Is it resource guarding when I'm the resource?

13 hits and no one wants to take a stab at this one?  Did I make someone mad?[]

Aw, now you had to go and make me feel BAD.
 
I honestly have this situation sometimes and whoever is misbehaving is banned from whatever the prime real estate happens to be...under my desk, in front of the sofa or on the sofa....and sometimes crated.

Yes, your dog is guarding you and it's worse when he's on leash. Mine has begun that and I've been working with him, letting him know that I don't need his help.
 
I'm out for an early b-day date but I'll log on later.

Now Glenda, didn't mean to make you feel guilty!  I'm sorry!!  Actually, removing Nigel from the situation really is difficult, especially because it surfaces when we are a other people's houses and the dogs are all outside (at my house I can put him in another room, no problem but at other's homes, not as easy, and without putting him in the car there is no place to put him to seperate from the group.

I thought that it was probably resource guarding, but I need help in fixing it.  It has gone on so long (totally my fault, never really put much thought into it but the more I learn the more I realize I know nothing)  that I truly do not know how to deal with correcting it.  I usually just keep us out of situations where we are around other dogs on leashes or else when we head out to family gatherings I just don't bother going outside that much.

So, some good resources to train me would really be helpful.

Well ya DID!  [>:] I felt like a baaaaadd friend for not jumping in quicker.[]  But with MINE it truely is resource guarding ME against the others in the house, NOT against other dogs in general so wasn't sure that my words would be too wise.....

Terri - is it possible to get him to comply with some commands when he's doing this?  For example, you step outside and call him to you and tell him to sit, lie down, etc.?  Perhaps that would distract him from what he thinks he needs to do (guard you).  I have a similar problem with my 2 girls, so I know the frustration.   They never act nutty when my husband goes outside, but if I do, they both run to me, Buffy is a bit hyper, so she's happy sneezing, rubbing against me, etc.  Sassy finds that exciting and then starts posturing around Buffy.  It makes me tense as all get out, so I tend to avoid going out when they're together.  It stinks but I'd rather avoid the possibility of a fight between them.  The only thing that works for me to control these 2 is lots of guidance.   I'll call Buffy over and make her sit on one side of me and pet her and then as Sassy comes running, I direct her to the other side of me and pet her.  If I can get them calmed down, things go pretty smooth.

Glenda......no guilt trips allowed alone, be careful, you'll take me with you!!!!   heheheheee  But actually it does kinda sound like it might be similar.  Nigel will do this not only with strange dogs, but with other dogs in the family, the larger the group, the worse it gets....never an actual fight, but when it's just a couple of dogs, not a problem, but bigger groups it happens.  Does that make sense?
 
Cathy, what you are saying does make sense.  When it starts you just simply give them a job to do, ie sit, down, attention, etc, right?  Does it work for you?  Has the problem begun to decline?  That I could try, we will be home this summer for a while, so I know I'll have plenty of opportunity to try.

Terri - it works perfectly as long as I do it correctly.  The problem is that Buffy can be so hyper that I tend to get frustrated (and nervous) when she's going nutty to see me and if I even raise my voice the tiniest bit and Sassy senses I'm irritated with Buffy, she is more than happy to correct the situation.  So I have to play it careful, but they're both very obedient and eager to please, so that helps a lot.  

One excellent method I've heard of is to reward the "guarding" dog for letting the owner pay attention to another dog. This requires two people, obviously.
So in this scenario, your helper rewards Nigel profusely for sitting politely while you interact briefly with another dog, then YOU immediately go to Nigel (while he is still sitting politely) and pay a lot of attention to him.

Your dog could be dominant (don't know) and when he encounters a lot of dogs, he feels the need to establish himself - he might be very uncomfortable and not express it by shyness, but by aggression.
 
In all my years as a dog trainer, I haven't seen many dogs that guard their owners - they will guard territory (cars, beds, yards, etc) but seldom humans.  Just as in the wild wolves don't guard each other - but they do guard territory. 
 
Perhaps it would be better if he remained at home and not brought to an outing where it is difficult to keep an eye on him 100% of the time and tying him up would only make it worse.
 
My own dog does not enjoy playing with dogs - my sister's dog is the exception.  If I turned her loose with a bunch of dogs she would come and sit with me - not to guard me, but to get away from the other dogs and be more comfortable.  She doesn't get into fights (Sheltie); but will show her teeth and growl if she's very a
annoyed.
 
Dogs are not immediately comfortable with other dogs - just as we are not when put into a situation with a lot of strangers.  So dogs have to sniff, smell, posture and figure out "who is who" and as I said above, if this is threatening to them they will act out.
 
Dianeg

Cathy, I think that I would need to be pretty careful, because I do get nervous when he starts acting up.  But, I know that my dad is totally comfortable with both Nigel and when there is a large group, so a perfect partner.  I'll do some training with him and combine that with what Mudpuppy suggested.  Reward him for when I pay a bit of attention to someone else.  Dad will be happy to do that with me, he loves Nigel!
 
Dianeg, I am pretty sure that Nigel is a dominant male, at least I think he is.  Although I am learning that a true dominant dog does not really need to posture, that the others will simply subit to them.  Nigel will posture other dogs (in and out of the family) and generally they will submit, there is only one dog in the family that doesn't bother posturing and that is my brother's female mastif/lab mix named Maddie.  Nigel and Maddie get along WONDERFULLY, they never fuss at each other and have never fought at all.  I can't really remove him from family gatherings because I am going to be inbetween homes this summer and living with my family and they bring dogs over all the time, plus we go camping a lot and always bring the dogs.  This is not a problem when we are up camping and the whole "pack" is there, more so of when the "pack" is in someone's yard and I go outside.  When they are outside in the yard together he is fine, but the minute I step outside, he will chase other dogs away from me, he WON'T do this to Maddie though, so I think that she is the truly dominant one in the pack, but he will chase away the others.  When he chases the others away, it isn't a low mean growl but a tail up and wagging chasing away thing.  Kinda like in humans when they say "Just Joking" but really mean it, does that analogy make sense? 
 
I know that he is comfortable with these dogs since they were all raised together but just belong to different family members.  This also isn't a problem when there is just Nigel and 1 or 2 other dogs, but when the "pack" is there.  (when I say pack, I mean it, on average 5-8 dogs)  does that make a difference?
 
Anyway, sorry so long, but I guess if I make it clear what I am seeing you guys might recognize it and be able to give suggestions.  I am totally going to try the reward for letting me pet someone else thing and giving him a job when I am out there.  Any suggestions for reading material on this subject?