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What is Resource Guarding?
Resource guarding is a natural reaction by dogs and puppies to become protective over a resource when they sense a danger it may be taken away from them. In practical terms, a dog stiffens, growls or curls their lip when another dog or human approaches them when occupied with resource. The resource itself could be anything your dog happens to value. The most common resource to be guarded is inevitably food although toys, sofas, chews and beds are also not unusual.

Why Do Dogs Guard Resources?
Resource guarding is an innate and natural characteristic that a dog possesses as a throwback from their wild ancestry. It’s a survival technique first and foremost. A dog wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild if they were unable to protect their food and other valued resources. Despite golden retrievers being otherwise domesticated, they can still be inclined to resource guard.The trait will manifest itself in unconditioned dogs as a protective reaction when they anticipate a human or other dog are approaching them in an attempt to compete for and steal their resources. Resource guarding dogs will react this way regardless of the human’s intention and manner.Some owners worry that resource guarding is a sign of your dog exerting its dominance or an indication that the dog has been spoiled like a petulant child. That is not the case. Definitely don’t react by exerting your own dominance over your dog if they resource guard! This will do nothing but reinforce in their mind that they cannot trust humans and they must amp up their protection even further.

How To Treat Resource Guarding In Your Golden Retriever?
Most sources recognize that the key to stopping resource guarding is conditioning your dog to believe that the problem they expect – an approaching human – is actually not a problem at all. Rather, an approaching human is actually a precursor to something good – like a treat, for instance. If your dog is resource guarding their food – the most common form of guarding ¬– you will need to instil in them the knowledge that food comes from you and is infinite. This will translate in their mind that your approach is indicative of even more delicious food being supplied. As with all animal training, conditioning is not a quick fix that will produce immediate results. It is a gradual process whereby you slowly build up your dog’s comfort levels to a point where they will not feel the need to resource guard against you or other humans. Hand Feeding Hand feeding is recommended as a powerful method to encourage your dog to trust you and recognize you as their primary food source. If you can, begin hand feeding as soon as you receive your dog as a puppy, at least once a day for a few weeks. This will teach your puppy or dog to accept your hand near their food, and goes a long way to prevent food guarding problems from ever beginning. Use A Small Portion of Their Dinner as a Training Reward Another method, and one more suitable for older dogs as well as puppies, is that of rewarding them with extra food at mealtime for following a command. This way they get the feeling once again that you are the source of good things, but also that they can earn extra food. Just before meal time, set aside a few chunks of food from their bowl and hold a short training session where they are given a small piece of food for following your commands correctly. Alternatively, hold it back to be given to them part way through their meal as a bonus reward when you ask for a behavior such as a ‘sit’ during the time they are eating.

Resource guarding is a natural, instinctive behavior. Dogs are not bad if they do this. However, it’s in everyone’s best interests to treat the behavior.