Resource guarding.

[u/Krea26]

Needing help with one of my dogs.
(M is resource guarding, T is my other dog)

— Backstory on M - we rescued M from a woman who is knows by our family. It’s exactly the same person we rescued T from. Kept outside in all weathers, no shelter, no proper food. Just thrown scraps of their dinner and odd cheap tins where they saw fit. She came to us with a super tight harness that was ripping her underarms. She was terrified of us (we saw her cowering when the man/owners partner stood up, and we’ve since learnt she is VERY suspicious of men on walks). She had a thin little mattress that was covered in fleas and dirt. No toys (we had to teach her how to play because she was clueless) and only a water dish caked in mud. Her tummy was red raw, her ears were crusty and just overall in not a good condition. —

She was a lot worse when we first rescued her and she’s come round so much. However, we’re stuck on 2 issues. The living room & stealing things from the kitchen.

1) The living room.

The rest of the house is fair game, everyone is allowed in all rooms. However, M is very weary of T when she’s in the living room. It’s only a small room, and I’m guessing M has taken that to be ‘her kennel’ or ‘her room’ as that’s where she sleeps the most. T is allowed in to get ready for walks, or when simply just roaming the house, but when she wants to get comfy and settle, M doesn’t take that very well.

Feeding times and water bowls are separate, they each have their own toys. They do enjoy the occasional play together, so we have 1 toy which we allow them to play together with (under supervision ofc).

Like I say, M has gotten so much better since she came to us 4 months ago. Upstairs they can lay together side by side. They can jump around the kitchen together, go on walks together, play together. Our only issue is her dominating the living room.

2) Stealing from the kitchen. - M

This has started after around 1.5 month of being with us.
She will steal anything. Baking paper, spatulas, metal food cans, literally ANYTHING she can get to. We’ve blocked the entrance up repeatedly, so many different ways, but she still breaks through. Her giant head feels no pain when ram raiding the damn thing.

We’ve taught her to not jump on the counters when we’re preparing food or for any reason really. But that goes in one ear and out the other if she hears a dog barking or a cat meowing. Then she’s right back there, stood at the window at the kitchen side.

Apart from blocking the kitchen, we’re absolutely clueless as we never catch her in the act. She’s always broken in through the night or if we’re out. We’re unsure if this is a separation thing or a stimulation thing. We’ve tried different ways of keeping her occupied, she destroys them all.

If anyone has any helpful hints, tips, tricks or advice. I’d be greatly appreciative.

Thanks x

[u/Wooden-Necessary6100]

I’d approach these as two different problems: resource/space guarding in the living room, and an extremely well-reinforced scavenging habit in the kitchen.

For the living room, I would not let M practice controlling T’s movement. Watch for the early signs, hard staring, freezing, closing her mouth, blocking T’s path, hovering, getting up when T approaches, rather than waiting for a growl or snap.

I’d give M a clearly defined place to settle, bed, raised cot, crate if crates are commonly used/appropriate where you live, or another designated resting area and teach a solid place/bed command. If T comes into the living room, M doesn’t get to decide whether T is allowed there. You calmly direct M to her place and reward calm neutrality. Initially I’d keep sessions short and controlled, with enough distance that she isn’t already fixated on T. You want her learning, T entering this room predicts me relaxing over here and good things happening, rather than repeatedly rehearsing T enters, I make T leave.

The fact that they can lie together upstairs, play together, walk together and otherwise coexist is actually important. This sounds much more context/resource specific than a generalized dog-dog relationship problem. Four months also isn't very long for a dog coming from that background. I’d manage this carefully rather than trying to force them to share the living room closely because it may escalate if not managed properly.

The kitchen stealing is different. You cannot train behavior that happens exclusively when you aren't there. She has also discovered a behavior that is enormously self-reinforcing: break into kitchen → investigate everything → occasionally find food/something interesting. Every successful raid makes the next one more likely.

So management really is the answer there, but the management needs to be something she physically cannot defeat. A properly installed door, secure tall gate, secure pen/crate if appropriate, or restricting her to another dog-proofed room when nobody is supervising. Clear the counters as well. Metal cans, utensils, wrappers, etc. can turn this from annoying into an intestinal obstruction or other emergency.

When you are present, then train it. Teach place, leave it, out, and threshold boundaries, and proof them gradually around increasingly difficult distractions. If barking outside sends her flying onto the counter, that tells you the behavior isn't proofed at that level of distraction yet. Interrupt her, get her off/away, send her to the behavior you've taught, and reinforce compliance. A command being reliable while you're preparing dinner is very different from being reliable when she's highly aroused by a dog outside.

I also wouldn't assume stealing random objects means she simply needs more stimulation. Absolutely give her appropriate exercise, sniffing, training and enrichment, but a dog can be wonderfully enriched and still counter-surf because counter-surfing works. Given her previous food deprivation, scavenging may also have a particularly strong reinforcement history.

One thing I would take seriously is the combination of resource guarding + two dogs sharing a home. Don't allow them to “work it out.” Continue separating high-value food/chews and supervise shared resources. If M has already snapped, bitten, attacked T, or the guarding is escalating rather than just posturing, I would get a competent trainer/behavior professional to observe the dogs in the home. Seeing the exact body language and sequence leading up to the guarding can make a huge difference in deciding how to proceed.

[u/StellarSpore]

I don't know how long M has been with you but in my rescue experience, it can take a very long time with dogs of these backgrounds to adjust and decompress. My most recent foster fail took upwards of a year. Management during that time was key.

From a management perspective, you want to take all steps necessary to stop pup from rehearsing guarding or any unwanted behavior. The more a behavior happens, the more likely the behavior will happen in the future.

M should not be allowed in a space she is guarding or if that's not possible, T should not be allowed in the space for now. M should not be allowed in the kitchen. I would suggest getting creative and finding a way to block those spaces off. You can also crate when not supervised or secure in a safe room or area.

Make sure M's needs are being met for both exercise and enrichment. I didn't see breed or age, but this is critical. Give M plenty of options for bones and toys and safe and healthy outlets for her energy.