I have a resource guarding dog a female 2 yr beagle who will attack our yr old lab. Guards bedroom she sleeps in..her ball..just anything she wants..so difficult.
I’ve taken on a dog that for the first time ever for me, resource guards. As I can see it. She feeds well with others. She even travels & sleeps well with others. She happily shows the other dogs her favourite toy but as soon as it’s on the floor she guards. The ball however she even growls at me. At first she went for me but I took it any way & took it away. Her favourite toy which is a squeaky duck toy. She doesn’t squeak it but she happily gives it up for me to see & give it back. This sprocker is 18 months & has been treated like a princess at last home. She wants to be above everyone. We have a no furniture rule at ours for every dog. My three spanners are very good with other dogs, they give others space & behave appropriately around others. Very calm & very mannerly. Very chilled in our house. Mabel is nervous & at the moment she’s still after three weeks, figuring out her own feelings but we have a strict routine & all come to work with me as a gardener everyday. She is socialised with a muzzle on but muzzle is only for socialisation. Just so she can meet others without me having to take a hold of the lead when she greets others. I’ve slowly been gently stroking to the areas around her problem issues but she did have matting that I spent time gently & in time taking out. We make game with her touching my hand with her paws for praise & the difficult areas, a treat. I have her on food appropriate for her & she has no free rein all the time. There are only certain places I allow her off for a run, but long walks on a long lead & lead work as well as work with me has helped a lot with feeling more chilled. The only issue so far is just the dropped toy or weirdly, greeting again, my dogs. All are the same sex too. We don’t play games, the others do but she is on a lead just watching with me whilst the others play so she can be close but she learns to be calm & keep anxiety levels down. Great post. Very helpful.
So my 5 month french bulldog would guard his dentastix, he does not any longer. However, now if the throws up he will guard his own vomit. I cannot control when he vomits so it is very hard to prevent. He once even went to protect his poop. He gets very aggressive and at this point I don't know what to do.
Hello, please give me your thoughts if any. All of these situations are from week two for four since I have her. The first two weeks she was an angel doing anything bad.❤Situation one: I have two dogs, 3&6 years old and one month ago I rescued a chiachua, she was a stray, found, no claim so I took her in, approx six years old, not spayed but will be next week. Her issue today was one of my dogs was in bed as usual; I have like six dog beds. She came to her face and growled (sound of attack) near the neck like crazy; later in an hour my two dogs jumped on my bed as usual but she ( has a special look forward and ready to run) wanted to growl again at them and not letting them jump on my bed. I stopped her and told her to go to her bed, and my other two jumped on my bed. She went to her bed. ❤Situation two: she was at one corner on the couch and I was sitting in the middle and my dog jumped on another side of the couch. She jumped and started to run aggressively over me to my dog. I stopped her but it was scary. ❤Situation three: my husband came from work and all dogs met him, but that he was coming upstairs and she was not letting two of my dogs go upstairs with my husband. She got aggressive.❤ Situation four: she was rubbing her back on the carpet and my dog came to sniff her stomach. She jumped up like crazy and growled at my dog.❤Situation five: in the dog park when some dogs bark through the fence shared with big dogs, she runs to them, small, and gets aggressive but I am not sure why. She goes after barking any dog on her side near her very close to the dog's neck and makes an aggressive growling. It scares me. She is not aggressive to food or so. She seems doesn't know how play with dogs or toys. She is approx. six years old. She was found as a stray so not sure about her exact age. In general I have never had any issues like these with my two dogs that I have. They are 3(got from a shelter at 5 month old) & 6(got her at one year old), they not related and very good behaved to this new one that I have for a month so far. My both dogs are spayed, but she is not and will be next week so maybe that can be influenced? I stopped her bed behave all of these times screaming stop, but I am scared of she will do that at my dogs when I am not home as well what if the reply...Please let me know what should I do? Thank you very much!
I see you just posted recently., I do hope you get some answers and advice! I’m watching this video bc I’ve been having problems with my 4 year old dog, and a pug we’ve recently adopted as well!
Some dogs are far more inclined to be possessive or controlling in and around other dogs, and this is to a good degree of lack of normal socialisation and control in such situations, which is reflected in her late ownership by you. In the video you can see my use of the lead in the house and this will be your means to calmly intervene when things become growly. Keep in mind we could look at this for a couple of hours if together, so it’s a big subject, but we’ll keep it simple. As soon as you see such poor behaviour, walk over calmly and lift the lead and bring her away immediately from the situation and make her sit and stay at your feet. Stay calm but be sure she knows that you’re not impressed and this can come across in your tone of voice. No shouting, no harsh handling required. Keep her at your feet for a good 30 seconds until you relax and let her go again once you’re happy that she is looking relaxed and not keen to return for more of the same. Repeat as needed. Often times, I advise customers with dogs that behave in this way to leave a lead on the dog all day for say a 2 week period in the day when you are present to supervise all interactions and behaviours. That way, you’ll be right there to intervene and to demonstrate to your dog that YOU are in control, not the new dog - even if it lacks social skill and etiquette at this time - that will come later as you work with the dog. Remove the lead when you can’t supervise for safety. Keeping the dogs separate in your absence could also be a sensible measure until you are confident that the mutual acceptance of each other is in place. Also, this new dog has to earn its right to access to your furniture and bed etc. It can happen later on, but once these issues have resolved to your satisfaction. Good behaviour and manners first, then bring in the privileges and love 🧡 Remember, the video shows methods to address the behaviours, which are not too dissimilar to how to prevent it. Thanks
@@AlphaDogBehaviourthank you very much but unfortunately for a leash may not be time because she runs like a bullet and it takes seconds. I tried. Today my husband was petting one dog lying on the the floor and she jumped down from the couch like 10 feet away and came to my dog to the face and did rrrrr.... ignored the husband...he pushed her away saying no....but she stepped to do the same few more times...Is it jealousy or what? I just don't get the point why she runs to my dog face with rrrr....Is it just an anger or prebite preparation? She was very good in the dog park today, but she still wants to run to the barking dogs, so every time in that case I called her and she listened and came back. Didn't run to the barking dogs. I want her to avoid them. She doesn't try to play running, when she runs to the barking dogs she runs like a bullet barking, stops between them or barks like she is a boss and one time barked and stared at another dog face. I took her away.
