I am so upset!

[Laura & Chewie]

I am so upset right now I'm on the verge of tears as I type this. I know I have mentioned Chewie's problem with resource guarding before...everyone is probably tired of hearing about it, but here goes. I was at my daughter's with Chewie, we got in the car to come home. He was in the passenger seat like always. We had just pulled out of the driveway and he was digging into the seat with his nose/mouth. It was dark, so I couldn't see what he was after, I stopped the car and talked to him to get him to turn around in the seat...he would not. So, I took his leash and tried to redirect him from whatever had his attention. He growled and snapped at me...I don't know if he bit me or my hand just made contact with his teeth, but it really hurt. Luckily the skin was not broken. I was so upset, I yelled "no" at him and tapped him on the nose. He immediately growled, barred his teeth and tried to snap again.

We have been working on the resource guarding and I thought we were seeing improvement. I will be honest, I haven't been working quite as aggressively as I could. I just don't understand...what makes one dog exhibit this type of behavior while others don't. Is it something in his temperment? He is such a good boy in every other way. He loves everyone, is so patient and gentle with my granddaughters. Just today at daycare, they were telling me how he is one of the favorite dogs there...how he has the best temperment. She was shocked when I told her about the resource guarding.

I guess I'm just trying to understand where this behavior comes from...he has been like this since we got him at 8 weeks...he is now 8 months. I know training is the key to many behavior issues, but to be honest, this is the first dog I have tried to train, so I am definitely lacking in experience. I did have a dog for 17 years, but was never formally trained...fortunately it was never a problem. I guess I'm looking for reassurance that this behavior can be reversed and to hear about other people experiences with the same type of problem.

If you got this far, (I know it's long) thanks for reading this. I am really hoping some of you experienced dog owners can offer some opinions and reassurance.

[shelly]

Hi Laura,
Well Tori and Chewie ust be long lost relatives of some sort. There is so much in common with the two of them! Tori too did that to me once. I wrote about it many times on different forums, but here it goes again.... I hope I don't bore you if you have already heard this. Tori would often steal various items sneakershats, paper, etc. and run under the dining room table with them. We would coax her to give it up. sometimes she would growl, but NEVER snapped. One day, she did snap at my son and the same thing - either she caught him just right, or actually bit down as he pulled. Not too bad... A few months went by and she again was great with taking things away. Until.... one day she grabbed something in my son's room, ran under the bed. as I put my hand under to grab a hold of it, she growl and went after my hand furiously. WELL>>> I screamed, cried, and ran out of the room with my hand bleeding. She actually had gotten my thumb from both sides. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as it looked. She got so scared at my ranting, raving, and banging on the door that she ran downstairs and right in her crate. I really could have let her out the door that night! I continued to yell (well scream) at her in her crate, Iknow - bad me, but it was better than the alternative I had in my head at the time.... she didn't MOVE all night. The next day and for quite a while after, she remained tethered to her leash with me around the house, AND - I went back to full force training to show her who was boss - ME!. I made her wait for food, I walked out and in of the doors FIRST, not HER. And the "lovey dovey-ness" chilled. I don't know what it was, but from then on things got sooooo much better - and the lovey-doveynessas returned! She's far from perfect, but NOW....I just LOVE her!

[Camilla and Darwin]

This may be really simplistic... but one thing you could possibly try is the same thing I do when I trained Darwin the drop it command. Meaning, when you go to take his food or toy away from him, offer him something even better than what he has. Such as taking away his toy and replacing it with a high level treat. Eventually, he may learn that giving up his food or toys is a positive thing.

[Kim Williams]

I agree with Jane. I think obedience training and the continued bond formation is so important for an 8 month old. Chewie ( I LOVE that name) is still just a puppy and you CAN CHANGE that behavior with continued training.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Please take heart, Chewie's behavior can be replaced. He sounds like a lovely dog with lovely owners.

