Stopping a Basset Hound Mix From Resource Guarding

For this dog training session we traveled to Neola, Iowa to stop 2 year-old Basset / Bulldog mix Molly from resource guarding her food and address 1 year-old Chocolate Lab Oakley’s super excited behavior.

As soon as I came thorough the front door, I could see that Oakley was screaming for help. Ive worked with a number of Lab puppies his age and their energy level is usually off the charts. Oakley took that to a whole different level.

I showed the guardians the dog behavior trick I use to stop a dog from jumping up, but I could see that his pent up energy was too much to overcome any dog behavior or training approach. He got so wound up a few minutes after I sat down that Molly went after him.

While you never want to see a dog acting aggressive with another dog, in this case it was somewhat warranted. While Oakley wasn’t at all aggressive, his behavior was out of control running around the room, jumping up, getting in people’s faces and when he got to close to Molly with that energy, she let him have it.

After separating the dogs I asked how much exercise Oakley gets on a daily basis. Your average dog needs a good hour of exercise EVERY DAY. High energy dogs can need two to three hours of exercise sprinkled throughout the day. When I found out Oakley was only getting a walk about once a week, it didn’t surprise me. His behavior is exactly what you would expect for a high energy puppy who isn’t getting the exercise he needs to thrive.

I had a very frank discussion with the guardians about increasing his exercise on a regular basis or looking into finding him a home that can provide him what he needs.

His guardians clearly love Oakley and got him to be a companion for Molly, but if they don’t radically increase his daily exercise, its very likely that these minor fights between dogs will become deadly serious. Failure to get him 2+ hours of exercise daily can also result in the development of behavior issues with Oakley out of frustration.

I showed the guardians how to play a game of fetch using the stairs, suggested a dog back back and some other recommendations that will allow them to help Oakley burn off this abundance of energy. Hopefully the guardians can increase his exercise and monitor his progress with an exercise journal until they find the right combination to put him into a position to succeed.

If they come to the conclusion that they cant give him what he needs, there is no more unselfish act than to find a dog where its energy is an asset. Im very willing to assist in helping them find a good rescue group or new home for Oakley if they decide that is the best option.

After doing some exercise to help Oakley settle down, I turned my attention towards Molly’s resource guarding problem. Many people confront dogs who resource guards items, but this is about the worst thing you can do as it actually reinforces the behavior.

I pulled out my phone and handed it to the guardians so I could show them a way to help a dog learn to stop guarding food, bones, places or people. You can learn this positive dog training trick to stop any dog from resource guarding by watching the free dog training video below.

While I talked about approaching Molly from all different angles in the video above, I didn’t mention doing the same approach with Oakley if she is reactive to him too. In that case, they simply need to have him on a leach when they approach Molly.

Of course, exercising Oakley before practicing this secret to stop dogs from resource guarding should be mandatory. Oakley will need to have a recovery period before practicing.

Id like the guardians to focus on eliminating Molly’s resource guarding towards humans first and once she no longer guards from them, only then should they start practicing this approach with Oakley.

We finished up the session out in the back yard where I shared some fetching tips as this is an outstanding way to deplete a dog’s excess energy. Hopefully the guardians can start taking Oakley out for a 15 minute game of fetch 3-5 times a day to supplement and support his now daily walks.

To help the guardians remember all the dog behavior tips I shared in this at home dog training session, we shot a roadmap to success video.

Tags: dog training, resource guarding her food, resource guarding problem, help a dog learn to stop guarding food, bones, places or people, positive dog training trick to stop any dog from resource guarding, secret to stop dogs from resource guarding, resource guarding towards humans, Basset / Bulldog mix, Chocolate Labrador, Lab, Chocolate lab

Roadmap