I've got 2 English Staffys. Sarge is a 20 month old, well exercised, behaved and gentle temperament...until we got 10 week old Major. Sarge and Major play very well together and tolerates the puppy teething, but Sarge has nipped Major a few times over ALL toys and has started to resource guard. Now I keep them separate when playing with toys, but Sarge drops his favourite toys & is HYPER fixated on ANYTHING Major has. What else can I do???
Strict control of behaviour when together and lift up all contentious items so no issues in your absence. Major will be full on at this age and as he matures he should settle. Good luck :)
This explains guarding perfectly. Ive got a rescue red lab 2 1/2 years sits and waits perfectly for food yet when he steals stuff or if i try and put ear drops in he goes ballistic, barks, runs off, growls and if pushed then snaps. I know the previous owners traded everything for treats but we now have a dog that expects a vast amount of daily treats and is overweight.Last owners also allowed couch and slept on their bed (didnt have his own bed) and still believe he had no issues and thought this behavior was totally normal. Its a hard battle!
It can be worth training g in a hold and give exercise in preparation for the future thefts so as to reduce the conflict. Stick to the sensible boundaries you are implementing. Many people don’t see poor behaviour from their dogs as their buttons are not being pressed or that various situations are not being addressed/challenged. Remain calm and consistent and you’ll get there.
great info thx! this was helpful and a lot of good details! your house is just so clean...like not a speck of dust...ya need to make a vid on how you do that lol
Our one year old golden Pyrenees is starting to gaurd our sons room where she sleeps sometimes and now the couch where she sits a lot. She is going after are little dog who is ten years old. She has started going after our kitten that walks by the couch. And has gone after the other animals when we are standing around eating. Keep in mind we are a family of 8. We have 6 kids from 16-8. The way she has been going after the dog is escalating. Getting scary. We are trying to keep them separated when they are in the house.
It sounds as though you could do with some help to address these issues one by one in the home. Keep her off the couch until the behaviour resolves and good luck with seeking direct help.
@@AlphaDogBehaviour Experiencing VERY similar behavior from our 18 month old rescue pup - she was triggered by members of the family of 4 going away for a week (her primary owner included) - I stayed home and all 4 dogs were fine (14 f, 11 f and 16 m). They all came back and there there 3 incidents with her going for the 11 yr old dog in 3 days - all triggered by someone leaving the home and pup guarding me. Have asked for a dog behaviorist to come but they refuse until dogs have been kept separate for 10-14 days? Spoke to 3 behaviorists - all said to keep separated for 10-14 days first. 1 behaviorist said straight out that f on f aggression "cannot be remedied" - without meeting either of the dog :(
This sounds stressful. I would personally not pre judge re female and female together and neither would I wait 2 weeks, I’d be straight in to look at it and then to agree a way forward. Keep looking for a behaviourist you trust. Good luck on your efforts.
@@AlphaDogBehaviour Thank you - this makes me feel SO much better. For now I am still looking AND I am going to start crate training this weekend. What are your views on crate training as a safe space for the dog? I wish you were here in South Africa - I like your calm energy
@marygrossett9130 A positive side effect of the crate is that you should be able to leave your dog for sensible periods of time once it is accustomed to going in out of the crate and that you know it can cope for short spells in the crate. For example start at five minutes place a Kong or similar inside the crate to give the dog a positive, experience and then over time you can begin to extend that duration in keeping with your dogs ability to cope. I hope that helps and best of luck Nick.
In the last two weeks my 6 month old Working Cocker Spaniel, has started getting snappy if we go near his crate or blanket that he sleeps on. Doesn't do it with food or toys. Just the crate an blanket. Watching the video would you suggest that if we have to go out not leaving the blanket in the crate?
You could try that yes. I had a case recently with a Springer whereby he was highly protective in and around his crate. He was clean and dry and so didn’t need it for toilet training (you may or not be at that point yet). The crate was removed and the problem resolved itself in time, though additional measures were also implemented.
@@AlphaDogBehaviour He had been toilet trained since 4 months old. He just won't settle for a nap unless we put him in his crate. The breader recommended alway using the crate. He also eats anything and everything, so he know where he is and what he is up to when we are out.
I hear you. Tricky in some respects as you would often find that a crate is still helpful with a 6 month old, but if it’s becoming a possessive issue you may want to do away with it sooner than later? Worth looking for a local puppy trainer to look at it first hand?
Hello, please give me your thoughts if any. All of these situations are from week two for four since I have her. The first two weeks she was an angel doing anything bad.❤Situation one: I have two dogs, 3&6 years old and one month ago I rescued a chiachua, she was a stray, found, no claim so I took her in, approx six years old, not spayed but will be next week. Her issue today was one of my dogs was in bed as usual; I have like six dog beds. She came to her face and growled (sound of attack) near the neck like crazy; later in an hour my two dogs jumped on my bed as usual but she ( has a special look forward and ready to run) wanted to growl again at them and not letting them jump on my bed. I stopped her and told her to go to her bed, and my other two jumped on my bed. She went to her bed. ❤Situation two: she was at one corner on the couch and I was sitting in the middle and my dog jumped on another side of the couch. She jumped and started to run aggressively over me to my dog. I stopped her but it was scary. ❤Situation three: my husband came from work and all dogs met him, but that he was coming upstairs and she was not letting two of my dogs go upstairs with my husband. She got aggressive.❤ Situation four: she was rubbing her back on the carpet and my dog came to sniff her stomach. She jumped up like crazy and growled at my dog.❤Situation five: in the dog park when some dogs bark through the fence shared with big dogs, she runs to them, small, and gets aggressive but I am not sure why. She goes after barking any dog on her side near her very close to the dog's neck and makes an aggressive growling. It scares me. She is not aggressive to food or so. She seems doesn't know how play with dogs or toys. She is approx. six years old. She was found as a stray so not sure about her exact age. In general I have never had any issues like these with my two dogs that I have. They are 3(got from a shelter at 5 month old) & 6(got her at one year old), they not related and very good behaved to this new one that I have for a month so far. My both dogs are spayed, but she is not and will be next week so maybe that can be influenced? I stopped her bed behave all of these times screaming stop, but I am scared of she will do that at my dogs when I am not home as well what if the reply...Please let me know what should I do? Thank you very much!
