Barking, Growling, Snarling and Snapping...

[M.C. O'Connor]

So at the suggestion of my Veterinarian, I gave my four month old Labradoodle a knuckle bone from the butcher yesterday.  The Vet said the bones are good for the puppy's teeth.  Well...  Mulligan took that bone right to his dog bed and went to work on it.  Forget about getting close to him... he barked, growled, snarled and snapped if I even looked at him.  When the bone got small and it was time to take it away I had to coax him with some food in his bowl.  Even then he was hesitant to leave the thing in his bed.  He looked for that bone for ten minutes after it was gone.  Do you think he liked it?  Ha!

 

But...  should this behavior be tolerated and encouraged with giving him more knuckle bones in the future?  I figure... at least I know what I could give him when I want to keep him quiet by himself for an hour or so.  I don't think he'll get knuckle bones often but he sure does LOVE them.

 

Do you give your Doodles real bones from the butcher?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Donna K & Quincy]

What your puppy is doing is resource guarding and is not a good thing. There will be lots of good advice to come but this is something you need to work on right away and no more bones until  you can give and take it away without any reaction from your pup. When Quincy was a pup everything I gave him, I gave it to him and took it away several times before I allowed him to have it, now you can take anything from him at any time. Lots of times I have had to go halfway down his throat to take something he has gotten that he shouldn't have. Go to the puppy group there is probably some info there and also there is a behaviour group that may also have some info on this as I am sure you are not alone with this issue. If you don't work on this someone is very likely to get bitten. Mulligan is much too cute to become a bad boy.

[M.C. O'Connor]

Mulligan doesn't exhibit any resource guarding tendencies with his food, treats or toys.  It's a bone thing.  I've had two Golden Retrievers who reacted similarly when given pig ears or bones.  What I did with them, I'll do with Mulligan and did yesterday... coax him with a treat or food to give up the bone and then give it  back to him and repeat several times.  I don't think Mulligan's guarding of his bone will ever disappear entirely as it never did with my Goldens.  I don't think not giving him bones is the answer.   As you said, I really need to work on it.  I guess I answered my own question here...  I'll continue to give Mulligan bones and tolerate the behavior for now but work diligently on correcting it at the same time.  This behavior in my Golden Retrievers dissipated somewhat over the years but they always growled when approached if given a bone.  I really think there's something about real bones that makes them so protective.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I had an old rescued dog that resource guarded. She came that way to our home and I have no doubt, she would have taken a bite out of anyone that tried to take something away from her. I, too, had to trade up to get her to give up something, but one day she had a sock and I wasn't quick enough and she swallowed the sock. Luckily, it came up eventually (10 days later). In my opinion, since Mulligan is so young I would definitely not give him any more bones until he allows you to take them from him.  I just think if he is allowed to get away with this with a bone, it could lead to other resource guarding of other things. Good luck!

[Heather & Brinkley]

We worked on this in training. Brinkley never had a problem with this with anything but there were plenty of dogs in the class that did and by the end they were cured.  What they did was had the dog on the leash; placed a treat or bone in front of them and when they'd go for it, snap the leash and say "leave it."  Continue this (snapping the leash and saying "leave it" until she doesn't go after it.  Then, you must give him permission to get it by pointing to it and saying "take it, take it."  Then let him chew on it for a few moments and then say drop it and snap the leash. Say drop it 3 times while snapping the leash.  If he doesn't drop it on the third time, simultaneously say "drop it while snapping the leash and snatching it from his mouth."

 

You may want to try all of this with something that he doesn't get protective over at first so he gets used to the commands and then try it with the knuckle bone. Good luck!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Here's some great info that I found online.  I really like the suggestions about dealing with the resource guarding of bones in particular.  What a fantastic picture!!

