Resource Guarding: What Is It And Why Does It Happen?

A  couple of weeks ago we were contacted by one of our followers asking us  to write an article about resource guarding, with a side of chewing, as  they’re struggling with their hound.  

While  we’ve covered the subject of sofa guarding previously, we haven’t deep  dived into the umbrella behaviour of resource guarding, as dogs can  guard anything, should they want to, be it whole rooms, furniture, toys,  shoes, a tv remove…or even just some mundane object they’ve gotten  their paws on like a bottle out the rubbish bin.

Resource  guarding, by definition, is what it sounds like.  It’s where a dog  feels the need to guard something of value through the worry that it  will be taken away from them.  They need to keep, whatever it is, safe.

A  lot of owners make the mistake of taking things off hounds as  punishment or if the hound presents with guarding behaviours they will  be told off, or corrected, increasing the anxiety around the objects in  question.

While extreme cases of  resource guarding requires the assistance of a positive, and qualified  behaviourist, once off incidents of very mild instances of resource  guarding can be easily managed and resolved through positive  reinforcement, preventative measures, boundaries and trust.

Guarding  is often demonstrated by a set of body language signs which largely go  ignored, leading dogs to vocalise the behaviour by growling or baring  their teeth.

While it can be  scary, the behaviour is rarely meant with the intention of genuine  aggression and harm.  Growling is a warning, a way of creating space  between the dog and what it is that they’re uncomfortable with AKA the  human approaching them, because they consider them a threat or that they  are worried they are going to take away whatever it is they have that  they consider valuable.

Many  points of body language, such as lip licking, turning their head away,  whale eye, becoming stiff or freezing their movement, will have been  missed on the approach, leading the dog to vocalise their discomfort.  

This  behaviour can escalate to air snapping and is rarely done with the  intention of actually making contact and biting. It is a defensive  behaviour to further communicate discomfort and a need for space. If the  dog feels the need to escalate things that far, there are likely other  factors at play.

These behaviours  are largely, and wrongly, assumed to be aggressive or as a way of being  ‘dominant’, or that the behaviour is because of past negative  experiences or trauma.  While some will work with a dog to overcome this  behaviour, many will swiftly return their hound to the rehoming centre.  
This quite often occurs in family homes, where  resource guarding could be a potential risk to children.  Though while  resource guarding can appear very scary, and even aggressive, it is  rarely with the intention to do harm.  But it can be difficult to  explain a dog’s boundaries to young children, and accidents can happen.

Greyhounds,  as a rule, are very mild mannered and passive.  It is incredibly rare  for a hound to demonstrate aggression for aggressions sake, and as with  all dogs, every behaviour a dog displays will have a motivation, a root  emotional trigger.  Dogs don’t do anything without a reason, even if we  cannot see what the reason is.

Resource  guarding behaviours commonly (more often than is really talked about)  occur in the first days, and sometimes weeks, in their adoptive homes.  

While  the behaviours presented are resource guarding, it does not mean that  your hound is a resource guarder.  It doesn’t mean that it will be an  ongoing issue.  But regardless of this, you want to address it  positively, to prevent it becoming an ingrained behaviour.

But why does it happen at all?

Many  instances of resource guarding have simply been as a result of stress,  anxiety and a lack of foundational trust with the adoptive family.   Imaging being unceremoniously dumped in a strange house, with complete  strangers all around you.  You’d want to keep what little belongings you  had safe, and you’d want to keep yourself safe.  You’d want to protect  your space…right?  If one of those strangers walks right up to you while  your on the phone, and takes it from you, without explanation, or takes  your plate while you’re eating, you’d be pretty upset about it!

Naturally,  they will be more on guard and potentially defensive of things they  consider to be high value.  Whether they are guarding the sofa, stolen  food, their food bowl, a shoe, toy, tv remote or stolen phone, the  reason behind the behaviour is usually situational.

During  their racing careers, while they get a lot of human interaction, it is  primarily outside of their kennel. They have very routine lifestyles,  with set feeding and exercise times, always knowing when the humans (who  they see every day) will be coming in and out. Most importantly they  have undisturbed sleep in their private beds during the day, and  particularly of an evening and overnight when the humans are nowhere to  be seen!
They spend their formative years in kennel  environment, and for some, they do not retire into homes until they are  past five years old.  Realistically, that’s over a third of their life.

So,  to them, everything in their kennel, or that enters their kennel,  belongs to them. It’s all they know. They have never been taught ‘no’ or  boundaries because they haven’t needed to know them. Their bed, bowl,  toys, treats and chews have all been theirs to enjoy without any  interruption or invasion of space by people.  

When  that hound, that has only ever known that environment, routine, and  private space, retires into a home it can be hugely overwhelming. It’s a  massive change for them, and where they previously had that private  living space to themselves, they are now having to share everything…all  the time, with complete strangers!

They  don’t know the first thing about living in a home, and while they will  warm up quickly with the humans that they are living with in regard to  accepting attention or going for walks, it takes time to develop trust.   They don’t want you being all up in their grill, especially when  they’re comfortable in their safe space, like their bed or the sofa, or  while they’re eating.  Hence the guarding behaviours! They are asking  for space.