Stop giving the dog access to the couch and use it’s own bed. Keep a lead on your dog in the home for easy control should it misbehave or get on the couch without permission. I would never allow a dog on the couch without permission by me. Hope that helps a little
I did Everything I was told and what I learned to prevent it. But as soon as she turned 1, it happened anyway. I’ve never had this issue with any of my dogs. My last dog was a beautiful pitty and I could do anything while she was eating and take anything away no problem. I’m wondering if the bite that my sisters dog inflicted on her as a puppy has anything to do with this. She’s not a severe case at the moment. But she is cautious and I notice her body language when I get close. Ans she has growled once when I went to take a string cheese away that she got off the counter.
If she ever gets a sock or one of my pillows or anything like that that she know she shouldn’t have, as soon as I walk in the room and she sees me, she immediately drops walks away from it. I can inspect her body or mouth and ears. I can take her kong with peanut butter in it. It’s Moreso things like bully sticks. And her food bowl. Which I don’t understand because I did what I thought I was supposed to. She’s super tolerant otherwise. So I do have hope. I’ve been working on it as soon as I noticed the issue arising. I jus really hope this can be worked out and forgotten. She’s a great Labrador in all ways but I know how problematic this can be in other areas aside from just mealtime
Our 10 mo old dog has recently started trying to fight our 3 yr old dog at meal times, and really any time he gets overly excited. We are trying to manage that by keeping them separate at meal times and paying very close attention to when he gets overstimulated, which is helping (but still kind of there). However at the dog park yesterday he started a fight with another dog over a ball, which he has never done before. Additionally, at day care twice in the last week he has humped our 3 yr old dog repeatedly to the point we cannot take them to daycare together. If they separate them at daycare the 10 mo old gets major separation anxiety regarding the other dog. He also doesn't hump any other dog, nor has he humped any dog in front of us. They are separated most of the day with no issues. Any help is appreciated!
Hi there people are dumping their animals in Florida so I found a Shih Tzu one year old and I have four cats that are used to sleeping in the bed whenever they feel like it and getting all of the attention. I really need your advice because I have come along way with desensitizing the dog with the four cats, but unfortunately, the dog sleeps in my bed and constantly barks guarding the bed or me. Of course I made the mistake because the dog was abandoned and every time I would try to get her not to sleep with me all she would do is bark except she does really well. When I need to leave the house, I am retired and would love all the advice you have to share, my goal is to be able to have the cats in the bed but this one year old Shih Tzu barks excessively when any cats are nearby, any advice would be so appreciative, and I am so grateful but I do realize this video was made a few years ago
You could try a simple approach of if there's barking, quickly place him on the floor, once he's calm and quiet he can come up again. So you Maintain this simple approach until he learns to settle and be quiet on the bed. A few days of strict management like this and see where you are in that specific situation. Good luck. Keep me posted 👍
hi there. i found your video very interesting and as first time dog owners i think we have done a few things wrong unfortunately. our 2 year old is now showing quite aggressive resource guarding over stolen items . particularly the post. we are looking at ways we can stop the post falling on the floor and catch it but once he is in his bed with the stolen item he really isnt giving it up. not even for chicken. what can we do please? feel its getting worse :(
To address that specific area, I would set up a collection basket behind the letterbox or place a secure post box to the front of the house. With that regular occurrence out of the way, you could begin to look at the possessive behaviour in more detail. Thanks. Nick
Try an external post box that is secure and lockable. This approach saves the work to address the post issue, but you may need professional help if you find that the points raised in the video don't help once applied. Thanks.
@Jhanna Francine Garcia If you apply the points in the video from the outset with your new dog, you stand a better chance of a smooth ride with your new dog. Good luck and keep me posted! Nick
The problem I am having with my 6 month old isn't that she resource guards regular things like toys but its things she shouldn't have as if she knows I don't want her having them, like something has fallen off the side be it a piece of plastic, paper etc and she will back off from me and make a faint "huff" unless I offer a high value treat that gets her attention and quickly take item away she will guard it but not bite me as such but may gently mouth, the outdoors is the extreme though, she picks up and eats and swallows so much especially stones and pebbles but any thing like old food even if rotten is appealing to her and if I call her and/or say leave it she will turn her face away from me and quickly chew and swallow before I can distract her, offering a treat does nothing and thats if I have it ready in time, often she will pick up a stone as she walks into my home (outside my house is a area with decorative pebbles and stones, its a shared entrance with neighbours) and I have mostly worked out how to distract her enough to not pick one up and if she does she mostly drops it if I give her even a small treat and quickly move away, big items like what happened today nothing distracts her, she picked up something big on walk just outside house and no amount of treats distracted her and she ran away from me each time I got close so I had to do the dangerous act of putting my hand near her (with other hand full of treats and grab it out of her mouth, she lunged at me and nipped hand which made me drop the item and when she went to get it off floor I showed her my other hand but she bared her teeth and barked and bit my hand and gave a "dent" in the skin, not enough to make it bleed but just enough I have 3 tiny (like less than mm each wide) scratches on my hand. I want to get her out of this behaviour when shes still young but as its outdoor she has the problem with I don't know what to do
We did try to prevent it. Never took anything from her without offering something else. It worked fine. Until my sister in law watched her, the dog snagged a chicken bone, and she took it away from her. Ever since, she has guarded bones. The easy solution so far is no more bones. But that gave her teeth problems. The other solution was therefor to give her bones only in situation I know no one will touch her. I am hoping to find a better know down the road making sure my dog is confident enough to know she doesn’t have to guard.
I need help and I hope you will reply. I have a rescue who likes to sit on my grandma’s bed and lay next to my grandma and once he does, there’s no getting him down. He’s already bitten my twice which last night brought me to tears. I’m afraid he’ll bite my grandma. What do I do?
My 7month old puppy only guards her benebones. I do the give her a treat then take it away. But if she moves location then it is difficult to take it away. I hand feed her as a puppy for 2 months. She is good with her food and all other toys. Do I just not allow her to have a benebone?
