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. 
Book A session Now
Back To Main Services Page

See More of Kristina's Specialized Training Services

Two shih tzu mix puppies benefitting from the most important part of puppy training - socialization!

Puppy Training

16 October 2024

Puppy Training Not all “Puppy Classes” are built to help you raise a well mannered and confident adult dog. When

Read More »
e-collar training gives dogs freedom

E-Collar Training

12 November 2023

E-collar training can be an invaluable tool for training behavioural issues such as reactivity, resource guarding and prey drive. It is also one of the best ways to get perfect recall.

Read More »

See what people are saying...

  • Milo and I are so lucky that we have found Kristina. She is very knowledgeable and helpful. Milo ignored me all the time and always pulling me on the walk. Now, after two sessions, he has no pulling at all. Walking has never been this easy and relaxing. More importantly, the training sessions help me a lot to understand Milo’s behavior. Will definitely recommend Kristina to everyone who is seeking for help with your pup! And we will keep our sessions with her!

    Kailin Zhang Avatar Kailin Zhang

  • I was so grateful when I received a referral to Kristina after we adopted our sweet pup from Redemption Paws. It has been so wonderful to work with Kristina throughout our pups training journey. Kristina is clear in her communication and instructions. Everything was always explained clearly which helped me to understand my dogs behaviors. After each session Kristina would send a summary and homework for us to practice. It really helped me to be able to reference back to these emails throughout the training process. I've contacted Kristina anytime a new concern or behavior comes up, and each time she has supported me to quickly address it. I feel empowered and prepared to deal with any challenge that may arise in the future with my pup. Thank you Kristina, you have helped me to become a confident dog owner! If you have found Kristina don't hesitate to book- I know you will also feel grateful you found her!

    Courtney Nunn Avatar Courtney Nunn

  • Kristina is a wealth of knowledge, her experience with dog psychology (especially rescue dog) is immense and she provides a lot of detailed homework between sessions to keep everyone on track and get the most from your sessions. Highly reccomend!

    Kendra Nicholson Avatar Kendra Nicholson

  • 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.

    Tim Ritcey Avatar Tim Ritcey

  • Kristina saved our dog Gigi’s life. Being a first time dog owner we were very overwhelmed with our dog’s aggressive behaviour. Kristina gave us the skills and tools we needed to work through the behavioural issues. Through our training sessions we learned how to care for Gigi so that the aggressive behaviour was avoided. Thank you Kristina for all your help and professional advice. We cannot thank you enough!

    Joe Avarino Avatar Joe Avarino

  • Kristina helped us with our anxious and aggressive rescue dog a few years ago. Her guidance helped us gain confidence and, in turn, give our dog the environment he needed to flourish. We recently reached out for further support and I was surprised that she remembered all about our dog and where we had left off in our training. She is calm, clear and patient (both with our dog and with us) which is so helpful when dealing with stressful behavioural issues.

    Sandra Bertoia Avatar Sandra Bertoia

  • 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.

    Moozhan Vilkiji Avatar Moozhan Vilkiji

  • Kristina helped us with our extremely sensitive dog when he was having some aggression issues. It gave us such peace of mind to actually feel like we had control over our dog.

    Delaire Nicholson Avatar Delaire Nicholson

  • Kristina trained my brother’s rambunctious lab mix who is extremely well behaved. So she came highly recommended. We first went to her a month after bringing home our second dog. The day after our first session, we had a completely different dog. Today, the day after our second session, we were stopped at the park by someone complimenting us on how well our dogs were behaved and wanting a referral. 100% would recommend to anyone looking for a well balanced dog.

    Kelsey Killam Avatar Kelsey Killam

  • Kristina is a knowledgeable trainer and resource. From the video call that I had with her, she was able to provide multiple training exercises to help with leash reactivity, setting home boundaries, and teaching 'settle' to my rescue dog. At the end of the session, she provided a detailed email covering the training exercises we had discussed during the call. She even followed up a few weeks later to see how we were doing! I would recommend her services to anyone!

    K C Avatar K C
Free phone consultation

FREE 15 Minute Phone Consultation

Want to speak directly with the trainer before committing to book? We offer free 15 minute phone consultations to make sure we are a right fit for your dogs needs.

Book a phone consultation now