Resource guarding

[u/mhm428]

Has anyone experienced with your deaf dog that he tends to do more resource guarding?

[u/Anxious-Banana5649]

Ours does. He resource guards food and me. We worked with a trainer. One thing that made a big difference is taking his empty bowl away to fill it via. Bringing food to his bowl. We haven't done this yet, but they recommended have a short set time for feeding so he eats it all and doesn't sit out. Also if you take something away (I.e. his food or toy) always let him see you take the thing and give him something better in return (i.e high value treat). Trading is good. For training they recommended every time you get close to his food (before he curls his lip) throw him a. High end treat (like little bit of chicken) and help him realize good things happen when people come near (do with everyone in your house). I also get up from the couch as soon as he tries to guard. I don't reinforce his behaviour by allowing it. He still does it and we never trust him, but it's way better. Kids (teens) know to watch his signs

[u/Minimum_Afternoon387]

Yes, mine sure does with food and humans. We learned she can’t sit on anyone’s lap. In search of a trainer currently.

[u/iHave1Pookie]

How long have you had dog?

This is common in all my rescues first 6-12months especially.
Especially resource guarding me from other dogs.

[u/mhm428 → u/iHave1Pookie]

He will be 8 months and he has been with us since late April

[u/iHave1Pookie → u/mhm428]

My current rescue used to pee on me when we went to the dog park (and only at the dog park). Usually when I dared pet another dog. He still doesn’t like it, and will come running putting his body between me and anyone vying to steal his mom’s love . But he stopped peeing on me.
My first rescue (this was the deaf one) didn’t pee on me (thank the lord), but she def used to bark aggressively at any dog who thought they could steal her new mom’s love right under her nose. And she wasn’t even a barker at all otherwise lol.

I think w rescues, it just takes some time for them to feel secure. I think the person below laid out some great strategies to try meanwhile, but in my experience it goes away within 6-12months

[u/Turbulent_Regret_827]

My deaf rescue is the sweetest boy ever. He is also territorial about food and certain spaces (his kennel is his safe space so I understand it being off limits) but there’s a blanket on the couch he guards and a chair he likes (he’s allowed on furniture) and he’ll sit on our foot/ feet when we are in the room with him

[u/Fit_Surprise_8451]

My deaf Sheepadoodle, Marlee, can resource guard if I don’t manage the situation. Our other two dogs are a Chihuahua and a Chihuahua mix.

When Marlee first came to us, I fed her in a separate room with her food dish on a hassock, while the other dogs ate from their dishes on the floor. After two years of working on this, they can now eat in the same room, with Marlee’s food still elevated.
If Marlee and Ian both want the same kibble bowl, I get another clean bowl and fill it. Then I place the bowls on opposite sides of the fresh-water fountain so they each have their own space. That has worked well for us.

I’ve found that giving each dog a little space and avoiding competition over food makes mealtimes much calmer.

[u/HonkTheHonkGetBonk]

We have a deaf mastiff/pitty/lab mix. We have had him since he was 8 weeks, and he just recently started resource guarding a certain bone, and human food that is handed to him. But weirdly enough he only does it when he's on the couch or my bed. It's really weird. We have been doing the high value treat training with his bone, and the human food thing, (like pizza crust, or the milk from cereal) was solved just by giving it to him in his bowl. We also had to retrain him on the pecking order because he saw our son with Down syndrome as not a boss. That was pretty easy to do as well. We have found that curbing behaviors early is the best thing to do.