Potentially if there are no children around and it can be safely managed, but worth looking at a book called Mine! by Jean Donaldson to resolve the issues fully.
My gsd pup is 5 months old and when I play fetch with him with two balls, if I try to take both the balls he goes crazy, he bolts to get the ball of when he senses I'm gonna take both of em. He growls when I try to to get my hand near his mouth when he has ball in his mouth. At this point Im getting scared and he does this to almost every thing he gets in his mouth. But when I give up and go away he drops the stuff from his mouth and runs to me
Hi there this is My second message to you and I really hope that you post some more recent videos because the more you post and the more I share your videos you can actually make good money on UA-cam, I’m the one who made the mistake, letting the dog sleep in the bed The problem is and the answer is to put a bed in the kitchen and have her start sleeping there so my cats the four of them can sleep in the bed. The problem is I live in a building and the dog will bark excessively even if I put distractions in the kitchen, such as a plastic mat with frozen peanut butter on it. How do I break this vicious cycle of my dog guarding the bed or me or the toys in which I will get rid of all of that for now I really need your advice.
One of our problems is that our dog (10 month old German Shepherd), resource guards, particularly if he gets ahold of his leash. He growls and gives the hard stare, snapping his way up the leash if we take hold of it. Limits our ability to leave the leash on him in the house to maintain control of him..
I watched the whole video because you mentioned dogs guarding their owners, which is the problem I am having.. There was no advice for that at all. My 14 month old German Sheperd will charge across the room and growl at my husband when he comes near me. I tell him no, go to his place, but how do you stop it?
Nice video. I can take just about anything away from my seven month old Doberman with no reaction. What’s interesting is that she doesn’t like anyone to pet or touch her while she’s chewing on high value treats. The easy fix is to simply just not pet her, but I have children who will occasionally run by and give her a little pat. Her reaction are restrained low volume, but still audible growl. So far no snarling or snapping. She will also occasionally display this behavior if she is laying next to me on the floor at night and someone else touches her.
I have a dog that resource guards attention. Today we took her and my older dog to the dog park and she was extremely upset that my husband was playing with my older dog eventhough I was giving her attention and playing with her. She would half heartedly play and kept running to the gate and staring at my husband with the older dog. What would you do in this situation? Thank you.
This situation is reflective of a wider relationship dynamic that I would look at in more depth across a variety of areas, so it’s not a quick fix, sorry.
My 6 month old male Australian shepherd has been getting worse. It started a few months ago after vomit. He gets sick on car rides, then eats vomit. If I try to remove him to clean it he's very aggressive , growls bites etc. Now it's over things he's not supposed to have, toilet paper, kleenex, socks, other dangers. I'm now afraid of my dog and disabled on fixed income. He's already 22 pounds. I can't lift him. He's supposed to get to 30 pounds. Please help. I'm scared of him. He even tries biting me when I put him in his crate. This is where he sleeps . He is strong. I feel I need to rehome him but already invested 3k.
If you’re scared of him, you need professional help and if that doesn’t help, you may need to allow someone that knows what they’re doing address the behaviour. Good luck, thank you.
My dog guards my bedroom, she will lay by the door and will growl at anyone trying to come in or go out. I've started to lock her out of the bedroom but then she nervously paces the house and continuously whines and cries at the door. I feel so bad for locking her out like I'm being mean to her 😢
Perhaps set up a set place for her to sleep away from your room that is quiet and comfortable and just stick with that as an ongoing situation for nights. Good luck!
@@AlphaDogBehaviour thanks for the response, she does have a bed in my office, she sleeps on it during the day while I'm working but at night she wants to sleep in my bed, I was allowing it at first but then she started to get territorial over it and wouldn't even allow me on the bed 🤦. Now it's just a matter of sticking to it and not allowing her to guilt me into letting her take over my bed again.
My 3 year old, 70lb black lab mix has escalated resource gaurding lately. She's now attacking my 8 lb chihuahuas. I can take food away, toys away, anything. So can my 2 year old. No issues, yet... she's attacked the other dogs many times now though. We've started seperating them completely while eating and keeping our food away from all of them. Tonight we brought in a bag of dog food from the store and sat it on the floor next to the pantry while we unloaded groceries. The female chihuahua who she attacks more frequently and aggressively was near the bag and she attacked and cut her face in 3 places. She's already had stitches before on her chest. I don't know what to do. I can't keep them separated at all times. The attacks are always food related however she has growled aggressively over my attention as well.
How can you talk about how to fix resource guarding with a video of a dog that doesn’t show this attitude. Sorry but your video has no benefit for some of us that are already dealing with a dog that shows resource guarding.
I understand your point, the methods can still be applied to another dog that struggles with these behavioural traits. You don’t need to see my dog or another dog demonstrating the behaviour for you to be able to watch and listen and to apply the various methods as set out in the video. Also, the video places an emphasis upon prevention and I’m pretty sure I make the comment that the routes of prevention and cure are not too dissimilar. Have you had any success in dealing with this yourself? Thanks, Nick
I have a resource guarding dog a female 2 yr beagle who will attack our yr old lab. Guards bedroom she sleeps in..her ball..just anything she wants..so difficult.
I’ve taken on a dog that for the first time ever for me, resource guards. As I can see it. She feeds well with others. She even travels & sleeps well with others. She happily shows the other dogs her favourite toy but as soon as it’s on the floor she guards. The ball however she even growls at me. At first she went for me but I took it any way & took it away. Her favourite toy which is a squeaky duck toy. She doesn’t squeak it but she happily gives it up for me to see & give it back.
This sprocker is 18 months & has been treated like a princess at last home. She wants to be above everyone. We have a no furniture rule at ours for every dog. My three spanners are very good with other dogs, they give others space & behave appropriately around others. Very calm & very mannerly. Very chilled in our house.
Mabel is nervous & at the moment she’s still after three weeks, figuring out her own feelings but we have a strict routine & all come to work with me as a gardener everyday. She is socialised with a muzzle on but muzzle is only for socialisation. Just so she can meet others without me having to take a hold of the lead when she greets others. I’ve slowly been gently stroking to the areas around her problem issues but she did have matting that I spent time gently & in time taking out. We make game with her touching my hand with her paws for praise & the difficult areas, a treat. I have her on food appropriate for her & she has no free rein all the time. There are only certain places I allow her off for a run, but long walks on a long lead & lead work as well as work with me has helped a lot with feeling more chilled. The only issue so far is just the dropped toy or weirdly, greeting again, my dogs. All are the same sex too. We don’t play games, the others do but she is on a lead just watching with me whilst the others play so she can be close but she learns to be calm & keep anxiety levels down.
