resource guarding
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| I had a big dog that would only resource guard rawhide chews. You could take his dinner dish from him easily without an issue, but couldn't apprach him while he was chomping on rawhide.
The solution? No rawhide. If it is just his bone, then don't give him a bone even (especially!) if he loves it. That said, we did give him rawhide once in a blue mooon. We would let him enjoy it for a long time when there was nobody around, and in a safe place away from where we'd ned to walk. Then we'd ring the doorbell and when he'd go to the door one of us would put away the rawhide bone. |
| When you give your dog a bone it is not similar to giving your children sweets, when in your opinion the kids have had enough then you tell them to stop eating the sweets and most of the time kids will argue with you about this, a dog sees you as his leader and in the nature after the leader has given something up he / she will never try and retrieve it. Answer, either be prepared to let them finish off the treat or do not give them treats, we are talking about animals and they do not think, reason or act like humans although some people would like them to. |
| Get Sprocket into obedience classes. He must learn you and your DH are pack leaders and pack members never growl at leaders. One of the best commands you'll learn is "leave it." The dog doesn't touch or drop what ever is in his mouth. It could save his life...........and save you from a bite. |
| And another way to defuse the situation is to play the trade up game. If there's a hierarchy of things he loves, as Ron said, don't give him the higher value ones unless you can avoid having to take it away from him. Take every opportunity when he has something lower value to ask him to give it to you and then reward with something better until he gets it through his head that giving stuff to you is actually a good thing.
If you do have to take something you know with trigger the behavior away from him and the door bell trick doesn't work <snicker - love that idea>, just casually have something better. "Oh, you want this piece of chicken? Well, you'll have to give me your what-ever first without an argument." It's a better way of defusing a situation than provoking a confrontation. One of my fosters is a resource guarder. She doesn't do it with people, but she makes an art out of challenging my dogs to take something from her. Because of that inclination, she and I play the trade-up game a lot so she doesn't think she can venture into the people arena of resource guarding. As for my dogs, you'd think she would have learned by now that they could care less, but while I was blowdrying someone last night she collected every bone in the house she could get her paws on, piled them up and then hoovered over them like she was hatching...??? Then any time one of my guys would walk by, she'd growl at them and they'd look at her like: "and your point is, you foolish dog?" I keep thinking she'll get over it, but it's pretty ingrained. Nip it in the bud and never let down your guard if you can help it. And know that it might show up in other areas like guarding territory (bed, sofa etc). And be very, very careful with him around kids who are a prime target for that kind of behavior. Kristine |
| the one problem with sprocket is he is deaf. We've asked our local pet store about obediense training but they pretty much said "dont waste your time" in other words, they dont know how to help. If it were just as simple as dont give him the bone there would be no problem. Obviously he thinks he is the leader. I'll try eating before him so that he can see I'm the leader. Maybe that will work. As far as training him to trade up with me, I dont know how that will work since he cant hear verbal commands. |
| Sorry, I didn't realize he was deaf. Are you on any deaf dog lists? They should have lists of people who are competent when it comes to training deaf dogs. Pet store obedience classes can be fine for basic manners, but you need a real trainer. Though you'll need special help teaching him to look at you/pay attention (I've never trained a deaf dog, but others on here have and I know some people have used a vibrating collar) once you have his attention, you can teach him to respond to signals.
Frankly, when it comes to dogs, verbal commands are over rated. IF they can see you. Dogs communicate mostly by body language so it makes sense they learn hand signals faster than verbiage anyway (every one of my dogs learned sit and down and so on by cueing off my body language before I ever attached a word to it). The words are mainly for us - we're the verbal animals, not our dogs - so don't think he's in anywhere near as handicapped as you might think. His deafness is not an excuse. He communicates just fine with you, doesn't he? (You can't have my bone, chomp!) Now you need to learn to do the same when it comes to him. You need help and you need it now. Guys - deaf dog resources? Good instructors near them in Ohio? Kristine |
| Here's a post I made back in May...Do a forum search on "Resource guarding" and you will get more.
______________________________________________ You have a right to be upset. Anyone would be, and to see and expereince this type of behavior from your pet is frightening and disappointing, indeed. However, is it NORMAL behavior. You did nothing to provoke it and Wilbur is not a bad doggie. It is called Resource Guarding, and some dogs do it and some don't. Like barking...some dogs are big barkers and some aren't. Some dogs guard food or water or toys....they may guard from dogs, cats, people...or a combination of these. Why some dogs do it and others don't is not quite clear, but it can be overcome. It is not a quick fix, and it is not "training" as in "obedience training" that needs to be done to prevent this from happening. Yes, you can train him to "give" but that does not stop him from feeling possessive, and someone else may still approach him when you are not there, and disaster can happen. What you need to do is change Wilbur's state of mind when he has something of value. Don't force him to give anything up, or he will get worse....and unpredictable. This is a link to my favourite article on resource guarding. In it there is a reference to Jean Donaldson 's booklet "Mine"...It is inexpensive and very good. Jean also wrote "The Culture Clash" which literally changed the way people look at and treat their dogs. It also addresses resource guardingm and many other canine behaviors .She is an amazing behaviorist and trainer. http://ahimsadogtraining.com/handouts/r ... rding.html In the meantime keep everyone safe, and I would not be allowing any extremely high- value treats until he is fail-proof....following these instructions. It will take time to turn him around, but it is doable...in slow increments you can work him up to being very happy when you approach him with his meals. Neutering and NILF both may help, and at this point I would be trying everything. BTW, my Bosley was neutered at 4 months of age, and he resource guards...not from people, but from dogs. He gets the look, and stiffens up and stares at a dog approaching him while eating...It is not pretty. Dixie has learned to give him a wide berth those times... |
| Murphy was like that - however I read that article and practiced it along with obedience classes and it works! the trade up helps alot. he now knows the "drop it" command. This took time but the results were good. My husband had a deaf sheepdog twenty years ago and it was the best behaved dog - trained with hand signals. BTW Murphy is not deaf but we use both hand signals and verbal commands. |
Regarding deaf dogs and training classes - you are not alone. It amazes me that deaf dogs get turned away from classes so often. 
About a year ago, I had a call from someone inquiring about my classes. She said, "oh, and my dog is deaf, and blind in one eye". I said no problem, we can work off signs. She went on to say she had already started, as she does daycare for kids with disabilities, and knows sign language already (I was impressed!). After we had gotten started in classes, she shared someting with me. I was the 3rd school she had called - the other 2 turned her down without even meeting her or her dog. The 1st one was our local Kennel Club (yes they are weird, that is why I don't belong!), the other is a private school that we all make fun of. The lady who started it trained a sheltie and a golden and thought she was an expert. She always makes up reasons to turn away anyone who has any real training needs! 
Triton is a great dane BTW, and a super young dog!!! He has the very light Harlequin markings, so that is where his deafness and blindness come from. Angee has done wonders with him. I told her she should start a blog or web site and share her story and expertise.  |
| My hound does the same thing with rawhide. I usuall just tell him "NO" and then give the command "Drop it/leave it" and then say "OUT" (this signals him to leave the room. Once he's gone I take it away. Both of my dogs take hand signals exceptionally well and I think with some patience you can find a way to teach him hand signals too. |
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