Hi All, could any of you point me in the direction of a good article on resource guarding? The couple who live next to me are having real problems with their spaniel guarding bones (not her kibble just bones) and now her crate. They are very upset over this and in my opinion have made things worse by trying to overpower her and forcefully remove the item. They can't afford a behaviourist and are now becoming frightened of her. I can't really offer them any advice as i always taught my dogs to 'swap' from a very early age and have no experience of training this with an adult dog. The rest of the time the dog is an absolute joy to live with but i can see this becoming more of a problem as time goes on and they are very upset about it, any help gratefully received.

The best book on the subject is Mine! A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs by Jean Donaldson.

In the interim.

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/resourceguardingandfoodgame.pdf

http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/49/97/

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2002b/objectguarding.htm

has the dog progressed to the crate because it puts the bones inside?

Try the dog vinci code by John Rogerson good section on how to deal with resource guarding. Or could they afford a trainer as I wouldn't see that issue as a behaviourist but rather with my dog trainer hat on if money was an issue. They should try calling a few localtrainers and asking if they could help,most of us woiuld rather helpthan leave someone possibly getting bitten by their dog.

We've been having a similar problem with our 7 month Clumber and his toys. We've just been reinforcing a drop, followed by an 'A' treat, and then give the toy back. We've seen a marked improvement over the last week or so that we've been doing it.

Many thanks for the links and help. Just as a bit of background, they were advised to put her in a crate with a big juicy bone by their trainer as she was being destructive when they were out and was howling (according to other neighbour) continuously until they came home. The crate has helped the seperation anxiety but she has now started to guard it and her bone. They have stopped giving her bones over the last day or two but she is still guarding her crate. When she is let out of it she wont even go out to the toilet in the garden, she charges at them, growling and very much looks like she would bite, she goes back to her crate, she is shaking and growling. Eventually she calms down and comes out but if her owners go into the room where her crate is, she charges in there and starts all over again.

could she be having a false pregancy or has she been speyed.

I just checked and she had a season about 8 weeks ago.

That might explain  a lot.

I think youv found the problem and a trip to the vets is in order and i would advice getting her speyed in a couple weeks when shes got over it

Neutering does not solve aggression problems always .I think you need more help from a behavourist /good trainer  to go back to basics and sort out all aspects , the crate , where she lives , in the day , at night , her toys etc

she's not being viscious aggessive its her hormones telling her to protect her family den even though she dosnt have any and will get over it in a couple of weeks

I think that if people are in real danger of being bitten that is the time to get a professional in. It is difficult for anyone on a forum to get the full picture and therefore give the best advice. Go to the APBC website and see if there is someone in your area. Get the bitch checked at the vet too. Speying could make a bitch with aggression problems more aggressive, so that decision needs carefully thinking through, with the benefit of expert advice. Good luck.

I would be very wary of speying a dog that was resource guarding without a trainer etc checkingnher out first. Neutering can greatly increase resource guarding as all that's left post op is testostrone which dramatically increases aggression in bitches. Also if food is at all involved post neutering this can be of even higher value as you've taken sex off the menu!! I suspect this dog's motivation is not all hormonal as she's a gundog and these types of dogs are prone to possession issues. I would suspect the hormonal effect is to higlight an already apparent issue.

I'm all for neutering, but in this case don't think it will make any difference! I have just sorted out the very same problem for my cocker spaniel who lost her first home due to this issue and was a massive guarder when I first got her a few months ago.

It is difficult to advise on aggression without seeing the dog, but taking stuff away from a resource guarder is indeed going to make the problem worse as they have now found out. She really needs to find someone that knows what they are doing.

With my cocker I used treats, first I had to throw them towards her and then away from her to be able to get to the item, gradually she let me get closer and now actually offers me the item to get her treat for it, sometimes she'll just leave it where it is and run to the treat box indicating that a reward is due LOL. So it is doable, but it really would help to have a professional there that can advise exactely what steps are needed for this particular dog as things might vary from dog to dog.