Great post. Very helpful.
I've only watched one video from you. But I'll follow you in all your endeavours.
Thank you.
So my 5 month french bulldog would guard his dentastix, he does not any longer. However, now if the throws up he will guard his own vomit. I cannot control when he vomits so it is very hard to prevent. He once even went to protect his poop. He gets very aggressive and at this point I don't know what to do.
I would seek out some one to one help as that clearly needs a full investigation and plan of action. Good luck and keep me posted. Thanks, Nick
Hello, please give me your thoughts if any. All of these situations are from week two for four since I have her. The first two weeks she was an angel doing anything bad.❤Situation one: I have two dogs, 3&6 years old and one month ago I rescued a chiachua, she was a stray, found, no claim so I took her in, approx six years old, not spayed but will be next week. Her issue today was one of my dogs was in bed as usual; I have like six dog beds. She came to her face and growled (sound of attack) near the neck like crazy; later in an hour my two dogs jumped on my bed as usual but she ( has a special look forward and ready to run) wanted to growl again at them and not letting them jump on my bed. I stopped her and told her to go to her bed, and my other two jumped on my bed. She went to her bed. ❤Situation two: she was at one corner on the couch and I was sitting in the middle and my dog jumped on another side of the couch. She jumped and started to run aggressively over me to my dog. I stopped her but it was scary. ❤Situation three: my husband came from work and all dogs met him, but that he was coming upstairs and she was not letting two of my dogs go upstairs with my husband. She got aggressive.❤ Situation four: she was rubbing her back on the carpet and my dog came to sniff her stomach. She jumped up like crazy and growled at my dog.❤Situation five: in the dog park when some dogs bark through the fence shared with big dogs, she runs to them, small, and gets aggressive but I am not sure why. She goes after barking any dog on her side near her very close to the dog's neck and makes an aggressive growling. It scares me.
She is not aggressive to food or so. She seems doesn't know how play with dogs or toys. She is approx. six years old. She was found as a stray so not sure about her exact age. In general I have never had any issues like these with my two dogs that I have. They are 3(got from a shelter at 5 month old) & 6(got her at one year old), they not related and very good behaved to this new one that I have for a month so far. My both dogs are spayed, but she is not and will be next week so maybe that can be influenced? I stopped her bed behave all of these times screaming stop, but I am scared of she will do that at my dogs when I am not home as well what if the reply...Please let me know what should I do? Thank you very much!
I see you just posted recently., I do hope you get some answers and advice! I’m watching this video bc I’ve been having problems with my 4 year old dog, and a pug we’ve recently adopted as well!
Some dogs are far more inclined to be possessive or controlling in and around other dogs, and this is to a good degree of lack of normal socialisation and control in such situations, which is reflected in her late ownership by you.
In the video you can see my use of the lead in the house and this will be your means to calmly intervene when things become growly. Keep in mind we could look at this for a couple of hours if together, so it’s a big subject, but we’ll keep it simple.
As soon as you see such poor behaviour, walk over calmly and lift the lead and bring her away immediately from the situation and make her sit and stay at your feet. Stay calm but be sure she knows that you’re not impressed and this can come across in your tone of voice. No shouting, no harsh handling required. Keep her at your feet for a good 30 seconds until you relax and let her go again once you’re happy that she is looking relaxed and not keen to return for more of the same. Repeat as needed.
Often times, I advise customers with dogs that behave in this way to leave a lead on the dog all day for say a 2 week period in the day when you are present to supervise all interactions and behaviours. That way, you’ll be right there to intervene and to demonstrate to your dog that YOU are in control, not the new dog - even if it lacks social skill and etiquette at this time - that will come later as you work with the dog. Remove the lead when you can’t supervise for safety.
Keeping the dogs separate in your absence could also be a sensible measure until you are confident that the mutual acceptance of each other is in place.
Also, this new dog has to earn its right to access to your furniture and bed etc. It can happen later on, but once these issues have resolved to your satisfaction.
Good behaviour and manners first, then bring in the privileges and love 🧡
Remember, the video shows methods to address the behaviours, which are not too dissimilar to how to prevent it.
Thanks
Please my other reply below for broad comments on the situation. Thanks!
@@AlphaDogBehaviourthank you very much but unfortunately for a leash may not be time because she runs like a bullet and it takes seconds. I tried. Today my husband was petting one dog lying on the the floor and she jumped down from the couch like 10 feet away and came to my dog to the face and did rrrrr.... ignored the husband...he pushed her away saying no....but she stepped to do the same few more times...Is it jealousy or what? I just don't get the point why she runs to my dog face with rrrr....Is it just an anger or prebite preparation? She was very good in the dog park today, but she still wants to run to the barking dogs, so every time in that case I called her and she listened and came back. Didn't run to the barking dogs. I want her to avoid them. She doesn't try to play running, when she runs to the barking dogs she runs like a bullet barking, stops between them or barks like she is a boss and one time barked and stared at another dog face. I took her away.
@@kristentrep5038what problem?
My 6 month old cockapoo has just started guarding with items he steals never does it with toys or food. And it’s difficult to get it back
Please search for my Hold & Give video and apply this daily a couple of times and then work on this with various items. 👍
I've got 2 English Staffys. Sarge is a 20 month old, well exercised, behaved and gentle temperament...until we got 10 week old Major.
Sarge and Major play very well together and tolerates the puppy teething, but Sarge has nipped Major a few times over ALL toys and has started to resource guard.
Now I keep them separate when playing with toys, but Sarge drops his favourite toys & is HYPER fixated on ANYTHING Major has.
What else can I do???
Strict control of behaviour when together and lift up all contentious items so no issues in your absence. Major will be full on at this age and as he matures he should settle. Good luck :)
Great job! love your presentation and all the valid knowledge you share. Thank you!
Thank you for the kind words David.
