Resource guarding (only with bones)

Benedict

Others have given good suggestions, but I just have one quick question:  Is there any reason you can't teach him a trade protocol for his bone...with another bone? 
 

Genious!!!!! Didn't even think of that!! I will definitely try!

As for the kids... well, we're still very young, I'm banking on the hope that by the time we're thinking of kids Rascal will be #1 impeccably trained, mellow, and perfect (lol) and #2 too old to really care.   He'd have to be kept away from little kids anyway because he's so small and fragile.

Thanks so much for your input, everyone!

I'll try to pick up some more bones so we can practice with them. I bet you're right - he gets them very very rarely (since this was the first time he actually tried to chew on one) so he probably thinks they're an extremely limited resource. Ignoring him being ridiculous and playing with lots of bones would work great, I bet.

I can have him "leave it" and go to his crate (he's already grudgingly done that) and then reward him with another bone in his crate, for example. Or then tell him to "leave it" and  "come," and reward him with *another* bone.

I tried sitting next to him while he had his bone, but he was so uncomfortable he wouldn't eat, even when I had my back to him and was lying on the floor and reading a book. Baby steps, I guess. I've had him less than 2 years and have unfortunately had to do several moves and a LOT of life changes since then, so getting him to settle down and relax has been a constant challenge. He's doing soooo much better in so many ways (this time last year I couldn't walk him down the street without him lunging and snarling at people, and now he walks nice as you please) I'm sure with enough time and perseverance we can get over this, too.

AuroraLove

 We cant forget that dogs dont think like people. Dogs are pack animals that thrive when they have a solid leader of the pack....have you ever seen a pack of wolves eat?

It is really bad form, in canine land, to forcibly remove food from another canine's mouth.

Desensitization, done properly, will not come off as sneaky. It is a process that changes the dogs opinion over time from "humans near food is bad!" to "humans near food is not a big deal" to (ideally) "humans near food is good!"

Sasha came with some resource guarding issues. She isn't the guardiest dog on the planet, sure, but she's not without guardy instincts. They crop up much more with other dogs than people, because she has learned over the course of her life that she does not *need* to guard from people. We bring good stuff, and when she's willing to "share" we bring even more good stuff! Its a win-win.  

I'm sorry Dog-ma but I just have to clarify....I never reccomended taking a bone from a possessive dogs mouth, you only have to get close to see if they reacct or not. I merley suggested making the dog work a bit harder then just a simple shake or sit for his bone and I get feedback that makes me sound like I run a nazi camp.

I have two pit bulls incase you forgot so I go the extra step to train, keep them in check, happy and healthy so if I seem overly cautious its becasue I feel I have a extra responsibility becasue if there breed .I actually take pride in the fact that I can set a bone infront of Rory and she wont touch it until I say so. I take pride in the fact that I can tell her to "drop it" and she does immediatly. I often give her a bone right before we are about to leave  I tempt her with something more interesting then her bone and she gets to see its still there when she gets back. I can and do take treats out of my dogs mouth every now and again but I never reccomended it or even mentioned it to the OP.

Now you dont have to agree with my way of doing things, thats fine. When I come upon a debated topic like this I go out of my way to make sure none of the advice I give could be potentially damaging so please dont turn my words around. I think your advice is completely wrong....why would you apply horse techniques (completely different mentaility) to a dog? I dont think desensitizing will work....I really dont. I hope your ok with me having adverse opinions.

 FWIW I like this article: http://www.4pawsu.com/Donaldson.pdf

Well we are both on the right track! With all this good info I hope the OP can get a gameplan in action!

I dont like to "trade" because that does not show the dog that he should not be possessive, he is just exchanging one possessive item for another one

I would take something like a tennis raquet and "step" on it, the dog might growl or nip at it since is an "extension" of your body but since you wont back away the dog will finally end up giving the item away, you take it, see it and give it back to him, the dog will stop guarding because it does not matter what happens you never back away and he gets the item back anyway

"Trade" does not teach that, you could be walking by "close enough" for him to do it again or God forbid to a kid that just wanted to pet him 

Cita

Benedict

Others have given good suggestions, but I just have one quick question:  Is there any reason you can't teach him a trade protocol for his bone...with another bone? 
 

Genious!!!!! Didn't even think of that!! I will definitely try!

As for the kids... well, we're still very young, I'm banking on the hope that by the time we're thinking of kids Rascal will be #1 impeccably trained, mellow, and perfect (lol) and #2 too old to really care.   He'd have to be kept away from little kids anyway because he's so small and fragile.

Thanks so much for your input, everyone!

I'll try to pick up some more bones so we can practice with them. I bet you're right - he gets them very very rarely (since this was the first time he actually tried to chew on one) so he probably thinks they're an extremely limited resource. Ignoring him being ridiculous and playing with lots of bones would work great, I bet.

I can have him "leave it" and go to his crate (he's already grudgingly done that) and then reward him with another bone in his crate, for example. Or then tell him to "leave it" and  "come," and reward him with *another* bone.

I tried sitting next to him while he had his bone, but he was so uncomfortable he wouldn't eat, even when I had my back to him and was lying on the floor and reading a book. Baby steps, I guess. I've had him less than 2 years and have unfortunately had to do several moves and a LOT of life changes since then, so getting him to settle down and relax has been a constant challenge. He's doing soooo much better in so many ways (this time last year I couldn't walk him down the street without him lunging and snarling at people, and now he walks nice as you please) I'm sure with enough time and perseverance we can get over this, too.

The "trade" game works like this: I do not give my dog a bone.   Instead, I hold one end of a bone, and the dog gets to "share" by chewing on the other end. (Leaders often share, it's the underlings that get grabby, usually.).  When I want "my" bone back, I offer the dog a piece of something BETTER than the bone, such as roast beef, tripe, cooked liver, etc., and as I offer it I say "trade?"   I do this again and again, until the dog is doing these object exchanges as if she were pre-programmed.  Do get the Donaldson book, though.  It will explain a lot. 

I've been re-using marrow bones (stuffing them and freezing them) for treats.  Neither of my dogs resource guards, but they will do sneaky things like if one gets up to get a drink the other quickly snatches the bone and hoards both of them until that dog leaves and the other dog grabs both bones.  One thing I've done is always have at least one more bone than dog.  I know you only have Rascal but say he had a bone and growled when you approached, but instead of backing off or trying to take his bone, you gave him another?  Not really a "trade", but just showing the dog there's no reason to guard the bone.  My dogs now know there's always at least one bone for everyone.  The presence of the extra bone(s) has sort of de-valued ALL the bones, without having to introduce another treat, if that makes sense.  I know this can be an unpopular method, but with bones and toys I basically leave them out all the time.  I suppose this could go wrong in a lot of situations, but my dogs are well-mannered, relatively balanced temperament-wise, and enjoy each other.  Having the toys and the un-stuffed marrow bones out all the time means they never get over excited about them nor do they feel the need to fight for them.

Kenya really REALLY likes pig ears and when I try to take them I get a stink eye.  She will hand it over no problem, but I can tell she would much rather keep it!  For her if I need to take whatever she has I just redirect her by asking for a sit or down or whatever and I can easily grab whatever she has.  I use this technique for her a lot actually, using her drive to work and please by giving simple commands that redirect her focus.  It has worked for taking high value items and also things like cutting off nervousness and skittishness when new people come in, sort of a modification of "click to calm", if you will.