Resource guarding is a behavior feared by many, but in most cases easy to solve

Resource guarding is always fear based and always involves space. The aggressive dog is afraid to lose a possession, or fears for his own safety, and proactively aggresses. A possession is anything important enough for the dog to fight over. It can include her food, the food bowl, even if empty, or the space where the food bowl is. It could be a favorite toy or a bone, or a stick picked up on a walk, or people furniture, or her dog bed, or the door space, or the car, or property, or neighborhood.

Or you! A dog who aggresses when someone, dog or person, approaches closer, either considers you his personal possession, or is afraid for himself and doesn’t trust you to keep him safe. Resource guarding is a big deal because it can lead to nasty bites, but like aggression, in most cases can be permanently solved.


The more fearful the dog, the closer he will keep an important resource and the greater will be the distance before he guards. A very insecure dog can react when the trigger (dog and/or person) is barely within sight. In other words, the more personal space a dog needs, the more insecure he is.

The more confident the dog, the farther away he can be from the resource (including humans) and still feel safe; the closer he lets people/dogs approach a resource without guarding. The confident dog is little reactive and doesn’t sweat the small stuff, but controls, influences or threatens others from a greater distance if something is important to him.


Possessions are rarely disputed by healthy dogs and wolves, but access can be denied with warnings and space control. But once an inferior dog/wolf has it, the superior member lets him keep it.

Resource guarding is a behavior people fear most. Many shelters test for it and many dogs are euthanized if they fail – unjustly. Because, although resource aggression carries the danger of a bite, it is also one of the problems easiest to solve, albeit rarely without the help of an experienced dog expert, because of the injury risk.

Here are a few tips that can prevent and modify resource guarding. But to reiterate, whenever you have an aggression problem, consult with someone knowledgeable.


Don’t take things away once a dog has ownership, especially not forcefully. That feeds fear and insecurity and teaches the dog to resource guard. Think about it. If a dog learns that if he allows you near his priced bone, you take it away, but when he snarls he gets to keep it, because you retreat out of fear to get bit. What behavior you think he’ll repeat?

Control access to resources by controlling the space and/or with a well-practiced leave command. Read how my dog Will taught foster puppy Reggae the resource rules on my Blog - Will and the Cow Hoof. Read how to begin to teach a solid Leave command.


Remain in the vicinity of your dog when he has stuff and add to the loot if she remains loose-bodied and relaxed.

Scarcity breeds possessiveness. Give freely and make many resources available, and your dog is less likely to resource guard. Have two or three toys of the same kind to play the trading game, or trade up, to teach to give on command. Have more than one toy at the dog park. If another dog steals it, or one is lost, it’s not a big deal and your pooch does not stress out or aggress.

That doesn’t mean the dog gets things for free or on demand. It means to provide many opportunities to earn stuff and to let her keep it once she has it.

A dog allowed to set and enforce her own rules and boundaries; one who is catered to on demand, will defend important to her stuff with teeth, and protect the social group – drive everyone deemed not belonging away. Learn to become a Mindful Leader.