I really like Camilla's answer. It is much better to replace an unwanted behavior than to supress it. I will use my Roo as an example. Roo and Tigger sleep with us at night. I am often the last to get in bed and all three of my bedmates are sound asleep. Roo is the only one of the three who is super cranky to be woken. Unfortunately it is nearly always Roo who is sleeping where I want to sleep. I could make an issue of it and "be the alpha", and make him move even though he is grumbling, and lifting his lip at me. Or.... I could bring a treat with me and wave it under his nose until he wakes. He then follows the treat until he is in a position where I now can get in bed. Why should I make an issue of something when I don't have to do so? Or as my granny always said you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

In Chewie's case since in all other respects he seems to be a charming loveable soul, I will guess that somehow someone or several someone's have unwittingly reenforced resource guarding. It is so easy to inadverently reenforce an undesirable behavior because a dog's connection time to the event is less than three seconds. Ours is often over three seconds as we process much more. So the best thing to do is exactly what Camilla suggests. Offer Chewie a really good treat in exchange for what he is guarding, then if possible return what he is guarding. It is not necessary to return the guarded item 100% of the time, but you should set up conditions for quite awhile so that only occasionally is the guarded item not returned. This type if training is research based and, Caesar Milan not withstanding, almost always bettter than supressing a behaviour. Suppressed behavior must be supressed consistently for a long time until it is extinguished. Replacement behavior quickly extinguishes an undesirable behavior.

I am not a treat only owner (or parent), but neither am I believer in the intimidation school of training (parenting). I always try to be smarter than my dog ( not at all always easy) and I always go for the treat or praise first if it is at all possible. I control the food - my dog's know who is boss and so does Chewie.
Good Luck and take care.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Laura ..... Lots of good advice here. I'm not sure if you are in formalized training or not, but if you aren't, I would definitely get scheduled for some classes. We learned so much during these classes. Like you, we had never had any formalized training (and we got two puppies at once). It gives you an opportunity to ask specific questions about your particular situations (which training books don't). In our very 1st class this couple showed up with a lg German Shephard puppy that was scary (to put it mildly). It took our instructor the 1st 20 mins of class just to bring the dog into the room. On a couple occassions when the dog tried to bite her, she grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and took it down to the floor laying on its side, and she held it's head down. This didn't hurt the dog, but is apparently how the mother dog shows the puppy who is boss! (That puppy went to a private class after that, but was a good example for us). It definitely sounds to me like you just need a little help from a trainer to teach you how to teach Chewie who is boss because obviously Chewie thinks Chewie is the boss! Good Luck and keep us posted on how it goes!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Guinness has never been a resource guarder, but one of the dogs in Guinness's training class was. The trainer was working with the owner to correct the behavior. I don't remember everything about what she told her to do but I do remember her telling her that "practice" was the key until the appropriate behavior became a habit with the dog. She had her creating situations several times a day where the dog would be tempted to resource guard. She had her taking toys away and even the food dish during mealtime. If the dog behaved appropriately there would be lots of praise (and treats sometimes) and if not the toy or food went away for a while. I remember her saying that state of mind at the time was key (owner's that is), and that these training moments needed to be approached with confidence and leadership. She talked about body language as the way of expressing the "I'm in control of everything you have" message. That class ended, so I don't know the outcome with this dog, but the trainer's advice did make sense to me.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

So sorry Laura...I know you must be quite upset about this. Peri did this once to us and we got so mad at her she cowered and ran to her crate - she had never heard the tone in our voice before and I still feel a little bad about it. It was with a small antler (as Jane said about her golden - when it gets too small and you should take it away to avoid choking). Since then, we have really been trying with the "drop it" command. As others say, maybe you should always have treats in your pocket for this behavior. Say drop it and as soon as they drop it, leave it, etc...give Chewie a treat. You can phase out the treats eventually, but my trainer swears this is the way to go because this is how they learn any command in the beginning.