Thankyou! We have our work cut out 😮
Thank you for this great video. Very detailed and helpful 😊
This explains guarding perfectly. Ive got a rescue red lab 2 1/2 years sits and waits perfectly for food yet when he steals stuff or if i try and put ear drops in he goes ballistic, barks, runs off, growls and if pushed then snaps. I know the previous owners traded everything for treats but we now have a dog that expects a vast amount of daily treats and is overweight.Last owners also allowed couch and slept on their bed (didnt have his own bed) and still believe he had no issues and thought this behavior was totally normal. Its a hard battle!
It can be worth training g in a hold and give exercise in preparation for the future thefts so as to reduce the conflict. Stick to the sensible boundaries you are implementing. Many people don’t see poor behaviour from their dogs as their buttons are not being pressed or that various situations are not being addressed/challenged. Remain calm and consistent and you’ll get there.
great info thx! this was helpful and a lot of good details! your house is just so clean...like not a speck of dust...ya need to make a vid on how you do that lol
I’ve trained Ruby to put the vacuum round - takes the pressure off me you know? 😆
@@AlphaDogBehaviour hahahhahaha that was good lol! Gotta teach mine that trick!;)
Our one year old golden Pyrenees is starting to gaurd our sons room where she sleeps sometimes and now the couch where she sits a lot. She is going after are little dog who is ten years old. She has started going after our kitten that walks by the couch. And has gone after the other animals when we are standing around eating.
Keep in mind we are a family of 8. We have 6 kids from 16-8.
The way she has been going after the dog is escalating. Getting scary. We are trying to keep them separated when they are in the house.
It sounds as though you could do with some help to address these issues one by one in the home. Keep her off the couch until the behaviour resolves and good luck with seeking direct help.
@@AlphaDogBehaviour Experiencing VERY similar behavior from our 18 month old rescue pup - she was triggered by members of the family of 4 going away for a week (her primary owner included) - I stayed home and all 4 dogs were fine (14 f, 11 f and 16 m). They all came back and there there 3 incidents with her going for the 11 yr old dog in 3 days - all triggered by someone leaving the home and pup guarding me. Have asked for a dog behaviorist to come but they refuse until dogs have been kept separate for 10-14 days? Spoke to 3 behaviorists - all said to keep separated for 10-14 days first. 1 behaviorist said straight out that f on f aggression "cannot be remedied" - without meeting either of the dog :(
This sounds stressful. I would personally not pre judge re female and female together and neither would I wait 2 weeks, I’d be straight in to look at it and then to agree a way forward. Keep looking for a behaviourist you trust. Good luck on your efforts.
@@AlphaDogBehaviour Thank you - this makes me feel SO much better. For now I am still looking AND I am going to start crate training this weekend. What are your views on crate training as a safe space for the dog? I wish you were here in South Africa - I like your calm energy
@marygrossett9130 A positive side effect of the crate is that you should be able to leave your dog for sensible periods of time once it is accustomed to going in out of the crate and that you know it can cope for short spells in the crate. For example start at five minutes place a Kong or similar inside the crate to give the dog a positive, experience and then over time you can begin to extend that duration in keeping with your dogs ability to cope. I hope that helps and best of luck Nick.
In the last two weeks my 6 month old Working Cocker Spaniel, has started getting snappy if we go near his crate or blanket that he sleeps on. Doesn't do it with food or toys. Just the crate an blanket. Watching the video would you suggest that if we have to go out not leaving the blanket in the crate?
You could try that yes. I had a case recently with a Springer whereby he was highly protective in and around his crate. He was clean and dry and so didn’t need it for toilet training (you may or not be at that point yet). The crate was removed and the problem resolved itself in time, though additional measures were also implemented.
@@AlphaDogBehaviour He had been toilet trained since 4 months old. He just won't settle for a nap unless we put him in his crate. The breader recommended alway using the crate. He also eats anything and everything, so he know where he is and what he is up to when we are out.
I hear you. Tricky in some respects as you would often find that a crate is still helpful with a 6 month old, but if it’s becoming a possessive issue you may want to do away with it sooner than later? Worth looking for a local puppy trainer to look at it first hand?
Hello, please give me your thoughts if any. All of these situations are from week two for four since I have her. The first two weeks she was an angel doing anything bad.❤Situation one: I have two dogs, 3&6 years old and one month ago I rescued a chiachua, she was a stray, found, no claim so I took her in, approx six years old, not spayed but will be next week. Her issue today was one of my dogs was in bed as usual; I have like six dog beds. She came to her face and growled (sound of attack) near the neck like crazy; later in an hour my two dogs jumped on my bed as usual but she ( has a special look forward and ready to run) wanted to growl again at them and not letting them jump on my bed. I stopped her and told her to go to her bed, and my other two jumped on my bed. She went to her bed. ❤Situation two: she was at one corner on the couch and I was sitting in the middle and my dog jumped on another side of the couch. She jumped and started to run aggressively over me to my dog. I stopped her but it was scary. ❤Situation three: my husband came from work and all dogs met him, but that he was coming upstairs and she was not letting two of my dogs go upstairs with my husband. She got aggressive.❤ Situation four: she was rubbing her back on the carpet and my dog came to sniff her stomach. She jumped up like crazy and growled at my dog.❤Situation five: in the dog park when some dogs bark through the fence shared with big dogs, she runs to them, small, and gets aggressive but I am not sure why. She goes after barking any dog on her side near her very close to the dog's neck and makes an aggressive growling. It scares me.
She is not aggressive to food or so. She seems doesn't know how play with dogs or toys. She is approx. six years old. She was found as a stray so not sure about her exact age. In general I have never had any issues like these with my two dogs that I have. They are 3(got from a shelter at 5 month old) & 6(got her at one year old), they not related and very good behaved to this new one that I have for a month so far. My both dogs are spayed, but she is not and will be next week so maybe that can be influenced? I stopped her bed behave all of these times screaming stop, but I am scared of she will do that at my dogs when I am not home as well what if the reply...Please let me know what should I do? Thank you very much!
Can any one help me !!! Me dogs keep trying to go for me everytime we sit on the couch ??
Stop giving the dog access to the couch and use it’s own bed. Keep a lead on your dog in the home for easy control should it misbehave or get on the couch without permission.
