BH345 On Guard – Working Through Resource Guarding Issues

Although resource guarding of food objects is a normal behavior in dogs, it can escalate to an abnormal state, which is of great concern to members of the household, both human and other pets. It can also manifest with other items, places, and people. In my experience, this often comes from a state of anxiety. In this class, you will learn to identify any subtle signs of guarding, to identify your dogs’ thresholds and how it can change from moment to moment, and how to manage and modify the behavior to reduce risk and injury.

Course Details

We will employ the process of desensitization and counter conditioning, as well as teach reinforcement strategies to build alternative behaviors and how to interrupt a guarding episode before it escalates. The use of negative reinforcement may also be a valuable tool in this course. Each student will be given a customized approach based on the syllabus and what falls under the realm of behavior modification for the problem.

Teaching Approach

Working with behavior cases requires a customized approach for each dog. Although there are certainly 'core' skills and concepts that are required to work with resource guarding issues, each Gold spot will get individual feedback of their videos including appropriate management, training and behavior modification work. There are many variables that contribute to the success of all training and behavior modification including the dog in question, the environment, as well as who (dog and human) that is in that environment. Resource guarding is no different.

Syllabus

Week One

Know your dog(s)
- High/Low Drive
- Reactive
  - Movement
  - Space
  - Prey Drive
  - Retrieve

Environment Layout (Home/Yard)

Management Procedures
- Baby Gates
- Crate
- Exercise Pen
- Outdoors
- Tether/Back Tie
- Separate Room

Identifying Guarded Resources and intended target
- Food
  - Bowl
  - Toy
  - Treats
  - While Cooking
  - Chew
- Location
  - Doorway
  - Crate
  - Bed
  - Furniture
  - Kitchen
- Inanimate object
  - Toys
    - Hard
    - Squeaky
    - Stuffed
  - Stolen Items
- Person

Identifying Threshold/level of aggression
- Distance
  - By Individual
  - By location/situation
- Intensity/Aggression level
  - (1) Below Threshold
    - Leaves resource happily to approach you
    - Acknowledges you but stays engaged with resource without tension
  - (2) Acknowledges your presence with tension
    - Tail wag may increase in speed
  - (3) Micro-freeze or stillness
    - Dog stops eating or chewing
  - (4) Finish faster
    - Eats faster or punches food
    - Chews Faster/Harder
  - (5) Freezing/Guarding posture
    - Whale Eye
    - Lowered front end over resource
    - Rear end hi
  - (6) Vocalization/ Item Retreat
    - Low Growl w or w/o other threats
    - Tries to move resource away
  - (7) Vocalization escalation
    - Teeth exposed/Snarl
  - (8) Leaves resource
    - Aggressive tooth display
    - Snap
    - Little or no contact
  - (9) Leaves resource
    - Tooth Contact – no skin break
  - (10) Leaves resource – Extreme danger
    - Contact – breaks skin
    - Deep Bite
    - Multiple Bites/re-bites
  - Hierarchy of guarded resource
  - Generalization/Variation (Specific or all)
    - Location
    - Person
    - Object
- Week Two
- - Reinforcement Strategies
    - Food
      - Single from hand
      - Single tossed
      - Direct to mouth
      - Multiple Scattered
    - Toys
      - Thrown
      - Bite in hand/Tug
      - Switch
      - Out/Drop
    - Hierarchy/Preference
  - Alternative behaviors (introduction)
    - Hand Target
    - Station/Mat Work (go to)
    - Outside (go to)
    - Taking Turns
      - Name Modifier Cue (teach individually)
  - Creating Predictability/Calm behavior
    - Handler controls resources
    - Individual Name Modifier Cue
      - Location (4 hours of separation)
    - Location of food bowl
    - Delivering food bowl (only if not guarding)
    - Doorways
    - Leashing

Prerequisites & Supplies

POSSIBLE MANAGEMENT EQUIPMENT RECOMMENDATIONSBaby GatesTethers/back tie Biothane leashPlastic Coated CableMartingale/harnessExpenSlow Bowl/Snuffle Mat

Sample Lecture

REMOTE POSITIVE INTERRUPTER

Some of you may remember the old ‘shaker can’ from years ago where it was recommended to shake the can full of rocks or pennies as an attempt to scare the dog enough that it would stop doing whatever it was doing that you didn’t like. Of course, that had the potential for major fallout since it was utilizing positive punishment. Thankfully we have figured out a much better way to interrupt our dog and change the emotion from fear or anger (using the words from Denise Fenzi’s recent webinar on training in the ‘wild’) to a more positive one.

One of the biggest concerns that I hear about the use of any type of reinforcement in this manner is that we will inadvertently be reinforcing the problem behavior. But that isn’t the way conditioning works! During this process we are changing the dogs’ emotions first and foremost, then with this process, we are also replacing the inappropriate behavior with a good, alternative one!

A ‘positive interrupter’ can be used to interrupt any type of behavior that might escalate into over arousal or conflict. This could be conflict between one dog and other dogs, cats, or over a resource. It can also be used to get a dog to come away from a dangerous situation or perhaps to even get them to drop something and come to you or go somewhere.

As mentioned before, by doing this, the word becomes a cue to eat a treat which therefore changes the dogs emotional state to a more positive one. You are NOT rewarding the negative behavior! You are interrupting and simply stopping its escalation and getting the dog out of one situation that is potentially negative or dangerous and into a happier state.

Teaching the positive interrupter starts with simple classical conditioning. You will start at the source of the treat or the location where you want your dog to go. Many people already have a ‘cookie jar’ or drawer or cabinet that already has an association with the dispensing of a treat. If you do, you can simply do a ‘cue transfer’ where the new word “Cookies” (you can use whatever word you want) means you are going to open the jar, drawer, or cabinet to get the treat and deliver it. You will gradually move away from the source of the treats and say the word, run to the jar/drawer/cabinet and open it and deliver the treat. If you don’t already have a sound that the dog recognizes, you can easily create one by saying the word, and delivering the treat. Do it in a way that is exciting for the dog. Maybe some clapping or with a high-pitched voice. You might be able to use a cue to go to their crate, or outside, or to their ‘place’ or even to squeak a toy which means to come to you to get it. Of course, this is only an option if your dog does not guard the toy, or space.

Here is a video compilation of me teaching it with food. Much like this video, you will want to start teaching it AND using it when you don’t really need it and there isn’t anything ‘bad’ going on that you really must interrupt.

Eventually the act of excitedly running to the source becomes part of the reinforcer.

This is a video of me working with a dog to teach the concept of going to the refrigerator to get ‘cheese’. It is narrated and you can see the dog is extremely focused on looking for her ball which is one of the things she guarded the most. It was almost a failure when she tried to jump up to get one of the toys high up.

If using the food/location interrupter and you have multiple dogs, it will be important to implement the ‘name modifier’ cue that we learned earlier along with the RPI cue. For example, “Cookies! – run to location – Name modifier cue – feed.” For now, work with one dog at a time, and ensure that they are going to a predictable location every time. For example, Dog A on the right, Dog B on the left!

Instructors

Karen A Vass-Deeds

Faculty

Karen Deeds, is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). She is the co-owner of Canine Connection in Ft. Worth, TX with her husband, Bob Deeds, a retired Federal K9 Handler on Texas Task Force I...

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