Food Guarding in Dogs
Food guarding is when a dog expresses certain undesirable reactions when a person or animal comes near their food bowl. These often-unpredictable behaviors may include your dog growling, chasing or biting a person in a worst-case scenario.
With that being said, according to the ASPCA, it is completely normal behavior for dogs to guard their food and possessions from other animals and humans. Food guarding is within a dog’s very nature as wild dogs had to be successful protectors of their often-limited resources. Young puppies are very prone to food guarding because they are used to competing with their siblings for a limited amount of food.
What to Do About Food Guarding
In many situations, food guarding can be remedied with a few precautionary measures. To begin, leave your dogs alone while they are eating. Try feeding your dogs in a separate room. You can always choose to feed them while they are in their crate. Making sure that your dog has an adequate amount of food is also critical.
Stolen or scavenged food that your dog has gathered should always be left alone. Always keep watch on any children near your dog, as kids are more at risk of getting bitten by a food guarding dog.
What NOT to Do
When your dog is guarding his food, do not punish or intimidate him. In his mind, your intention is to take away his food from him. Trying to overpower your dog or taking his food away as a punishment will do nothing to stop him from food guarding. In fact, it might make him do it worse.
What Is Resource Guarding?
The term resource guarding is used interchangeably with food guarding. However, the difference is that resource guarding extends out to other things such as dogs guarding their chew toys and even their personal space. When a dog is resource guarding, he is reacting to a perceived threat to something that is valuable to him.
Common Signs of Resource Guarding Behavior
If your dog growls, bites, or lunges at you, another animal, or a person when you get near something he calls his own, this is textbook resource guarding. However, there are milder signs of resource guarding that may appear prior to him exhibiting this bad behavior:
- Taking an object and leaving the room
- Freezing still
- Eating more quickly
- Using his body weight to block the object
- Baring his teeth
- Giving a hard stare, or side eye stare
- Ears pinned flat against the head
Final Thought
Sometimes an ounce of prevention is the best strategy. If you know that your dog has issues with food guarding around visitors, just make sure to not let anyone near your dog while he is eating. If resource guarding becomes a serious problem in your household, consult a Certified Animal Behaviorist or a Certified Professional Dog Trainer for help.