I would never allow a dog on the couch without permission by me. Hope that helps a little
@@AlphaDogBehaviour aww thanks a lot mate. Yeh he won't be getting on couch next to me no more !!!!
I did Everything I was told and what I learned to prevent it. But as soon as she turned 1, it happened anyway. I’ve never had this issue with any of my dogs. My last dog was a beautiful pitty and I could do anything while she was eating and take anything away no problem. I’m wondering if the bite that my sisters dog inflicted on her as a puppy has anything to do with this. She’s not a severe case at the moment. But she is cautious and I notice her body language when I get close. Ans she has growled once when I went to take a string cheese away that she got off the counter.
If she ever gets a sock or one of my pillows or anything like that that she know she shouldn’t have, as soon as I walk in the room and she sees me, she immediately drops walks away from it. I can inspect her body or mouth and ears. I can take her kong with peanut butter in it. It’s Moreso things like bully sticks. And her food bowl. Which I don’t understand because I did what I thought I was supposed to. She’s super tolerant otherwise. So I do have hope. I’ve been working on it as soon as I noticed the issue arising. I jus really hope this can be worked out and forgotten. She’s a great Labrador in all ways but I know how problematic this can be in other areas aside from just mealtime
Our 10 mo old dog has recently started trying to fight our 3 yr old dog at meal times, and really any time he gets overly excited. We are trying to manage that by keeping them separate at meal times and paying very close attention to when he gets overstimulated, which is helping (but still kind of there). However at the dog park yesterday he started a fight with another dog over a ball, which he has never done before. Additionally, at day care twice in the last week he has humped our 3 yr old dog repeatedly to the point we cannot take them to daycare together. If they separate them at daycare the 10 mo old gets major separation anxiety regarding the other dog. He also doesn't hump any other dog, nor has he humped any dog in front of us. They are separated most of the day with no issues. Any help is appreciated!
It sounds as though you need someone to look at this with you first hand. This way an approach can be developed and worked upon. Where are you please?
Hi there people are dumping their animals in Florida so I found a Shih Tzu one year old and I have four cats that are used to sleeping in the bed whenever they feel like it and getting all of the attention. I really need your advice because I have come along way with desensitizing the dog with the four cats, but unfortunately, the dog sleeps in my bed and constantly barks guarding the bed or me. Of course I made the mistake because the dog was abandoned and every time I would try to get her not to sleep with me all she would do is bark except she does really well. When I need to leave the house, I am retired and would love all the advice you have to share, my goal is to be able to have the cats in the bed but this one year old Shih Tzu barks excessively when any cats are nearby, any advice would be so appreciative, and I am so grateful but I do realize this video was made a few years ago
You could try a simple approach of if there's barking, quickly place him on the floor, once he's calm and quiet he can come up again. So you
Maintain this simple approach until he learns to settle and be quiet on the bed. A few days of strict management like this and see where you are in that specific situation. Good luck. Keep me posted 👍
hi there. i found your video very interesting and as first time dog owners i think we have done a few things wrong unfortunately. our 2 year old is now showing quite aggressive resource guarding over stolen items . particularly the post. we are looking at ways we can stop the post falling on the floor and catch it but once he is in his bed with the stolen item he really isnt giving it up. not even for chicken. what can we do please? feel its getting worse :(
To address that specific area, I would set up a collection basket behind the letterbox or place a secure post box to the front of the house. With that regular occurrence out of the way, you could begin to look at the possessive behaviour in more detail. Thanks. Nick
Try an external post box that is secure and lockable. This approach saves the work to address the post issue, but you may need professional help if you find that the points raised in the video don't help once applied. Thanks.
@Jhanna Francine Garcia If you apply the points in the video from the outset with your new dog, you stand a better chance of a smooth ride with your new dog. Good luck and keep me posted!
Nick
The problem I am having with my 6 month old isn't that she resource guards regular things like toys but its things she shouldn't have as if she knows I don't want her having them, like something has fallen off the side be it a piece of plastic, paper etc and she will back off from me and make a faint "huff" unless I offer a high value treat that gets her attention and quickly take item away she will guard it but not bite me as such but may gently mouth, the outdoors is the extreme though, she picks up and eats and swallows so much especially stones and pebbles but any thing like old food even if rotten is appealing to her and if I call her and/or say leave it she will turn her face away from me and quickly chew and swallow before I can distract her, offering a treat does nothing and thats if I have it ready in time, often she will pick up a stone as she walks into my home (outside my house is a area with decorative pebbles and stones, its a shared entrance with neighbours) and I have mostly worked out how to distract her enough to not pick one up and if she does she mostly drops it if I give her even a small treat and quickly move away, big items like what happened today nothing distracts her, she picked up something big on walk just outside house and no amount of treats distracted her and she ran away from me each time I got close so I had to do the dangerous act of putting my hand near her (with other hand full of treats and grab it out of her mouth, she lunged at me and nipped hand which made me drop the item and when she went to get it off floor I showed her my other hand but she bared her teeth and barked and bit my hand and gave a "dent" in the skin, not enough to make it bleed but just enough I have 3 tiny (like less than mm each wide) scratches on my hand. I want to get her out of this behaviour when shes still young but as its outdoor she has the problem with I don't know what to do
Hi. This sounds like you would benefit from help on a one to one basis with a trainer. Have you sought help?
We did try to prevent it. Never took anything from her without offering something else. It worked fine. Until my sister in law watched her, the dog snagged a chicken bone, and she took it away from her. Ever since, she has guarded bones.
The easy solution so far is no more bones. But that gave her teeth problems. The other solution was therefor to give her bones only in situation I know no one will touch her.
I am hoping to find a better know down the road making sure my dog is confident enough to know she doesn’t have to guard.
I need help and I hope you will reply. I have a rescue who likes to sit on my grandma’s bed and lay next to my grandma and once he does, there’s no getting him down. He’s already bitten my twice which last night brought me to tears. I’m afraid he’ll bite my grandma. What do I do?
Get someone to come over and offer an assessment and a helpful plan. Sounds like resource guarding. Plus implementation of the points in the video.
@@AlphaDogBehaviour Alright I will. Thanks so much!
