There’s a myth that floats around from pet owner to pet owner and it’s all about your dog’s food. Many pet parents try to teach their new puppies and dogs that they should be fine with the owner (or anyone else) touching their food or taking it away. Unfortunately, these well-meaning dog owners are actually creating issues more often than not with this out of date technique.
The issue they are trying to prevent is resource guarding. This is where a dog will choose something of value to them and guard that object. The resource can be virtually anything from a toy to a shadow but more often than not it’s either the dog’s food, food bowl or a tasty bone. Resource guarding develops from a place of fear for dogs – fear that they will lose their treasure. Dogs also understand that communicating that they dislike something should be done with growling, showing of teeth, air snapping or worst case scenario an actual bite. Obviously we want everyone to be safe in our home and having a dog that is showing a threat display is unwanted behaviour. We need to ensure the dog feels safe in order to de-escalate the threat display so that they feel peaceful.
Happily, there’s a lot you can do to prevent resource guarding from becoming an issue in the first place. Here’s our handy list of things to do in order to teach your dog to share:
- Hand feed your dog. This allows the dog to learn that good things come from you and that eating near you is safe and pleasant. Even young children can participate in hand feeding by dropping 1 kibble at a time to the dog on the floor.
- Up trade your dog. Give your dog a bowl of food or a treat and then trade them for something better.
- Deliver amazing extras! Give your dog their food bowl and then periodically walk by and drop in something that’s even better than kibble. Your dog will learn that when you approach their bowl it is beneficial to them.
- If your dog shows body language that tells you that they are uncomfortable respect their space, increase distance and work slowly. Never punish a dog for growling or showing fear behaviour – they are attempting to tell you that they are uncomfortable and we don’t want to escalate them into a confrontation. Seek professional assistance if your dog is guarding.
- Don’t feed dogs in areas where they can steal food from one another. You’d be edgy at the dinner table too if you thought someone could just come along and take your meal!
If your dog is struggling with resource guarding, it’s imperative that you seek out assistance from an experienced professional. Resource guarding can be resolved fairly quickly with guidance and dealing with the issue immediately will keep everyone safe.
Remember to practice these exercises with your dog throughout their life. It will help build your bond, create trust and keep everyone safe!
