Resource Guarding

Resource guarding is a dangerous and scary behaviour to deal with. With the right training methods, there is hope.

What Is Resource Guarding?

Resource guarding refers to when a dog displays protective or aggressive behaviour in order to defend or control access to a particular resource. This resource can be food, toys, treats, bones, beds, furniture, people or any item the dog perceives as valuable. 

The behaviour and body language of resource guarding can include some of the following:

  • Stiffening of the body
  • Hard staring at the individual approaching the dog
  • Hunching over the object they are trying to possess
  • Whale eye (When a dog shows the whites of their eyes while looking sideways or avoiding direct eye contact)
  • Trying to run away and hide with the object the want to possess
  • Growling or barking at the person who is approaching the object
  • Putting paw over or head over top of the object
  • Raised Hackles (when the hair on the back of your dogs neck and back stick up)
  • Tense mouth - mouth may be tightly closed, with lips pulled back
  • Lunging at the individual approaching the object
  • Bearing teeth or air snapping
  • Nipping or biting the individual who approaches the object
  • Sitting in front of doorways and not allowing individuals to come into the room

Resource guarding is one of the most dangerous behaviours for dog owners to have to deal with.

Resource guarding is a learned or genetic behaviour which puppies will try when they are young. Depending on the result of that attempt, the behaviour will either be reinforced or shut down.

Some breeds are more prone to resource guarding (retrievers, beagles, rottweilers, livestock guardian breeds & chihuahuas), and some dogs have an anxiety induced resource guarding problem that is similar to OCD in people. Either way, resource guarding can definitely be (at bare minimum) safely managed, or at best eradicated with the right training tools and techniques.

Dog Training Toronto | Hairy Tales | Award Winning Dog Behaviorist

When I am working with a dog that has resource guarding, I always take the human clients safety in mind first and foremost. This behaviour is dangerous, and so many precautions and management tools need to be put into place before we begin to tackle the resource guarding head on. 

Kristina Rapson
The Hairy Dogmother

Most owners are shocked when their precious puppy growls or bites them for the first time over a toy or bone. Unfortunately, this fearful reaction will encourage the behaviour in the future because the puppy got exactly what it wanted. 

Other reactions such as taking the toy away reinforces the behaviour because the puppy learned that their humans take yummy things away from them, and so they should resource guard it in the future. 

Resource guarding is one of the most dangerous behaviors’ a dog owner will have to deal with. Because of this, when dealing with dogs over 15lbs who are resource guarding and have bitten a person and broken skin, e-collar training is the only recommended route in order to handle this in the safest way possible for everyone involved.

Since resource guarding is almost always a relationship problem, the first most important step to any dog training, is improving the relationship with your dog.

The Science Behind Leadership In Dogs

Learn more about the science behind the importance of leadership with dogs.

This is where I come in, to help you understand what you might be doing to send your dog messages stating that the dog is in charge. I help you communicate with your dog clearly and effectively to help them understand that they are not the leaders of the household, you are. 

Dog Training Toronto | Hairy Tales | Award Winning Dog Behaviorist
Kristina Rapson The Hairy Dogmother

So what does Resource Guarding training look like?

01

Improving Communication & Relationship

Through teaching you how dogs communicate, Kristina will be helping you how to clarify your interactions with your dog so you are sending them the right messages.

02

Learning Techniques

You must learn from Kristina how to communicate what is and is not acceptable. Then you must apply this and teach your dog the rules and boundaries clearly and consistently. 

03

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Once you have the knowledge, skills and tools from Kristina to improve your dogs behaviour, you are to practice every single day. Practice makes perfect!

What kinds of training tools do you use?

This really depends on the dog and human involved. Again, we don’t use a one sized fits all method, and so each dog and human duo will need something different depending on the behaviour and how intense they are. What is common, is we often need to use e-collar training for dogs who are more than 15-20lbs as this is the safest, gentlest and least confrontational way to get the behaviour under control.  E-collar training is also a great way to reinforce other rules and boundaries consistently.

