Resource Guarding (RG)

Resource guarding is a natural behavior, and some dogs have a stronger tendency towards this than others. If a dog is Resource guarding it means that they fear losing a resource. They may communicate this by:

-running away with an item
-hiding with an item
-consuming/swallowing it quickly
-hovering over the item and becoming very still
-standing between you and the item and using their mouth to snap at, growl, mouth or bite the threat
-freezing, staring, growling, snapping, biting

There is often a desire to punish a growl... keep in mind that a growl is communication, the training below and learning body language can prevent the growl in the first place.

If your dog guards food, items, people or places, we want to teach them to feel safe, and not threatened by your presence or the presence of other people or dogs approaching.

Every person who does not want to share IS a resource guarder. All animals guard their things to some extent. We guard our food, money, and possessions. Why would dogs not do the same for their most prized possessions? Some dogs find their food bowl, bones, toys, beds, and guardians valuable resources that they want to guard and sometimes items that make little sense to us like paper or poop!

The presence of people and other dogs can increase the desire to guard. Our goal is to create an abundance mentality vs scarcity. Scarcity triggers guarding and fights.

Some of the training can feel repetitive & boring, but this is how we build a solid foundation, which will make a big difference long term.

If your dog has medium to severe guarding issues, we need to do more than preventative, we’ll create a management, your training plan will be customized to your dog/s and homelife.

Resource guarding becomes a problem when —

- dogs can’t communicate well or don’t trust that others will listen to low-level communication
- one dog is so insecure, they feel uncomfortable with other dogs anywhere near a resource—even across the room
- dogs consume dangerous items

If you don’t work on the preventative training, communication could escalate. Training with specific management and SETUPS will change the pattern.

Here is a break down of the management & preventive work you can do on an ongoing basis:

TOP MANAGEMENT TIPS!

• Put away anything precious/expensive/tempting.
• Use crates, gates, and x-pens.
• Provide your dog with places where he can have things and places that he can't have them.
• In multi-dog households, be sure each dog can eat or play food enrichment games in spaces that are separate.
• Don’t let any person, dog, or even noises like the pool or yard maintenance outside bother them when eating/chewing.
• If your new dog is a ‘vacuum’ or has pica and keeps grabbing everything, put a conditioned leash on in the house and consider muzzel training.
• No free feeding & No toys out in certain situation

For more ideas on how to occupy your puppy with safe enrichment check out the FREE 43 page Canine Enrichment Guide: https://thepuppycarecompany.com/canine-enrichment-guide/

CAUTION⚠️ Taking items away from your dog can increase rather than decrease their desire to keep, steal, and/or hide items. When you take items away, your dog may lose trust and be unsure of your approach or your child's approach next time.

Keep in mind that we don't steal our toddler’s food and favorite toys as they are eating or playing with them. Set up environments with objects and food they can have. Learn the training games that create a pattern of playing with you and the items vs guarding/consuming.

SAFETY

If your dog has an item in their mouth that is not safe to ingest, use food or favorite toys to distract and then remove the item. Here's a video demonstrating how to use food to help remove the item: https://youtu.be/_SClflKizsQ

Remember to prioritize you and your family's safety from being bitten.

With 'vacuum' puppies, this is often a phase they go through. They are learning and exploring with their mouths. Be kind, patient, and manage things so they don't ingest or destroy items they find interesting.

FOUNDATION TRAINING 

• Work on food and object fluency for waiting for toys & food and 'get it' and ‘out’ on cue in a controlled way with chews and toys.
• When your Pup releases anything, treat or trade to start, then shift into only giving big praise.
• Recall - build a turn-on-a-dime recall, calling your dog off of anything is challenging but so worth the time it takes to create this habit.

TEACH A RELEASE 

When you teach the cue OUT/DROP as part of your retrieve game, you will have built in great habit loops and reward outs in multiple ways. 

When your dog has something they consider a precious resource, top it off with something better. Hands and people approaching = good thing! AND they get to keep their resources. You are showing them over and over and over that you are not a threat. (With multi-dog households, you can set up versions of this idea using crates and gates for safety and feed when other dogs are seen; this can be tricky to understand the timing, be sure to set up a training session to go over this, if you have issues with your dogs.)

ADD MORE

If they have a toy, add some kibble or a small treat.
If they have kibble, add some peanut butter.
If they have peanut butter, add some meat. 

TRADE UP & GIVE BACK

Before doing the trade game, just work on adding more when you approach. Trade up when we want something a dog has. Make sure that your trade game training often includes giving back the original high-value item to the dog.

• Redirect when something is stolen… run the other way, jangle keys, get the harness/leash, ring your doorbell, open a favorite door, open the fridge, make a fuss over another person or animal in another room, etc.
• Become Disneyland, the bringer of great times and great things.
• Using a muzzle on walks for Pups that are vacuums will help prevent situations that create more guarding behaviors.
• Make sure your Pup is getting consistent mental and physical exercise

Our goal is to have our dogs' emotional response to an approach be soft and welcoming when they are eating or playing with something they love. If you approach and they show signs of guarding, don’t approach. Go back to the basics and contact me. And/or read the book “Mine!” by Jean Donaldson. In it, she lays out a more detailed step by step plan that will help you succeed.

