Resource Guarding

[Angie ashcraft]

My 7 month goldendoodle was chewing on a rawhidetonigh.t.He chewed it in half and had a piece in his mouth. I kneeled down to take it away and he growled and nipped at me. I have never heard him growl before. He mouths me but never in an agressive way. Ive taken a bazillion towels and socks out if his mouth and he never growls or fights for it. It scared me to see him at this way. Is this normal? By the way... I rarely give him a rawhide chew... When I do I monitor it and take it away once he begins to break it down I take it away to prevent him swallowing a piece of it. So... What do I do from here? Is there training I need to begin with him to teach him not to guard his toys or food? Again... This has never happened til tonite Help....

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

If this is the only time it has happened, I would stop giving him the rawhide chews.  He clearly considers them to be very high value.  You do need to train him that you're the "leader" and that you control all resources, but preventing the guarding of the rawhide is an "immediate" fix.  Also, at 7 months it's time to seriously work on the mouthing.

[Angie ashcraft]

Thanks for the response. The rawhide chews are definitely gone from now on. The only reason I attempted to take it out if his mouth is because he had bit off a big hunk and I didn't want him to swallow it. We already had an incident where he swallowed a sock (which we didn't know about) and pooped it out 3 weeks later. As for the mouthing.... I've tried so many things. We use positive reinforcement. When he mouths we've consistently told him "no", we've tried the yelping method, turned our backs, no eye contact and/or leave the room. I work from home so he has me at home with him daily....so it's not like he is home alone, crated while everyone is off to work or school. He gets tons and tons of attention and love from me, my husband and my teenage kids. He gets walked daily. We have a big backyard that's fenced in that he gets to run and play in when he wants outside. We have a pool that he LOVES to swim in. Since summer is here...I usually take a break from work and let him fetch a ball out of the pool for 20 or 30 min (I think he would do this for hours if we let him).He has lots of toys. He has a kong that I fill with treats and peanut butter. He loves to play fetch which all us of do with him daily...so he gets this multiple times both inside and outside the house. He has bully sticks to chew on. I freeze dish towels so he has those to chew on as well. Honestly... I think he is spoiled because the mouthing happens when I'm working on the computer or in the kitchen trying to cook or folding clothes and he isn't getting undivided attention from me. Or if the family is watching TV and he wants to play. It's almost as if he is spoiled and wants attention 24/7 and begins to mouth and tug on our clothes if we have something else that we are doing at the moment other than making him the center of our attention. So where do I go from here? The mouthing does concern me because he weighs 60 lbs at 7 months....and then after the guarding incident last night.... He could seriously hurt someone if he became aggressive.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

He's mouthing you for attention, but he's too old for that now.  My advice would be to immediately isolate him when he mouths you.  Stay very calm, take his collar, and lead him to his crate or to a gated room away from you.  Don't look at him or speak to him.  If you are totally consistent, he will soon learn that mouthing gets NO attention....just a time out.

Have you started any obedience training?  If you're not working with a trainer, you might benefit from the Doggy Dan online training course.  He provides some basic ground rules and also provides videos and discussions on some of the common behavior problems.

I also agree with the "Nothing In Life Is Free" approach for puppies at this age.  I think it provides a basis for them to "get" that you're their leader.

[Angie ashcraft]

How long should the time outs in the crate be?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Angie, everything you need to know to turn things around with your dog is in this post: 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/trainingmindsets/forum/topics/not...

You need to start implementing the Nothing In Life Is Free program, you need to do it now, and all family members need to be on board. 

[Angie ashcraft]

How long should the time outs in the crate be?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

As long as it takes until he is totally calm.  I'd wait until he laid down calmly for at least five minutes before releasing him....and then don't say a word...just open the door.  There should be no attention associated with any of this.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

As Jane suggests, do not give him anything that is so high value to him.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

All very good advice give already.  I wanted to just add one other thing that I read about recently.  It was talking about resource guarding and how we approach our dog when we know they do this.  When you are working with them and you are taking away something that they should not have, you need to do this with the attitude of I'm the boss and I'm taking it.  It's mine and you get it when I say.  You reach in and get it ... don't go in real tentative and nervous and scared as they will pick up on that and know that they are in charge.  As NIKE says, JUST DO IT! 

[Chris & Abby]

My Abby was a resource guarder with water and food. It started at 8 weeks when she first came home. She would eat my Bedlington's food and then run back and eat hers. She guarded the water even though there were two bowls and two dogs. She growled and snapped if anyone got too close when she had a treat or chew. I was terrified of having an aggressive dog who might hurt someone. I started the "Nothing in Life is Free" program after reading about it here. I put her through several training programs. I hand fed her for two weeks and that helped somewhat. I had to ban her from the kitchen and feed the dogs in separate rooms. Her aggression towards my older dog continued. It was upsetting to be trying hard and not making enough progress. My vet referred me to a Veterinary Behaviorist for help. At about the same time my 14 year old Bedlington had to be put to sleep. Being the only dog in the house has made a world of difference. The behaviorist had me sit in the kitchen while she ate and move the chair closer at each meal. After a week I was sitting almost on top of her but she got used to me being close to the food and eventually handling her dish. The guarding behavior seems to be over. The behaviorist also had us do relaxation training and most importantly, watch for signs that something could happen to cause aggressive behavior. Experience with her has taught me what kinds of situations can result in trouble. I now am very in tune with her posture, reaction to other dogs, etc. we have not had any display of aggression in several weeks. She just had her first birthday and that felt like a turning point. She is much calmer, loving and eager to please. She's still an energetic, crazy Doodle but I feel confident we are making great progress. The behaviorist also had me get a Gentle Leader collar for walking. After three weeks, she now walks nicely on the leash. That was a big hurdle. I highly recommend getting help from a behaviorist if you can. . She gave us so many things to work on and so far, it's all working. I hope you can help your pup overcome the guarding and be the sweet dog we all want.