Resource guarding? Or not.

I think resource guarding is when the dog won't let anyone/animal near what it's guarding (and she sounds like she's just giving a "back off" growl). If she was truely rg'ing I think Toots would growl/snap/bark/bite at you, too. It sounds like she's communicating with Lemon that this is her food, not his. Does she growl at Peaches if Peaches comes near her food? Again, Tiff, you know I'm no expert!

Technically, yes, but my dogs do the same and I allow it.  They do not snark or pick fights, but when one is out of line (like sticking their head in the other dog's bowl while that dog is trying to eat), they will give a little warning rumble.  I can do anything I want - reach in, add more, take it away, touch the dog, etc.  To me it's just normal canine communication.  As long as it doesn't escalate and the offending dog heeds the warning and moves on, it doesn't bother me.

 Nope. Peaches is not curious about Everything. She'll drink water next to Toots at the same time and Toots could care less.

tiffy

 Nope. Peaches is not curious about Everything. She'll drink water next to Toots at the same time and Toots could care less.

Hmm, maybe Toots is just trying to set some boundaries for Lemon (since kittens have few, lol!).

I'd have to agree that its guarding.  She was telling Lemon...hey little one, this is mine...so yeah.  Nothing wrong with them talking amongst themselves...as long as thats all it is.  Thats the only way Lemon will learn, right?

 I've come to the conclusion that cats do what they want and I'm just the lowly human!

 Resource guarding for sure. Dogs often guard from other dogs but not their owners and I've known of them guarding from cats too.

I have four cats and they all use to get a little curious and try to investigate the dogs food when they were first brought in. I didn't discourage the dogs from putting the cats in their places with a "tell-off" growl, the cats needed to learn that there are boundaries; I would've stepped in if it escalated into something more than a "tell-off" but it never did and they have an understanding now. It's their way of communicating with the cats IMO, just as well as they do with other dogs. If someone came up with the intention of eating my meal I'd tell em' off too, lol.

(Cont.) Of course I wouldn't allow this with a dog that had an obvious problem with food aggression or unpredictability.

I think is a little bit dangerous that you are "delegating" the dog to be able to implement some level of discipline to the cat. If the cat catches the dog on a "bad day" then the dog can simply pull the trigger and you will be ending at the vet paying for stitches.

I dont "delegate discipline", sure you can just "let it happen" as long as no harm is done but it only takes one time for you to have a cat with an extra hole in his body. Thats what i would call setting the dog for failure.

What I would do is correct verbally the dog to avoid an escalation and remove the cat from there to teach boundries to the cat and at the same time tell the dog that I'm in charge of discipline so he does not need to worry about it.

I will never correct my dog for giving a "warning growl", if the cat did not respond to that I would interfer because I would not want it to go any further than that. Luckily my cats got it. I might just be lucky for that. It's all situational. I have heard HORROR stories of people correcting their dogs for "warning growls", that's what it is, it's a "Hey, back off." I see no problem with that. Why should I interfer? I would hate for my dog to just pass the "warning growl" stage and just react. The only other alternative is avoidance, in which case I don't want to seperate everyone at feeding time, that would mean I have to round up 4 cats twice a day and sometimes in the morning that's just not going to happen. One of the things I did try is giving the cats treats and cat nip prior to feeding the dogs to make it more of a positive experience, so they wouldn't WANT to crowd the dogs at feeding time, that worked very well.

Do I take a chance with allowing my dogs to communicate to my cats to "back off"? Certainly. But so does everyone who has a multi-species house-hold. If giving someone this same advice I would offer up the same arguement you did and let them decide how they would like their house-hold to be, of course this all depends on the animals and temperments involved as well. Too many factors to consider. I have very stable tempered dogs, I am familiar with how they react and communicate, and yes I am well aware that it only takes one time on a bad day, but that's a risk everyone takes when socializing with anything or anyone, it just is. Again, strictly my opinion but I do not believe in avoiding problems. Setting them up for failure? You could argue that... Looking at it from different prespectives, considering available options and choosing something that works for that particular situation is how I percieve it. I'm not a believer in avoiding situations because it "sets the dog up for failure", sometimes that a part of training, failure is apart of life in ours and in our dogs, but if you correct them, stay positive and show them the way it's a success, again, a lot of factors involved when considering this. JMO.

I think you have to decide if the dog is dangerous in its guarding behavior or not.  A warning is not abnormal, and I don't correct anyone in this house for that.  However, if the animal being warned doesn't get it, and the situation is escalating to the point where the dog that is warning is having to get serious to make his point, I do not put my dogs in a situation where they have to up the ante like that in order to protect their dinner.  Until I'm sure that no one is going to get serious, they get fed in separate areas, crated or in other rooms if necessary.  What that tells them is that it is I who will keep everyone safe, and I who will determine where and when everyone eats.  Gradually, I feed them in the open in my presence (after they understand the "leave it" cue).  Gives me a lot of power without confrontation;-)  As it is, my new dog was outdoors this morning, in the same pen with the girls, and they were all "hunting" as a group for the kibble I scattered for them to find.  I would not do that with dogs that get serious.  But, these three dogs are well versed in canine language, and, because no one has ever punished them for warning (heavens, why would you remove the *first* line of defense to replace it with something more intense?) they do not cross the boundaries which they have established for themselves. 

Allowing a dog to do do a "warning growl" is like letting a drug addict to get high as long as does not overdose himself, but it only takes once to overdo it and end in the Hospital.

I have corrected hundreds of growls and not even one dog has gone directly for a bite instead. Dogs are not stupid, they know why they are getting corrected for and thats because the attitude, not because the growl. Dogs could care less if another dog is growling or singing opera, what they do care about is the attitude behind it

Delegating dicipline and letting the dog send "warning growls" shows the dog that the human is not there to step up to enforce the discipline, therefore he can not trust the human to resolve the situation and will have to do it himself. Did the cat backed off this time? Well what would happen if the cat does not next time?, or the cat by accident got too close and the dog thought the cat was not listening and is time for a correction bite.

This type of situations can become dangerous if we allow them to happen. No aggression should be allowed. Of course eveybody can do or not do what they want with their dogs. It depends on the owner if they want to play with fire or to better be safe than sorry. It depends on the owner if they want to be proactive or lazy