My 7month old puppy only guards her benebones. I do the give her a treat then take it away. But if she moves location then it is difficult to take it away. I hand feed her as a puppy for 2 months. She is good with her food and all other toys. Do I just not allow her to have a benebone?
Potentially if there are no children around and it can be safely managed, but worth looking at a book called Mine! by Jean Donaldson to resolve the issues fully.
My gsd pup is 5 months old and when I play fetch with him with two balls, if I try to take both the balls he goes crazy, he bolts to get the ball of when he senses I'm gonna take both of em. He growls when I try to to get my hand near his mouth when he has ball in his mouth. At this point Im getting scared and he does this to almost every thing he gets in his mouth. But when I give up and go away he drops the stuff from his mouth and runs to me
Stop playing that game and come back to your basic control over the dog. Avoid over stimulating him and work on impulse control and the Give command.
Also, check out my Hold & Give video for a few more ideas on this.
Hi there this is My second message to you and I really hope that you post some more recent videos because the more you post and the more I share your videos you can actually make good money on UA-cam, I’m the one who made the mistake, letting the dog sleep in the bed The problem is and the answer is to put a bed in the kitchen and have her start sleeping there so my cats the four of them can sleep in the bed. The problem is I live in a building and the dog will bark excessively even if I put distractions in the kitchen, such as a plastic mat with frozen peanut butter on it. How do I break this vicious cycle of my dog guarding the bed or me or the toys in which I will get rid of all of that for now I really need your advice.
One of our problems is that our dog (10 month old German Shepherd), resource guards, particularly if he gets ahold of his leash. He growls and gives the hard stare, snapping his way up the leash if we take hold of it. Limits our ability to leave the leash on him in the house to maintain control of him..
For house control, you could change it to a wire cable that can clip on to his collar. Can be bought or made.
I watched the whole video because you mentioned dogs guarding their owners, which is the problem I am having.. There was no advice for that at all. My 14 month old German Sheperd will charge across the room and growl at my husband when he comes near me. I tell him no, go to his place, but how do you stop it?
You will need professional advice for this. No single video will answer all your questions and should be taken as a guide only. Thank you.
Nice video. I can take just about anything away from my seven month old Doberman with no reaction. What’s interesting is that she doesn’t like anyone to pet or touch her while she’s chewing on high value treats. The easy fix is to simply just not pet her, but I have children who will occasionally run by and give her a little pat. Her reaction are restrained low volume, but still audible growl. So far no snarling or snapping. She will also occasionally display this behavior if she is laying next to me on the floor at night and someone else touches her.
Might be best not to provide bones etc when the children are around. Management is key.
I have a dog that resource guards attention. Today we took her and my older dog to the dog park and she was extremely upset that my husband was playing with my older dog eventhough I was giving her attention and playing with her. She would half heartedly play and kept running to the gate and staring at my husband with the older dog. What would you do in this situation? Thank you.
This situation is reflective of a wider relationship dynamic that I would look at in more depth across a variety of areas, so it’s not a quick fix, sorry.
My 6 month old male Australian shepherd has been getting worse. It started a few months ago after vomit. He gets sick on car rides, then eats vomit. If I try to remove him to clean it he's very aggressive , growls bites etc. Now it's over things he's not supposed to have, toilet paper, kleenex, socks, other dangers. I'm now afraid of my dog and disabled on fixed income. He's already 22 pounds. I can't lift him. He's supposed to get to 30 pounds. Please help. I'm scared of him. He even tries biting me when I put him in his crate. This is where he sleeps . He is strong. I feel I need to rehome him but already invested 3k.
If you’re scared of him, you need professional help and if that doesn’t help, you may need to allow someone that knows what they’re doing address the behaviour. Good luck, thank you.
My dog guards my bedroom, she will lay by the door and will growl at anyone trying to come in or go out. I've started to lock her out of the bedroom but then she nervously paces the house and continuously whines and cries at the door. I feel so bad for locking her out like I'm being mean to her 😢
Perhaps set up a set place for her to sleep away from your room that is quiet and comfortable and just stick with that as an ongoing situation for nights. Good luck!
@@AlphaDogBehaviour thanks for the response, she does have a bed in my office, she sleeps on it during the day while I'm working but at night she wants to sleep in my bed, I was allowing it at first but then she started to get territorial over it and wouldn't even allow me on the bed 🤦. Now it's just a matter of sticking to it and not allowing her to guilt me into letting her take over my bed again.
I agree 🙂
Mine does this also
Our dog has changed because of his toy. She doesn't even eat and she's no longer excited to see us. Always growling when we are about to pet her
Sorry to hear that. I’d seek out a local expert and see what they have to say once they’ve seen it first hand. Thanks Maria.
Well that's great for your dog but we're looking for some help
I think my dog would have been more well behaved if my partner/ boyfriend wasn't living here. My dog is a clothing thief.
My 3 year old, 70lb black lab mix has escalated resource gaurding lately. She's now attacking my 8 lb chihuahuas. I can take food away, toys away, anything. So can my 2 year old. No issues, yet... she's attacked the other dogs many times now though. We've started seperating them completely while eating and keeping our food away from all of them. Tonight we brought in a bag of dog food from the store and sat it on the floor next to the pantry while we unloaded groceries. The female chihuahua who she attacks more frequently and aggressively was near the bag and she attacked and cut her face in 3 places. She's already had stitches before on her chest. I don't know what to do. I can't keep them separated at all times. The attacks are always food related however she has growled aggressively over my attention as well.
It sounds as though it’s time to seek professional help. Good luck!
How can you talk about how to fix resource guarding with a video of a dog that doesn’t show this attitude. Sorry but your video has no benefit for some of us that are already dealing with a dog that shows resource guarding.
I understand your point, the methods can still be applied to another dog that struggles with these behavioural traits. You don’t need to see my dog or another dog demonstrating the behaviour for you to be able to watch and listen and to apply the various methods as set out in the video. Also, the video places an emphasis upon prevention and I’m pretty sure I make the comment that the routes of prevention and cure are not too dissimilar.
Have you had any success in dealing with this yourself?
Thanks, Nick
Too much explanations & not enough demostrations
Drop me a line and I'll send a refund 😆