Help! Puppy resource guarding biting.

[John B]

My 11 week old labradoodle is mostly a sweet puppy.  In the past few weeks she has developed an aggressive resource guarding issue around special treats (kong/bully stick) and household items she shouldn't have like kids toys, socks etc.  Today my 4 year old daughter walked near her as she had a hold of a sock and lunged and bit her.  My daughter was left with 3 puncture marks in her arm. The puppy has now bit everyone in the home in the past 2 weeks, drawing blood on my wife and now daughter. 

I have done plenty of research on resource guarding issue and we all have been working with her.  We have been hand feeding, teaching "leave it" command and trying to get the kids to not take things from her. 

What are my options here?  Is getting rid of her back to the breeder a reasonable option?  

The puppy's good qualities:  Mostly sweet, sleeps through night, low maintenance as will lay down in her play room until we come get her.

Not so nice qualities:  Resource guarding biting, Very rough playing at times, constant potty accidents in the house

I'll deal with most anything but biting is non-negotiable.  Where to go from here? 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

I'm going to " bump" this in hopes someone can give guidance. I have never personally dealt with this
, other than the normal puppy stuff.
I will say, you pointed out as " a not so good quality" as having constant potty accidents in the house. This is what 11 week old puppies do. Any puppy you get will do the same.

[Jennifer & Truffle]

Sorry in advance for the long-winded response.

We've been dealing with a version of this with our 7-month old, Truffle. He started resource guarding a couple of months ago.  He does get a bit possessive with small items he shouldn't have (like socks), but he's always willing to happily relinquish them in exchange for a good treat, which we always have very close at hand.  Our bigger problem is with his food bowl.  He's growled at all of us when he guards his food, but I've been the only one subjected to his nasty bite.  We've been working with a trainer and we now make him wait in his "place" until the food bowl has been filled and then for the past few weeks, we've been holding his bowl while he eats. During his meal we also stand up periodically and make him sit and wait a few seconds before letting him eat some more.  We are now able to pet him and play with his food while he's eating (we still hold the bowl).  In a couple of weeks we'll start leaving the bowl on the ground again, assuming he doesn't revert to old behavior.  I'm hoping that these feeding sessions (which we will have done for 4-6 weeks) will result in success (it takes about 30 days to modify behavior, according to our trainer).

It doesn't sound like you have the food bowl problem, however - although our trainer said that the resource guarding behavior can spread to other areas if not nipped in the bud.  Have you been exchanging his bully sticks/socks, etc. for high-value treats with an associated "drop it" command?  Drop it would be a great command to start teaching your puppy if you haven't started already.

Essentially, the resource guarding occurs because the dog doesn't realize that she's at the bottom of the pack order.  He'll continue to assert herself in that way as long as she can get away with it and you don't show her who's boss.  

Because Truffle was getting scarily bitey with me, our trainer also advised us to let him know who's in charge by looming over him and telling him "no" (or whatever other cue you choose) in a VERY stern voice so that he backs off.  Essentially getting in his face. My husband is able to do it pretty well, but I'm awful at it.

Like the food bowl, I've also been holding his longer-lasting high-value treats while he eats them, intermittently pulling them away from his mouth for a few seconds at a time while he eats them.  I'll also brush him while he's eating them, just to get him comfortable with my presence close to him.

If you can afford it, you might want to ask a trainer to come to your house to observe the behavior in action.  I know how scary it must be, particularly since the puppy has gone after your daughter.  But it can be overcome, I'm sure, if you're consistent with the training.

Also, to the extent you know that certain treats are triggers, you might want to hold off giving them to the puppy until you've worked on the issue more.  Control the environment to the extent you can, in other words.

Finally, it sounds from your post like the puppy lunged at your daughter without any provocation - was it just your child's proximity to the dog that set her off?  If so, you should make sure your daughter understands not to approach the dog when she has anything "bad" in her mouth.  That may be difficult given your daughter's age, but it's worth a try.  

[Gem's Jewel]

A puppy can be brought into a family at any time as long as you are willing to work on issues as they come up...I couldn't imagine our children or grandchildren not growing up with pets. Ok, as much as we treat our pups like humans, sometimes you have to communicate in dog for them to understand. You are an adult...but a child really needs to be helped. Have your daughter fix your pups bowl of food, put a few animal crackers, dry cereal or what ever on a napkin on top and have your daughter eat that off the top with the dog watching. He should sit and watch, then have her place the bowl down. He is born understanding pack rules and the rules clearly mean the lowly eat last. If he growls immediately but calmly put him on his back and hold him down by his neck - NOT HURTING HIM AT ALL. Then have your daughter rub his belly and you do the same. He is being put in place just like he would in a pack and you not hurting him earns his trust and respect. We had a very large male German Shepherd puppy do this years ago with our four daughters and a trainer helped us. In two weeks we had a gentle giant and he remained that way the rest of his life! He even played with our kittens. You can also put a leash on him and attach it to her waist and make him go everywhere she goes for a week as a follow up, but you must stay with her. We did this for two weeks with each daughter moving down from the oldest to the youngest, very worth the time and effort as a month of work turned into years of payoff.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I wonder if now is just not the right time for you to add a young pup to your family.  Eleven week old puppies have LOTS of accidents - they are infants.  Rough play, biting and nipping, mouthing, destroying is also normal - not desirable, but normal. Raising a puppy to become a great dog takes lots of time (not weeks), patience, and energy. When you have really young children in your home, they have to be your priority and sometimes there just isn't any time left over for a puppy.  I would seriously consider returning the puppy and waiting a few years when your child(ren) don't need so much of your attention and are old enough to enjoy the dog and not be afraid of its puppy behaviors.  I would also consider a lower energy breed. 

