Episode #273 Training Around Resources – Preventing Guarding & Building Trust

Resource guarding is one of the most common—and preventable—behavior challenges in dogs. In this episode, we break down how everyday interactions around food, toys, and valued items shape your dog’s behavior.

Learn how to prevent resource guarding before it starts, why taking things away can actually make the problem worse, and how to build trust through simple techniques like trading and adding value. We also cover food bowl manners, toy possession during play, and how to create a calm, cooperative relationship with your dog around the things they love most.

Whether you’re raising a new puppy or working with an older dog, this episode will give you practical, positive strategies to set your dog up for long-term success.

Transcript

Why Resources Shape Behavior

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Today, we're talking about a topic that can shape your dog's long-term behavior and your relationship with them. We're talking about training around resources. We're talking food bowls, toys, and why the way you handle these everyday moments can either build trust or unintentionally create problems down the road. Welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast, the show designed to help you raise a confident, well-behaved puppy using positive practical training methods. Each week we'll explore real-life training strategies, break down common puppy challenges, and give you clear, step-by-step guidance you can start using right away. Whether you're dealing with potty training, biting, jumping, or just want to build a stronger bond with your pup as their handler, you're in the right place. Hey everybody, welcome back. Today we are talking about something that can fly under the radar, but does have a big impact on your dog's behavior. It's how they feel about their stuff. Now, when I say resources, I'm talking about anything your dog values. That could be food, treats, toys, bones, even spaces like their bed or crate, or people, could be you. These things your dog may naturally want to protect. And while that instinct is completely normal, how we handle these situations can either prevent or contribute to something that is called resource guarding. So let's start with why this matters. Resource guarding can show up as your dog stiffening, growling, snapping, or even biting when someone approaches them while they have something that they value. So here's the key point: this behavior doesn't come out of nowhere, it develops over time, and it's often based on your dog's experiences. Now, all dogs have a tendency to guard things. That's natural to them. Some are more prone to do that than others, but it's just part of being a dog to protect things they love. Okay. So you don't have a bad dog if you see your dog doing some guarding behavior. Now, the good news is many times we can teach your dog not to do this. It's preventable. Early on, we want to teach your dog that we are a treat. When we approach, we're a treat. We are not a threat. Prevention is always easier than fixing a problem later. So let's talk about what you can do right from the beginning. First, I want you to create positive associations around your presence. When your dog is eating or chewing on something, I just don't want you to bother them. I want you to occasionally walk by from a few feet away, actually, and the more distance you give, the better. And just calmly add something to what they have and walk away. So it might just be a little piece of chicken from last night's dinner or a tiny piece of cheese or a high value food reward. You're not taking anything from them and you're not getting in their space and you're not annoying them. So we have to be careful with how we do this. I don't want you to annoy your dog. The idea is that just every once in a while, and don't overdo it, but just every once in a while, walk past them when they're they have something they love, add to what they have and walk away. So this is going to teach your dog that whenever people approach and I have my good things, good things happen. It's a good thing, it's not a bad thing. Second, we can practice trading. So this is one of the most powerful skills you can teach your dog. If your dog has a toy, offer them something better and say something like trade, or you can teach the cue, drop it. And when they let go of whatever they have, pay them for that, and then often just give that original item back. So we teach our puppies from a very young age what drop it means and they let go of it. I'm not forcefully prying something from them or yanking it away. I'm asking my dog to release it and I'm paying them for releasing it. Now, third, we can avoid creating competitions. So especially when you have multiple dogs in the house, make sure that each dog has their own space and resources. We can feed them separately as needed, and we don't need to just let the dogs work it out. So, for example, right now as I'm recording, Baxter's over in his space, Bella's in a pen over in her space, and they're both chewing a bone. Um, but because they're all in their own spaces, it doesn't allow the dogs to get up and try to argue over whose should be whose, okay? So separate spaces when you have multiple dogs just eliminates a lot of the need for any guarding. Now let's talk specifically about the food bowl because this can be a big one. We don't want to be reaching into our dog's food bowl while they're eating. We don't want to pester them while they're eating. We don't want to bother them while they're eating. Um, so we don't want the dog to feel like we're intruding on them or that there's any kind of unpredictable behavior there. So instead, you can, again, if they're eating out of their food bowl, um, you can walk past, drop, drop a little food reward in their direction, and keep going. Um, we don't need to make mealtime a big deal. Again, also splitting your dogs up for mealtimes if you have multiple dogs. This dog