***PLEASE NOTE: Do not try e-collar training without a professional trainer. E-collar training takes special technique and understanding in order to be used properly and effectively. 

  • Remember that no behaviour issue can be completely resolved in just one session. It takes time and practice to get over these types of issues. 
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  • Kristina has been incredible to work with. She’s thoughtful and takes her time with my pup. She provided detailed notes and homework based on what your dog needs and sends follow ups to check in on your dogs progression. I’ve seen an incredible improvement in my pups behaviour and I definitely attribute that to the help I got from her!

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  • Working with Kristina on our dog's reactiveness to new visitors entering the home, and her comfort level with her walker, has been massively helpful. She's armed us with confidence and the right training tools to work on these specific issues. Our dog has completed multiple grades of obedience training, but we were missing guidance on what to do in specific circumstances that trigger our dog's anxiety. Having the ability to have Kristina over to our home to replicate the problems we're having in our home environment has been invaluable. We are grateful for the progress made to date and look forward to our future sessions!

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  • Kristina is knowledgable and a hands-on trainer. She was attuned with my dog and created a very safe and supportive environment that promotes learning. I highly recommend her.

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  • When we first reached out to Kristina at Hairy Tales, our dog was very reactive to other dogs and animals, so badly that we couldn’t take him outside of the house at all. But after 2 sessions with her and doing the things she told us to do, we are already seeing a lot of improvements. We are now able to pass a dog park without him getting out of control. Highly recommend this place.

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  • My family adopted a rescue this past February who was quite leash reactive. We heard about Kristina through a friend of a friend who hired her as a trainer. Kristina taught us the foundations to teaching our dog that we are his protector. From there she taught us how to redirect his reactiveness. Today he is walking by my side beautifully and rarely reacts to another dog. I have even had people come up to me saying how well behaved my dog is.

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  • Kristina was super knowledgeable and helpful in working with me and my dog to concur her resource guarding and reactivity. Her clear homework instructions were easy to follow and she was always available to help whenever I needed it. Forever grateful for her expertise!

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  • Our experience with Kristina was awesome. Within minutes of meeting us and our dog, for an in-studio consultation session, she was able to provide such valuable insights on his personality and tendencies. She later gave us the proper training approach and techniques to correct an issue we were having and we've have already started to see a difference in his behaviour in such a short period time. We look forward to continuing to work with her.

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  • Kristina is like a medium for dogs. As a first time dog owner, I've spent hours reading, scouring the internet, and working with other trainers to try to teach my lil dude, Schnitzel. Alas, his guarding, reactivity, barking, and at times — aggression, has persisted, causing major stress and concerns for his happiness and safety. Cue Kristina — my goodness! Kristina has given me so much insight into lil guy's psyche, and the tools I need to communicate with him. Even after our first session I saw progress. A lot of trainers will apply one philosophy to all dogs — whereas Kristina takes everything you've told her about your dog, and combines it with her extensive knowledge of different breed's psyches/needs to come up with a plan that will work for them — lemme tell ya, it HAS! She just gets them, and makes the training process so much more comprehensive for owners. Thank you so much Kristina!

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  • I have tried other dog trainers to work on my dogs leash reactivity and have not had much success. After the first session I saw changes in my dog and gained the confidence and skills to continue to work on this! Kristina has been extremely knowledgeable and kind throughout the process!

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  • Kristina is an absolute gem to work with!!! She gave us very helpful tips to work with our rescue dog and followed through whenever we had additional questions! We felt very at ease at her studio and loved the walk through sessions outdoors as well. She catered exactly to our needs in working with our dog and with her help we've made SO MUCH progress. Our dog no longer pulls during our regular walks and his reactivity has gone down significantly since working with her. We will continue working with her to help build our doggo's confidence and to allow him to be comfortable in different settings and cannot wait for our next sessions ahead 🙂

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