This does NOT make you a bad person or a quitter.  We had rescued a dog when my daughter was an infant.  We realized that this was not going to be the right time for us to have a dog. We were inexperienced dog owners and didn't know how to teach the dog the correct behaviors and realized that we didn't know how to teach our daughter either.  We found a better home for the dog and waited a few years.  We have been dog people ever since.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree 100%. 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I agree with Nancy, too. All puppies go through a puppy biting stage. Kids running around just amp them up. Potty training takes LOTS of time and patience. I would contact your breeder sooner rather than later. Most reputable breeders have in their contract that you need to return the puppy to them if you are unhappy.

[John B]

Thank you for the response. The normal puppy behavior doesn't bother us so much. Maybe I made the good/bad list to make sense of the situation. It's the fear of this sweet pup biting my kids in a more serious way in the future. If I could be convinced this is solvable and can permanately be fixed I may try to work through it.

I don't like the exchange concept as it's not feasible to have everyone carry a treat around all the time. Who knows what she may deem valuable. It was an empty water bottle last week. We are going to take some time to decide what we should do and just tell the kids for now to be aware when they are nearing her.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It is entirely possible to prevent a puppy (or any dog) from getting a hold of objects she should not have, like socks for example. There is no reason for socks to be anywhere other than in a closed drawer, in a closed laundry hamper, or on someone's feet. One swallowed sock = $3000 surgery or a dead puppy. 

She also couldn't be having potty accidents in the house if she were supervised or confined every minute. She should be tethered to an adult or crated when she she can't be directly supervised. 

The point being, puppies need a lot of training, a lot of supervision and a lot of time, all provided by a committed adult owner. This is often difficult in a household with several young children. 

DRC (Doodle Rescue) has 30 dogs in the program right now, 25 of whom lost their homes due to issues related to young children in the home. It is much easier to find a new home for an 11 week old puppy than a 3 year old dog. If you keep this puppy, you and your wife must be 100% committed to her and to spending the next 12-15 years making it work.  Otherwise, the kindest thing would be to return her to the breeder. 

[Sally S Miles]

I'm sorry that your children are being bitten, but please do a search here on DK regarding basic puppy behavior.  Puppies are a handful and they don't do it intentionally,  There are numerous posts regarding these issues and some very sound advice. 

Puppies have very sharp teeth, just like any mammal that has to chew - they have to be taught proper behavior - you have, for all intents and purposes,  an infant or toddler if you prefer. It is a responsibility to train the dog and the children.   While I do understand the need to keep your children safe, this is a choice and it's not one that the dog made.  Children and puppies can coexist, but only with intense supervision and training - add tons of patience. Without all of this it will be a disaster.   

Stick to less intense chew toys.  Get a schedule and stick to it.

Keep your children away during feeding or play time. Keep the pup confined for proper house breaking. Keep the chin up and the focus at hand - saftey concerns the pup as well as the children, and that means removing temptations to swallow of chew foreign objects.  Keep the theme calm, relaxed, and firm - if that cannot be done, then it would be in the best interest of all to release the pup.   Whether you determine this is the right pup, or time for your family - it's an excellent opportunity to teach your children proper behavior around dogs and animals in general. That is a lesson that will serve them for their entire life. I wish you well.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

"It is a responsibility to train the dog and the children.   While I do understand the need to keep your children safe, this is a choice and it's not one that the dog made."  

Amen, Sally.

[Marie and Hoka]

It is a real conflict for you.  The puppy can learn that it is awesome to give up items to humans, and to relax around humans when she has toys/stolen items.   She is still young and only just now learning. BUT, your first commitment is to your human child!

If you can swing it, I would have a professional behaviorist evaluate the dog and help you decide how difficult it will be to change the situation. If you think your daughter is in danger, I would not think twice about finding the puppy an adult only home.  

If she is making his choices based on pack-rank and strength, she might think your daughter is below her. You need to socialize her that humans are not a threat.

Your breeder may be willing to let you return the puppy and get one from another litter later.  I have personally always found male dogs less dominant than the females, especially when neutered early.  We had to "return" a younger rescue dog to a shelter shortly after bringing her home due to fear/aggression issues.  Although she could be trained, I was not the one to do it with 2 young children in the house.

Also.... I have NEVER been able to train the humans in my house to pick up the socks (or dishes, cups, tissues)!  We have been lucky to date that our pups merely hoarded them, did not eat them! My dog training is better than my human training!

[John B]

Thank you for your thoughts.