03/18/2019
This is a good, if mildly upsetting, video of high level resource guarding, by a very young dog.
Fortunately, most of us will never find ourselves in a scenario like this, but if we do, here are some ways that you can separate the dog and the item with less risk of getting hurt.
- firstly, don't do this. Shoving a hand into the dogs face when he is actively guarding an item will only get him more agitated and very likely get you bit. Do not yell, hit, or otherwise attempt to remove the item by force or threats. At best it's useless, at worst you and/or the dog will get hurt.
- the person here did have a good idea in trying to redirect the dog onto a different item. However, that failed because the item offered was lower value than the food being guarded.
- the first thing we would advise in a situation like this would be to grab HIGH value food (chicken, steak, cheese, hot dogs) and throw a few pieces to the dog to determine if that will work. If the dog does reorient to the food you're offering, scatter a handful AWAY from the dog to get them to move off of the guarded object. Give the dog a moment to get involved with the newer "resource", then calmly and carefully remove the guarded item.
- if a food scatter does NOT work and the item being guarded could be dangerous to the dog, you can get a leash, make a slip lead out of it (loop the clip end through the handle end), lasso it over the dog's head, and remove them from the area.
- if they still do not let go of the item, again, you may tether the dog to something so you can be out of harms way, and try a different resource to get the exchange.
- most importantly, don't panic, move slowly, and do not get into an altercation with the dog. Heightening the dog's frantic emotional state with yelling, force, or attempts at punishment will not end well.
Lastly, if you or someone you know owns a dog that guards, please seek out the help of a qualified, positive-reinforcement based behavior consultant or veterinary behaviorist. Using punishment to "fix" resource guarding is like playing with fire. Skilled trainers understand that we need to help the dog work through the emotions tied to guarding, and that punishing those emotions and feelings of scarcity will not ultimately fix the problem.
We work with resource guarding here at Dogs Abound, and they are usually complex cases that are solvable. If you have questions about a dog that resource guards, please get in touch with us.
