What is resource guarding in dogs and what does it entail? The term is often tossed around by dog trainers and dog behavior consultants, but if we look carefully at it, we will notice that it’s a pretty vague term. So today, let’s discover more about resource guarding in dogs and what the experts in the field have to say about it.
You may have heard the term resource guarding and may now be wondering exactly what is dog resource guarding and what does it exactly entail?
The term is often tossed around by dog trainers and dog behavior consultants but if we look carefully at it, we will notice that it’s a pretty vague term that can assume different meanings depending on the context in which it occurs or even who you ask.
So today, let’s go over resource guarding in dogs and let’s take a peek at what the experts in the field have to say about it.
What is Dog Resource Guarding in Dogs?
The term resource guarding is commonly used to depict the behavior of guarding something that the dog perceives as valuable (food, bones, a resting spot, an area of the yard or a toy) from a person or other animal.
The intent is to increase distance (distance-increasing behavior) and cause the person or animal to back away.
It’s unfortunate though that there doesn’t appear to be any formal definition for the term resource guarding. Veterinary behaviorist, Dr. Karen Overall in an article on DVM360, points out that there are not many terms out there that are as blurry and inconsistent as the term resource guarding.
The term resource guarding therefore may be used as a catchall phrase to depict “normal” dog behavior, as seen in the interaction of a dog protecting a valuable object from another dog, or potentially dangerous dog behavior as seen in dogs guarding items from their owners.
This inconsistency, provides little elucidation on what the term exactly means and provides no helpful information.
Importance of Careful Assessments
The term resource guarding is often used as a diagnostic . “Your dog guards resources so this is the treatment protocol” and sometimes as a label “Your dog is possessive, he has a tendency to guard items.”
Yet, these statements provide little information on what is truly occurring. Before diagnosing resource guarding, it’s important to assess several situations and make careful observations.
- What drives the behavior? Is the dog uncomfortable around strangers? Is the dog performing the behavior when the owner is getting close to a resource? Is the dog “defending” himself from a dog who steals his stuff? Is there an owner who pets the dog as he’s eating or sticks hands in the dog’s bowl? These practices can cause a dog to feel compelled to resource guard.
- In which circumstance/context does the behavior occur? Around toys? Food? Treats? Bones? Resting areas?
- What behaviors are noticed? Are they low-level threats such as stiffening up? Hovering over the item? Grabbing the item and walking away? Or high-intensity such as showing teeth and threatening to bite?
- What stops the behavior? Owner walking away? The dog moving away?
Signs of Resource Guarding
As mentioned, dogs who are resource guarding are often sending distance-increasing signals which are meant to put distance and cause the person or animal to move away.
Initially, the dog may resort to stiffening his body, with the head and neck kept low towards the resource.
With the head down, the dog is often keeping “an eye on” the item and at the same time the person/dog approaching causing the dog to manifest whale eyes.
This posture denotes the need to protect a valuable item, just as a person would keep a hand on a purse.
If these warning signals are ignored and the person or dog advances, the behavior will intensify.
The ears may flatten, the dog’s hackles may raise, and the dog may resort to growling, snapping and even biting.
This behavior, if not tackled correctly, keeps intensifying and getting more and more dangerous, as the dog feels stressed and keeps feeling threatened.
The distance in which the dog reacts to people or animals can also increase over time.
Causes of Resource Guarding
What causes dogs to resource guard in the first place? This is something that is still not completely clear and is under debate.
Does resource guarding start in the litter? Many breeders can attest that puppies may start from a young age to guard a particular nipple. This may cause people to assume that resource guarding behavior must have some innate component that’s present in the dog’s genetic core.
Others believe it’s a learned behavior. Most likely it can be both. Welcome to the nature/nurture debate!
One question to ask, is how does the dog act in other situations? If a dog tends to be nervous or anxious in other situations, then they may be more prone to be anxious around resources, explains veterinary behaviorist, Dr. Jacqueline C. Neilson in DVM360.
I can attest that from personal experience. A high-strung dog who was coming for board and training had noise phobias and was very protective of the couch at home. The couch must have assumed strong value as this was the place where the dog felt safe and secure and where she finally got to relax and sleep!
And for those wondering, dogs who are guarding the couch are most likely not trying to be alpha dogs. This would be a too simplistic explanation and now we know better.
While it may be true that there may be confident dogs who are willing to compete for resources, many resource guarding dogs seem to be motivated by fear and anxiety rather than confidence, further explains Dr. Neilson
The Bottom Line
Resource guarding is often used as a catchall, umbrella term to depict dog aggressive behaviors that are meant to maintain possession of valued resources.
Karen Overall points out that the dog’s behavior response may be evoked because of interference in an activity rather than guarding a resource.
Also known as possessive aggression, resource guarding can sometimes be confused with other behavior problems in dogs.
For instance, a dog who barks and growls when people come near the owner may appear as if the dog is guarding the owner, when the dog is simply wary of people coming close.
References:
- DVM360: Resource-guarding: Are veterinarians lost in interspecies translation?
- DVM360: How I treat food-related aggression in dogs
- DVM360: Resource guarding in dogs (Proceedings)