And the reason the  chew the things they’re guarding is as a way of self-soothing.  Chewing  is a natural calming behaviour for dogs, it releases happy hormones, and  relaxes them.  So, chewing behaviours often present due to stress,  anxiety and fear…and they don’t want you to take away what they’re  chewing on, because it makes them happy!

Resource  guarding can occur at any point in a hound’s life, and while in most  instances we generally associate it with the settling in period, and the  stress that comes with it, there is always the potential for it to  happen at any point and happen seemingly out of the blue.

This  can be during times of increased stress, such as when visitors (more  strangers) come over, or you’re in new environments.  Or, because your  hound is in pain or unwell.  The latter is quite important, as if you  have a strong bond with your hound, you’ve been together for quite some  time and suddenly you have a shift in their behaviour…that’s a red flag  that something may be going on with them medically.

We’ve  seen it happen over a variety of causes.  Overexercising leading to  joint paint, being off lead in a rental paddock causing a pulled crotch  muscle, twisting during zoomies in the garden resulting in back pain…but  also things like UTIs and canine cognitive dysfunction (canine  dementia) that affects older hounds.

When  your hound is in the settling in period, or they’re not feeling on top  form, it’s important not to take any negative behaviours, such as  resource guarding, personally.  However, they can often present  specifically toward certain people in the home and not others.
This  is usually toward the children, or the ‘spare’ human, rather than the  primary care giver as they’re the one they have the most trust and bond  with given they’re the ones that feed them!  

So, maybe you might want to take it a little personally.

In  any case, resource guarding is often a short-lived behaviour but even  if it isn’t, and it is an ongoing problem, it is manageable a lot of the  time with some simple steps, boundaries, and most of all, being  sensible.

Preventative measures,  and training, are the safest ways to ensure resource guarding behaviours  don’t develop in the first place.

The easiest way to managing, or preventing, guarding behaviours is to manage their environment.  

Those  initial few weeks of settling in a new hound, you want to make sure  that they haven’t got access to anything that could be considered  valuable, and worth guarding.  This comes down to you being sensible and  keeping their environment clean and tidy.

Don’t  leave tv remotes on the sofa, don’t leave food unattended, keep the  kitchen counters clear and bin out of reach.  Don’t give them  long-lasting chews or treats such as Kongs, lick mats or other  enrichment like bones and antlers.

And don’t let them on the sofa!

It  doesn’t have to be forever, even just for those initial few weeks while  your hound is decompressing, settling in, learning their new life,  routine, and boundaries.  

This  allows your hound time to build a foundation of trust with you as a  person, and anyone else in the home.  It is also important to help this  understanding develop by also respecting their own boundaries.
Don’t  invade their space when they’re sleeping or resting, give them space  while they are eating, don’t take their toys away from them and always  interact with them in a positive manner.  

Never  physically force the dog off the sofa, try to pick them up to put them  on the floor, or otherwise try to punish or dominate them.   Similarly,  don’t try to take their food bowl, or put your hands in there while  they’re eating to demonstrate that you can or that you’re in charge, and  don’t take their toys while they’re playing with them and hide them  away.

Not only is this very  dangerous, but your behaviour will also be perceived as a threat which  will cause resource guarding issues, and lead to more serious  behavioural responses either immediately or down the line.

But  you must be consistent, everyone in the home needs to understand the  rules and follow them.  You don’t want to be giving your hound mixed  messages that can confuse the dog.  

Ensure  that each member of the family is involved in the dog’s day to day  care, routine, play time and training. This prevents a reliance on, and  preferential treatment, for the primary care giver, and creates a  universally positive relationship with everyone in the home.  Also  remember to tell visitors to the house know the rules in regard to any  management you have in place to prevent or resolve guarding.

Make  sure to establish some basic ques with your hound such as ‘off’,  ‘down’, 'leave it' or ‘drop’ through positive reinforcement which you  can use if ever they have something they shouldn’t.

Only  then, when you are ready, and you (and everyone in the house) has a  strong foundational trust with the hound, which goes both ways, you can  start allowing them access to the sofa and start providing enrichment,  or other high value items.

If  you find that your hound does then demonstrate guarding of certain  objects, such as really high value items like bones, use a handful of  kibble, or treats, to distract them away from the object.
Scatter  the food on the floor away from what they’re guarding, which not only  creates a safe space for you to remove the item, but you’re also trading  for it in a positive fashion.  They will have made the conscience  decision to come away from it to investigate and receive something more  interesting.

You always want to  trade for anything your hound has, do not make a habit of just ‘taking’  things from them as this can cause guarding in future.

If  you think there is an underlying medical reason for their behaviour,  get them assessed by a vet and/or veterinary physiotherapist!

At  the end of the day, while some breeds are predisposed to guarding  behaviours throughout their lives, it is fairly uncommon in greyhounds.   But when it does happen, in being large dogs, it can catch people  unawares when it does happen, and it can be quite frightening for  children.

We understand the panic  that it can cause, but please don’t immediately surrender your hound  back to the rehoming centre.  Ask for help and give them a chance.