Why Do Some Dogs Display Possession Aggression?
Possession aggression in dogs is a natural behavior that originates from the instinct to react to a perceived threat. Although its useful, necessary behavior in the wild, it has no place in your home and needs to be managed before it develops into a serious problem. Reasons for resource guarding may include:
Most of the time, there is a genetic component to resource guarding. This means that dogs are born with the propensity to guard coveted items. Resource guarding can get worse due to environmental influences however. Owners often make resource guarding worse by their response – typically through punishment. For example, if a dog growls when a person goes near her when she has a bone and the person yells and takes the bone away anyway – the dog doesn’t learn that guarding is bad, she learns that growling doesn’t work to retain the bone. The consequence of this punishment can lead the dog to escalate to snapping or biting the next time she has something and a person tries to take it. Physical punishment is never advisable with a resource-guarding dog as this response usually makes the behavior worse.
It is also important to teach the dog to “drop it,” which means to spit out the item when requested for a reward and to “leave it,” which means to move away from the item to earn a reward. Using extra special yummy treats (usually chunks of meat) is important because you want the reward to be more special than the thing the dog typically guards.
Dogs with the propensity to resource guard can exhibit aggressive behavior when someone goes near them while they are eating or when in possession of a valuable resource such as a bone, toy, stolen object, or found object. Some dogs exhibit guarding behavior over resting places (their dog bed, the sofa, the owner’s bed, etc.) and can become aggressive when someone comes near or tries to remove them from the location.
If a dog has a bone or a toy, it is not likely that another dog will challenge that dog to gain possession of the item. This is also why if the cat is lying in a dog’s bed, the dog will lie next to the bed moping instead of chasing the cat out. While most dogs live by this rule, some dogs take it to a dangerous level and become aggressive when guarding their possessions. We call this behavior “resource guarding,” and it can be difficult to deal with when the aggression is directed to us.
The behavior modification program to work on resource guarding involves systematic desensitization (start at a low stimulus strength and slowly increase it over time) and positive counterconditioning (using something the dog loves to change the response from negative to positive). We want the dog to learn that not guarding is more reinforcing than guarding. To do this, we first determine at what distance away from the dog he starts to exhibit the resource guarding behavior and then, starting farther away from that point, we approach and toss a yummy treat to the dog. We do this over and over at that distance until the dog actively looks happy to see you coming because he anticipates that you are going to toss a yummy treat, and then we move a step closer and repeat the process. You would do this until you can walk right up to the dog when he has something or when he is lying in a coveted location and hand him the treat. We will have successfully changed the way he feels about your approach from negative to positive.
Control The Bowl & Teach Your Pup Patience
Teach your dog that you own the rights to the food, and that they must exhibit impulse control at the dinner table, by fixing the dog’s food and leaving it on the kitchen counter.
Then sit down at the table yourself with any type of food — you can even eat a couple of crackers — and eat first, before giving your dog their. The dog should sit and wait patiently until you are finished, and then you can put their bowl down.
If your dog is too impulsive to wait, then bring their crate into the kitchen and pull it up beside you, and crate them while you are eating. Before giving them dinner, let them out of the crate, and have them sit before you put down the bowl.
Have the full ration of dog food in another bowl, and put only a small handful into their dish. As they’re eating, reach down and add another handful, so that they get used to having your hands in or near their bowl.
Occasionally reach down and pick up the bowl while they’re eating, wait a few seconds, ask them to sit, then put it back down.
Always give your dog an adequate amount of food at each meal, so that they don’t feel deprived or hungry. A hungry dog will nearly always have impulse control issues around food.
If your dog is overweight, your veterinarian can recommend a food for weight control or you can add roughage like canned green beans or fresh grated carrots. This helps them feel fuller without having consumed extra calories.
How To Deal With Your Dog Growling Around Bones, Food and Toys!
Who owns the dog food in your house once it hits the bowl? Does Rover run you out of the kitchen when he is eating dinner? What happens if you need to take away a tasty bone or chew?
If food, bones, or chews turn your sweetie into a growling, snarling monster, then your dog has an issue with resource guarding, or CPA — canine possession aggression. Food aggression is the most common form of CPA.
Here’s what you should know about food aggression and guarding in dogs and what you can do about it.