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Resource guarding & food aggression - new behavior?
We currently have a house full of guests - and dogs for the weekend. Lucy, who has never had one ounce of dog aggression just got very aggressive with an older lab (whom she has known forever). Lucy had just finished her breakfast, and always hungry lab came over to sniff the bowl. No one was injured, but it was a very aggressive display. I've read here about resource guarding - is this something I can fix? Should I work to prevent it from becoming worse or moving onto human aggression? She is usually a very submissive dog, and used to let this same dog eat out of her bowl.
Obviously, they'll be separated at meals for th rest of the weekend. I'm sure Lucy is stressed with the added house guests now, and her new food she likes a lot more than the old food. Any thoughts or tips? It's so out of her usual behavior.
Re: Resource guarding & food aggression - new behavior?
I have a dog with the same issues, just more severe. I'd say it's probably all the extra people in the house stressing her out right now. I wouldn't really worry about this morphing into human aggression, as the two generally aren't related.
Check out the book "Mine!" by Jean Donaldson. It has step-by-step instructions on successfully using desensitization and positive reinforcement to fix these issues. Honestly, that book saved my relationship with my beagle and he now happily coexists with our two other dogs.
In the meantime, I'd just make sure Lucy gets some space and occasional breaks from all the guests. Good luck!
This. We have a jack russel mix who is a resource guarder. He has been through training, so it has helped a little bit. But we always keep the dogs separate when they eat. And then he goes in after she is done, to see if there is any crumbs. They are able to co-exist a lot better, then when he first started showing the signs.
*TTC since 10/11*
BFP: 9/30/12, EDD: 6/15/13
*~*Our miracle arrived on 6/13/13*~*
FF