 

There are several ways to approach resource guarding, and combining these approaches often creates a very syngergistic, humane approach. The first suggestion is a "Nothing In Life Is Free" program, where the dog has to earn everything valuable—treats, attention, food, walks, going outside, etc. It gives you a chance to work on obedience humanely and to show your dog that you are the one controlling the resources. It is as simple as having your dog "request" to go outside, to receive his dinner, to receive a toy. If he drops a ball on your lap to play, ask him tosit or lay down before throwing it. Get up and walk away if he does not comply the first time (do not try and force him; just leave.). Then try it again later. One easier way to get this message across to your dog is to grab one of his favorite toys, "rev" him up to play, and then ask him to sit before throwing the toy. If he does not sit, turn your back on him and wait. If he sits, immediately turn around and give him the toy. If he does not sit, wait a little while and then try again. Possibly even walk away a little so the dog has to follow you. You can do this with food, too. If he wants his dinner, he must sit for it or lay down. Eventually try to get two behaviors for one reward. If you go to put his leash on, have him sit. If he does not, then put the leash down and walk away. If he wants to run through the doorway to go outside, ask him to lay down. If he does not comply, simply walk away and leave the door shut. Then try again in another minute. Integrate this "NILIF" philosophy into your life with your dog, and you will soon find that you have a dog that politely "asks" instead of demands.

Another suggestion to help with resource guarding is to work on "Tradeoffs" with your dog. Start easy: trade him for a lower value item, like a toy, by giving him a tasty liver treat and then quietly picking up the toy when he opens his mouth to eat the treat (you can even hold it in your hand so he has to lick at your hand for a while to get the treat). Teach him the "Give" or "Release" command if he does not know it already. Say "Give" just as the dog lets go of the toy, and then give him the treat. Then ask him to "Take It" and shake the toy so he grabs it. Then ask for another "Give" using the treat lure. Gradually and slowly fade out the lure, treating every other time. Repeat this often for short periods of time until all you have to do is command him to "Give" what he has in his mouth and he will—without a treat. Practice taking his toys from him, inspecting them, and then promptly returning them with a warm "Good dog!" He will be learning that you control the resources and that you are fair—you give it back to him. Work up to something as valuable as a raw meaty bone. Grab some high-value treats, like extra beef heart or meat. Approach the dog while he is eating, saying his name warmly and happily so that he looks up at you. Show him the food you have and give it to him. Repeat this at each meal so that he equates your approach with a yummy treat, until he is looking up eagerly and wagging his tail when you approach.

At this point in time progress to asking him to release his bone to you. Start with him on lead, so that he cannot slink off with his bone or run away from you (just do not press him into a corner!). Give him his bone. Immediately ask him to "give" it to you. Show him a nice high-value treat if he is reluctant to release it. Once he gives it to you, give him the treat, inspect the bone, and then immediately hand it back to him and let him eat his meal in peace. Do this at every meal until he readily gives his bone up to you and you can do it without him on a leash. Treat intermittently at this point. Now you can try taking the bone at varying times after he has started chewing it. Either call your dog over to you or approach with a nice piece of meat. Ask him to "give" his bone and take it from him as he gives it to you, feed him the meaty treat, inspect the bone, and then give him back his bone. Leave him to eat his meal in peace. Always exercise caution, and if you feel frightened of your dog at any point, contact a professional trainer who uses humane methods and who will be willing to work through this with you without just telling you to "get rid of the bones". Also keep in mind that you are wanting your dog to voluntarily relinquish this prized possession; you are firmly requesting him to "give" it to you, but not forcing him.

You can also teach your dog to "Leave it", a command that is taught in a manner similar to the "Give". There are several ways to do this; one common way is to hold a treat in your hand and let your dog lick and worry at your hand. The moment he stops, you say "Leave it", and then open your hand to give him the treat. Repeat this often at regular intervals. You should be able to say "Leave it" earlier and earlier in the behavior so that a simple "Leave it" command will get him to stop licking. Then progress to toys and eventually to his RMBs. Pat Miller's book (listed below) contains some excellent training exercises for teaching "Off" or "Leave it" in a variety of settings. It is definitely a good command to train.

