dogs, they should preferably be fed in totally separate areas (maybe different rooms or fenced-off areas). If that is not practical, then the guardian should stand in that “feeding arena” to prevent the fastest eater racing over to try to steal from the slower eater, as that practice would activate/consolidate resource guarding (for the obvious reason of necessity).

2.     A guardian may choose to ask the dog to “WAIT” as the bowl goes down, then “OK, TAKE IT” to let the dog start eating. This is not essential – just a form of “manners instruction” that may add something to the calmness of the feeding time ritual. I have seen this backfire with some very gentle natured dogs, which will keep checking that it is OK to take the next mouthful – not a common development, but a nuisance if it does occur because such dogs actually become nervous about consuming their food.

3.     Be certain that no-one walks close to the dog as it is eating – especially children, who may be fascinated to see the dog eat and want to get close and even look in the bowl or pat the dog – which the dog will almost certainly interpret as a near and present threat to its food.

4.     The same protocols apply if the dog(s) is given a raw meaty bone to chew (for teeth and gum health as well as nutrition).

Place guarding - action steps

This form of defensive guarding is most common when a dog is allowed on furniture – be that a couch or the guardian’s bed. Although the idea of cuddling a dog in these locations is certainly understandable and lots of guardians indulge in this comforting practice, it is generally ill-advised, just because it so often leads to the dog feeling it must either guard that location from usurpers, or it must guard the human who sits or lies beside them, commonly against a spouse or child who also wants to sit on the furniture, or just happens to walk by (the passer-by can even be another household dog or cat). A preferable solution is assigning a special dog bed or couch, which humans do not go to – even giving a dog choices of a couple of beds is a good solution. However, if the location/place guarding has already started, then here are the protocols to put in place management and retraining strategies.

1.     Initiate training the dog to get onto and off a place. This can be the furniture, but if the dog’s desire to remain and guard the favored place is already entrenched, then start with a platform which the dog can be cued to “load onto” (a cue might be “UP”, “LOAD” or “ON”) and the “YES and REWARD” protocol is followed[1]. Then – after a few moments, the dog is cued to get down from the platform (using “OFF” or “DOWN” as the verbal cue). The use of high value treats in the hand with a motion showing the dog the movement required (UP or DOWN) can be used as a “lure” and then delivered as the reward.

2.     This training is purely a game to instill the cues and make the “ON/OFF-UP/DOWN” action fun, which is rewarded each time.

3.     Once the dog knows these cues for the platform, start extending the game to the furniture, at first leave to dog on the furniture for just a few moments, then cue the “OFF”, then cue the “ON” and leave the dog there. The objective is to establish that the dog can get on the furniture when so directed, but also has to get off when cued.

4.     Now – if the issue was that if the dog is on the furniture beside one person and it reacts (resource guards) when another person (commonly the spouse or child) attempts to get on the furniture, then cue the dog “OFF” before the second person sits on the furniture, then cue the dog to return – using a “YES and REWARD” sequence each time. As this “proper behaviour” is being learnt by the dog, the guardians should perform a number of set-up “dummy runs”, just lasting a few minutes of one owner sits, cue the dog “UP”, then one or other person cues the dog “DOWN/OFF” (alternate who gives the cue and reward), the second person sits, then the dog can be cued to return to its furniture position.

If those steps all seem like hard work and time consuming, they are, but the only alternatives are not starting the dog on furniture in the first place or risking the growling/possibly biting episodes.

Conclusion

When a dog guards a resource, think about how much of a nuisance this really is, how violently the dog performs the guarding and how it might be managed, before deciding that a training cure is required in addition to a management strategy. Take into account the age of the dog, how it was treated (brought up) in its earlier life (for example, for food guarding, might there have been a shortage of food and intense competition?) and its general nature (intense/calm/active). Also be alert to particular triggers for the dog – does it only growl and guard against particular people or particular places and then, can anything be altered to avoid those situations as part of the management strategy whilst the training strategy is having an impact?

References

[1] A suitable platform can be purchased from a pet store or easily made at home (see YouTube “5 Minute Daily Home Dog Training" at https://youtu.be/TvU0yhyVObc for and example).