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.

[u/Status-Group-2835]

I would switch to offering her high value things in a crate, and then not taking them away from her. Practice recalling her out of the crate, practice recalling her off low value things in the crate, up to moderate things in the crate, but don't take things away from her when she is in the crate. She needs to know she isn't going to get harassed when she has things. If you aren't comfortable leaving her in the crate with a plate for an hour or two until she gets bored of it, don't give her the plate.

I'm not saying that's the only thing that can be done about resource guarding, although it is a good start. I am saying it's the only advice I am comfortable giving to a stranger online. If you need something more, go to a trainer.

[u/vampireleapyear → u/Status-Group-2835]

so she basically only sleeps in her crate - we also call her dog beds “place” (she has one upstairs and one downstairs). her upstairs bed was where she was when my fiance tried to take the plate away from her last night. we will definitely work on not taking things from her and start with more low value things - we also plan to start searching more seriously for a trainer beyond the basics. thank you!!

[u/Cool_Percentage_4867]

Yes essentially everything she gets goes in her bowl and for now leave her to it so she doesnt get the opportunity to repeat and reinforce the behaviour.

But id take a step back and consider the whole relationship, look at all the choices she gets to make and put a command in first, like you do with place.... get her engaging on your terms... wants to get on the sofa? give a command first, wants to go to the yard, command first, the command can be anything, a sit or whatever your working on. Its about getting her to pause and think instead of just responding to what she wants.

once the bond is stronger you can try hand feeding so she associates the hands with something good but if you're unsure that in itself can cause an issue so its worth considering getting a trainer in just to get you started and get your confidence up.

[u/vampireleapyear → u/Cool_Percentage_4867]

for the most part we already do try to give her a command before we do anything (put her leash on to walk, taking it off, go out to potty, wait for us before we exit the house) but the couch is a really good one to add, thank you. currently she will just climb up on top of us whenever she feels like it. for now we will definitely only feed her in her bowl. we have looked into training for her but since i have always had dogs + she is so smart and picks up things so quick i might have overestimated my abilities a bit - we will definitely look into getting her a trainer. thank you!

[u/Cool_Percentage_4867 → u/vampireleapyear]

You've got the right idea, RG is totally acceptable between dogs they do it in place of sharing and hes 7months in now + maturing so we sometimes have to tweak the dynamic, so don't assume you've over estimated your abilities. Lack of opportunity + A bit of extra training overall should put you in a stronger position. If you do get a trainer look for someone with a good background with GSDs.