There are several great books out there that discuss resource guarding as part of their overall training program. Ones that I have found helpful are:

Ian Dunbar's Before and After Getting Your Puppy

While geared toward raising puppies, this book does an excellent job of teaching you how to teach your dog or puppy bite inhibition and how to prevent resource guarding in puppies.

Brian Kilcommon's Good Owners, Great Dogs

A good all-around book that has an excellent and thorough section on the "Nothing In Life Is Free" philosophy and on working through resource guarding humanely.

Pat Miller's The Power of Positive Dog Training

This also is an excellent training book that utilizes positive operant conditioning (clicker training). Many of the exercises discussed above ("Give", "Leave it") are discussed in detail in her book, and prevent a wonderfully humane, non-confrontational way to train your dog.

Suzanne Clothier's Bones Would Rain From the Sky

While not necessarily a training book, this is a wonderful glimpse into life with dogs. It discusses our relationships with dogs and how these relationships can be influenced for better or worse through the training methods we choose. It is one of my favorite books and really showed me a whole new world of deeper communication with dogs, particularly in reference to "aggressive" behavior in canines.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Rooney just LOVES his boiled shin bones.  He'll get one in his ex-pen when I have to leave for a while or when I need he to lay low for a bit.  Rooney is 5 months and has never had an issue with giving it up. Your puppy is resource guarding and you must stop it right away.  There is the sweetest dog at the dog park until she has her ball and another dog gets to close.  She resource guards it and it is dangerous for other people or dogs.  The experts here can help you with this.  Good thing you are realizing now that the behavior isn't good.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

And what a darling close up!   I just love his coloring.

[Lesley, Wellington & Bingley]

 

Bingley was like this with raw bones when he was a pup. So I would sit holding the bone and let him chew on it. So the bones was never his - always mine, and I shared it with him.

 

He soon learnt that I was not a threat to this bone. The growling is saying 'this is mine - DONT take it away!!!!'

 

So by sitting holding the bone whilst he chews it all that is gone - as it's not his to guard.  As your pup begins to relax a bit more, and the raw bones become less of a novelty, you can hold on to it for less time, and let the pup take it.

 

I did this with raw chicken wings. They get crunched up quite quickly, so it was only 5 minutes of sitting holding a raw chicken wing before it was gone (watch your fingers!).

 

It didn't take long for Bingley to relax around raw bones and me. He now is completely fine, I can take a bone off him - but I ALWAYS give it back - or swap it for something yummy if I need to remove it from him.

 

 

 

 

[Lesley, Wellington & Bingley]

 

P.S...

 

I woud not advise any kind of confrontational correction. This will only reinforce his fear that you are a threat around certain objects. Whilst he may learn to relinquish these objects to you - because you have forced him to - he may decide to try and guard these objects when others are around, who have not forced him to relinquish them.

 

A far safer approach is to teach him not to feel threatened where food and people are concerened. And that hands only ever give and never only take away (swapping is giving too!)  =)

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

Excellent advice from the others but I just wanted to say that this is a wonderful picture of  Mulligan.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Resource guarding is a bad thing, and it should definitely be discouraged. I would start with something he values a little bit less, a toy or something. Then offer to "trade" a high value treat for the toy he has. You could use a command with this action like "give" or "drop it". Once he has learned that if he gives up his toy he will get something better, you could try trading for his bones. When I taught this to Darwin we used cheese, warm pieces of hotdog, liver, etc. Things that dogs LOVE.

[Candy & Hudson]

I agree with everyone else, that it should not be tolerated AT ALL. My pup did this when we brought him home, our trainer suggested the trading game (using a less valuable treat and working your way back up to the bone) and we have also practiced this with the kids, to make sure he felt confident that noone would take his bone. We would also 'claim' his bone before we would give it to him, by placing it on the floor and standing over it, and not allowing Hudson to touch it UNTIL we allowed him. It may not seem like a big deal but it could turn into guarding more items, and I would hate for him to actually bite someone.

ps that pic of Mulligan is so adorable, I love his coloring!