And formal training does help you develop your bond with your dog. We have not done any since November, but I am chomping at the bit to get started again. I still work with Peri on a daily basis, but we are ready for another challenge. We are trying agility next, which I have heard really strengthens the bond between dog-owner because it still incorporates training, but in a more fun way.

Good luck and please keep us posted. I am definitely not an expert, but this is how I was told to deal with the behavior.

[Laura & Chewie]

Thank you so much for all your warm, concerned responses. I think it's because I love Chewie so much that this upset me so. I will (sheepishly) admit I think I took it personally last night...how could he do that??!! I know that's crazy, but I'm guessing not so unusual, especially from someone who is experiencing the ins and outs of dog training for the first time.

To answer/address some of your comments and suggestions. We have been using the "trade" approach for awhile now and it works beautifully as Chewie is VERY food motivated. It doesn't even have to be a high value treat...any treat will do...LOL. I guess last night in the car was a completely different situation and all happened so suddenly...I was shocked and unprepared.

Yes, Chewie has had training and is currently in an intermediate obedience class. His initial training was praise based (no treats) and lots of corrections. He did learn well, but we were not sure it was the right choice because of the choke collar and corrections involved and the lack of the thing (treats) that he would do anything for. So, after some research, signed him up for his current class which uses clicker training and treats. He responds wonderfully to this approach and although I didn't know if I would like the clicker training, I really love it. I like that it gives me a bit of extra time to get that reward (treat) to him because his response has already been marked with the clicker. The only thing here that is really different is they don't believe in the alpha or pack leader concept.

Chewie knows most basic commands...sit, stay, down, leave-it, drop-it (only with treats)...we just need to expand on the duration and distraction. He walks fairly well on leash, but will pull if really distracted by something and does heel and heel/sit with some consistency.

We have often thought that his behavior becomes a problem when he is tired. For instance, yesterday he was at daycare from 11 - 4, I picked him up and went to my daughter's. He really didn't rest much, playing with the kids, and all. I even remarked to my daughter how everyone says their dogs come home from daycare and literally pass out and here's Chewie still full of energy and ready to play...kinda of like the little kid who doesn't want to go to sleep, but is so tired...often resulting in not the greatest behavior. By the time we left, it was 8:00...he had to be exhausted.

Anyway, again I so appreciate your caring responses...definitely instills some confidence and motivation I lost last night and I am feeling better today. I really thought I was so prepared to get a puppy...lots of reading/research, etc. We didn't take the first puppy available, researched breeders and waited six months for his liter to be born. I guess just like there is no perfect dog, there is no perfect owner. I know I need to not only provide the training, but to pick up the pace hopefully resulting in reversing this behavior. I know the reward will be tremendous...it already is in so many ways! :)

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I think you will find the new training (clicker and treat) may work better for you. It is a very positive experience - keep your head and and move forward! It will get better.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Sounds like you are really listening to the advice you are being given - Kudos to you!!!
Glad to hear your 2nd class/trainer works with positive training - I believe you get more results with treats then with corrections. Charli is now getting into the bratty stage of 'I know you said drop it but really, NO' and runs away. It is my fault - we finished Puppy Grad class 2 weeks ago and I have not worked with her - or Samantha for that matter. Back to work as of today.
I love the advice you got on reminding Chewie that YOU are in charge, you walk in first, he must wait until you ALLOW him to go up the steps, eat his food, go potty, snuggle, whatever!!
I think you are right that he is just a puppy and was just so exhausted that he forgot his manners BUT...
that is just unacceptable behavior. Please keep us posted.

[Nugget's Family]

Laura-

Have you thought about hiring the trainer from your class (given you like him/her enough to do this) to do a private session or two to just address this concern? We did that when Nugget was young to work on her leash walking and it worked very well.

Susan

[Laura & Chewie]

Yes, actually not the trainer, but the owner of the training academy. We had heard of her, had her out, liked her and that's how we learned of the classes. The person who teaches the class, trained under her and they are both very good and very likeable. I do think we will have her out again to see what further advice she can offer.