Instagram body language videos:
https://www.instagram.com/fivebyfivecanine?igsh=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA=

Susan Garrett Podcast on resource guarding:
https://youtu.be/11bkaaX7LXY?si=HYHy8CEV6k-FjqBu

Drop/out method:
https://youtu.be/ndTiVOCNY4M

Prevent resource guarding in puppies:
https://youtu.be/2nyt2WLdQGs

https://www.facebook.com/drayton.michaels/videos/10214218470034804/

https://www.facebook.com/pg/puppyhelp/posts/?ref=page_internal

Book on Resource Guarding:
https://a.co/d/08Ac0pCe

Surprise Around the Corner

Goal: Your dog reliably chooses to follow the handler away from a low-value (eventually high-value) distraction, then discovers a hidden reward that wasn't visible or predictable in advance.

Setup

Before the dog enters the space, hide something meaningfully better around a corner or in the next room. Keep no treats on your body.

Place a distraction the dog might want, but nothing too high value to start:

• An inaccessible bowl with a few pieces of kibble
• A toy just out of reach on leash
• Something tempting behind a barrier

When the dog notices the temptation, invite them to follow you with a "Let's Go"' cue. Don't block, correct, or pressure them away from the temptation. If they choose to come with you, turn a corner into a new space where something genuinely better is waiting (change this surprise as you build up the pattern).

Over time, your dog learns to follow you and builds trust that you'll lead them to better things than the temptation offers.

The hidden reward can't be on your person. That's what separates this from luring. The dog can't predict the reward by reading your body language; they have to trust the relationship instead. Practicing this before it's needed builds that trust so it works when you need it as you increase the value of the temptation.

First Session

Let the dog notice the distraction. Give them a second to orient to it.
Cheerfully invite them away, using a high-pitched voice, movement, or a hand gesture. Try simply walking away first before adding anything.
If they follow, move to your surprise with excitement; you can add speed and narration like you know something good is coming.

When they turn the corner with you, make it a big reveal. Let them enjoy it fully. If they don't follow, wait. Try again with more movement or enthusiasm, but don't repeat the "Let’s Go" cue more than twice. If they're stuck, make the setup easier next session.

As you advance, place a distraction the dog actually has access to, so they're making a genuine choice.

Next Sessions

Make the distraction more tempting, in small steps:

Kibble → higher-value food in the bowl
Toy out of reach → toy loosely tossed nearby
Low barrier → no barrier, food on the floor

Make the hidden reward more surprising: Rotate where you go and what's waiting there, so it's never predictable. Sometimes it's a jackpot of treats, sometimes a game of tug, sometimes just you with an excited greeting. The unpredictability is part of the value; a dog who never knows what's coming tends to stay engaged with the person who keeps surprising them.

Vary the distance: Start with the corner 5–10 feet away, then gradually increase so your dog has to commit to following before the payoff arrives.

What This Builds Over Time

A dog with consistent practice of this game will start to read the handler's movement and energy as information: my person knows something I don't, and it's usually worth going with them.

The same mechanic that works with a kibble bowl at home can work when a squirrel is running the fence line or a dog is across the street, a chew they want to guard. The history is what transfers.

You can also use this as Recall Exercise

Stash something great ahead of time, like a special toy, a high-value treat cache, or a bully stick, somewhere the dog can't see but you can easily reach: a specific corner of the yard, behind a bench, near the gate.

When you call the dog and they come, don't produce the reward from your pocket. Walk together to a new stash spot and let them find it there. This builds the association that coming when called leads to going somewhere with you, and that somewhere has great things in it.

Over time, moving toward you becomes the beginning of an adventure rather than the end of something interesting.

Related Exercises That Build the Same Muscle

What Do We Have Here Toss a piece of kibble away from you. While the dog eats it, move to a new spot. When they come and find you, reach for something better from a nearby surface, not from your hand or pocket. Repeat. You become the source of navigation, not just treats.

Boundary Work Approach Set up a barrier with something tempting behind it, nothing the dog can hurt themselves getting to. Let them investigate. When they disengage even slightly and look back at you, mark it and lead them to a new stash. You're rewarding the moment of self-interruption.

Two-Room Game The dog is in Room A with something slightly interesting. You go to Room B and call once. If they come, the whole room becomes a reward: scatter treats on the floor, start a game, make it worth crossing the threshold for.

Automatic Leave-it Place a visible but inaccessible item (inside a crate, on a high surface). Move through the space normally. Any time the dog orients back toward you rather than fixating on the item, lead them to a new stash somewhere in the room. No cue, just rewarding the default choice to check back in.