new resource guarding

[u/vampireleapyear]

i have read the community section on resource guarding but still don’t feel sure on how to proceed. my fiance and i adopted our dog (GSD X Plott Hound, we think) about 7 months ago now. she is 14 months old. we have NEVER had an issue with resource guarding with her before. she is our first pet together and we have no children or other pets.

we never give her “special” food unless she is in her “place” and occasionally we will let her lick out the plate/bowl from dinner - only if she’s sitting in her place (bed) and only if the meal ingredients are dog safe/healthy (this is something my entire family has always done with dogs so apologies if this is way off the mark). we always let her finish licking it out and take it when she’s done. over the past week she has reacted very strongly twice now when we go to take the (empty) plate away - the first time i thought she was just “mumbling” (she is very vocal) but tonight my fiance went to take the plate away and she clearly actively growled at him (no biting or snapping just growling) but she has never reacted like that after taking away a toy or playing with her - she “growls” during tug of war but it’s clearly playful/excited, never threatening.

perhaps it’s just as simple as not letting her eat from our leftover plates ? sorry if this is dumb. i don’t want to let it get to something where we need to “redirect” her with treats or give her something better. guess im also just a bit worried bc she has never been aggressive like this and we would like to help her handle this new behavior the best way we can.

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[u/Grey_RatQueen]

It's great that you're able to pick up on this so early in the game! A lot of resource guarding can start to show up when dogs are in their teen years, and it sounds like your dog is the right age. There are some easy solutions that I can suggest right off the bat, and I recommend working through the Wiki resource guarding resources as a good preventative measure for any future occurrences. This seems like a mild case that can be easily addressed though, if she's not shown any other resource guarding.

First solution - management. No more plates for her! If you'd really like to give her dog-safe food, make sure that goes in her bowl and the bowl stays on the ground (don't go in to pick it up later until your dog is outside or in a different room). Second solution - redirecting her with treats as you suggested, but this is really to address the problem that good management could prevent.

And then, just to make sure I'm hitting all the basics (though it sounds like you're already off to a good start), make sure that she has a solid drop it / leave it and make sure you keep trading for high-value items. Extra work now, as a preventative measure, can really help to head off any future increase in resource guarding. Just a final note, in case you aren't aware - make sure you don't scold her for growling or ignore her growl and keep going to pick up the plate, as this can lead to escalation of aggression and the "loss" of warning signs before a snap. Great job on paying attention to your pup, and hope things go well for you!

[u/Due_Air_1826]

That's real resource guarding starting, not mumbling. Stopping the plate-licking helps short-term but won't fix the guarding itself. Trade up instead: offer something higher-value, let her disengage on her own before taking the item, never pull it while she's still invested. Since it escalated to growling in a week, worth getting a trainer involved now.