eats over here behind this baby gate, and this dog eats in this room. Um, and then there's not any kind of control issues over or around their food bowls. We want to educate our kids not to um tease the dog or we don't ever tease the dog, but not tease the dog or um add anxiousness to the dog around mealtimes because the kids are playing with their food or in their food bowl or anything like that. We want to make sure they know when it's eating time, we let our dogs eat and we don't, you know, it's not playtime for them. Um now we do use food as food rewards, and I keep those in a training pouch and I'm using food and their meals instead of putting it in a bowl, I'm putting it in a training pouch and I'm using that food throughout the day as my dog's rewards. And then, yeah, whatever's left over, okay, we can put that in a food bowl and they can finish eating. But even better than that, I would put it in a puzzle toy or um, you know, somewhere where it takes a little longer for them to work that food out. But it's important that we instruct the family that, hey, once that food goes in the bowl or the puzzle toy, um, that's the puppy's time with their food. We don't need to annoy them about that, okay? So uh toys would be something else that sometimes a dog can be possessive about. It might be a common trigger for guarding. Um, and this is where structure helps. So we teach clear start and stop cues for games like Tug. So when I want to play Tug with my dog, I say get it. And then they that means they can take it, they can put it in their mouth. And then when I need them to release it, again, they've been taught drop it. So they understand what that cue means. And they know when they drop it, they're going to get paid something better for doing that. And when our dog drops the toy, that we want to make sure that we are rewarding them and then we can play the game again or continue letting them have some fun. It doesn't mean that it ends it. If I just say drop it, and then the game always ends, the dog learns that that's not a fun cue and they don't want to listen to that one. So make sure that we practice they drop it, and then okay, now the fun starts again. That's what starts the game, okay? If your dog runs away with items or refuses to give them up, we don't want to chase them. If you chase them, it turns into a game. They love it and it reinforces that stealing behavior. So instead, we want to use those trade skills or redirect them to something even more exciting and then go get back what we want to don't make it about the stolen sock. Okay. So let's talk about one of the biggest mistakes people make is constantly taking things away from their dog in a forceful way. So from a human perspective, it might seem harmless. My dog has something, I need it back, I'm just gonna go get it. But from your dog's point of view, it can feel like their belongings are never safe. So imagine if every time you sat down to eat, someone took your plate away. You'd probably start guarding it, right? Or protecting that plate. Um, when dogs learn that humans approach and take things, they may start to tense up or you'll see them hover with their bodies or give you kind of that side eye. They might start to growl a little bit. It escalates their behaviors because they're communicating to you in a night, they're trying to be nice, like, hey, this is mine. Don't touch this. Um, and that's why we want to shift from taking to trading and adding value to what they have. Now, of course, there might be emergency times and you need to take something away for safety reasons. And that's okay because if you've built a strong history of trust and positive exchanges, those moments are much less likely to create a scary conflict. Now, at the heart of all of this is that one simple goal of trust. You want your dog to feel safe, relaxed, and confident when they are around their um valued items. And we want you to be able to trust them if you need to get something back. So it's built through consistency, through positive experiences, through respecting your dog's signals and setting them up for success. It's not through force or annoyance or pestering. Um, we've got to do some groundwork here. Now, if your dog already shows signs of guarding, it's important to address it carefully and avoid punishment. That can make it worse. Um, aggression kind of gets responded with aggression. So if I punish a growl, for example, I'm not fixing the problem. Instead, it's teaching my dog to not give me that warning sign and maybe go straight to something stronger, which could be like a bite and that's dangerous. So instead, focus on changing how your dog feels in those situations. Make it a positive experience. Remember, I'm a treat. I add to what they have and I leave. Okay. If the behavior feels intense or concerning, please reach out to us. Let us help you through this. We have a class on resource guarding. You can talk to us one-on-one for coaching. You can email us your questions and we'll get back to you. All right, you guys, remember that training around resources is not about control, it is about trust. Every interaction your dog has with you around their food, their toys, their valued items is an opportunity. It's a chance to reinforce safety and cooperation. So we start small, we start now. We don't wait for that emergency to happen. We get some groundwork going with that drop it and the trading. We're consistent. And remember, when your dog believes that good things happen around you, they don't feel the need to protect anything at all. Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm so glad you're here. Have a great rest of your week. Happy training. Thanks for tuning in today. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe so you never miss a training tip. And if you're enjoying the show, leaving a quick review really helps other handlers find us. For more training resources, tips, and support, visit me Amy Jensen at baxterambella.com. Until next time, happy training.