Dog possessive of basket

gardenroute

Hi

We've got a 1 1/2 year old lab who's fine and healthy, neutered about 6 months ago as he was showing signs of aggression.

Every time he gets left alone in the kitchen for the night he starts growling and recently barking as well. He can also be very his possessive of his basket which sits under the kitchen table.

Not all the time, but sometimes when you walk past his basket he starts growling like he's defending his territory.

I try to tell him to stop but it almost makes it worse. I've tried with a plant mister as well. Not really into the idea of anything more physical.

Any tips?

krlyr

Definately stop with the telling off and the plant mister. For a start, growling is good, in a way! It's a verbal warning that the dog is uncomfortable. So, regardless of the reason, at least the dog is issuing a warning - this is far preferable to snapping, or even outright biting. By punishing him when he's growling you run the risk of teaching him not to warn you, rather than not to guard his bed, and that could end up quite dangerous for everyone involved.
For now, I would suggest some management strategies. For example, I would move his basket away from the hustle and bustle and such a central position like under the kitchen table, perhaps in a corner, a utility room, the far end of a hallway you don't often walk past? If he doesn't feel the need to guard his bed it will help lower his stress levels in general. If you need him for anything, call him to you rather than approach him in his basket (being a Lab, I'm sure some scraps or treats will convince him out of his bed!)
Secondly I would consider what has caused this. One of the big causes of behavioural problems can be a physical issue. My first step would be to pop him to the vet for a good checkover. Not just your general ears, eyes and heart checkup he'd get annually with his vaccinations or when you pick up his flea treatment, but a full once over, manipulation of all his joints, temperature, etc. - everything. I'd even consider running a broad blood panel to see if that picks anything up (and ask them to include the extra thyroid levels, not just TSH - read here to see why this is important http://siriusdog.com/thyroid-test-dogs-t3-t4.htm )

A good book I've often seen recommended is Jean Donaldson's "Mine!"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mine-Practical-Guide-Resource-Guarding/dp/0970562942

If you find yourself struggling on your own you may wish to find a local behaviourist who will come out and assess the dog, look at you and your family and give you tailored advice to suit your situation. Try http://www.apbc.org.uk to find a behaviourist who will use fair, modern methods. Run miles away from any trainer or behaviourist who suggests things like the plant mister, or rattle cans, or even spray/shock collars - start adding negative things like this to your dog when it is in this tense, guarding state of mine and you will just create a ticking timebomb by introducing a sense of fear as well. A dog with resource guarding is one thing, a fearful dog with resource guarding is worse!

Remember that your insurance may well cover the cost of a behaviourist - so if you had the vet do a consultation, run some bloodwork panels and then refer you to a behaviourist you should only have to pay the excess (probably about the price of the consult, maybe a bit on top towards the bloodwork) and be able to claim the rest (check your policy documents first though)

gardenroute

Thanks for the indepth reply. Resource guarding seems to be somethng worth reading about. I'll look into this.

So I guess punishment isn't the way to go. How about just taking away his basket?

The problem we have is that he comes home from a walk in the morning wet and muddy. The kitchen, which has cupboards all round and a (too big a table) in the middle so unless we want to destroy the carpets there's nowhere else for the dog basket to go.

Also this is the first dog (out of 4) that we have had this problem with but it's also the first one that was caged overnight and at times during the day. Could this have had an effect?

krlyr

You could try swapping the basket for another kind of bed but I'd still want to know why he was doing it, has it just started or has he always done it (but had it got worse lately to prompt this thread)? For example, it could be that he's suffering a bit of joint pain and he gets grumpy about being disturbed near his bed as he's had time to get a bit stiff and sore after his walk. Changing the bed wouldn't really make much difference (though a nice memory foam mattress might make him a bit more comfy!) if there's a medical cause behind it.

From my experience, Kiki was never crate trained (last owner had her from a puppy and us from 9 months so I know for sure), yet I'm pretty sure Casper was (he came to me aged about 2.5/3, I never used one but when I bought one recently he leapt right into it and curled up in it!) and I don't have resource guarding with either of them. I wouldn't imagine it would make that much of a difference, though perhaps the enclosed nature of a crate made him feel less threatened (you'd be unlikely to be leaning in to his crate, or even over the top of it, whereas it sounds like you now have a small kitchen and his bed is by an essential piece of furniture that may be constantly having things put on/taken off/sat next to, etc.).

Could you perhaps train him to be wiped down after walks so he's dried off immediately? Collect some old towels off your local Freecycle, and use a dampened hand towel to give him a good wipe down. I managed to give my two indoor "baths" in a similar method the other week as it was pouring with rain outside but they needed a wash (and neither of them 'do' baths). Then his muddiness isn't such an issue. If he does have any joint pain then it may help to dry him off thoroughly anyway. Definately worn a vet trip to rule it out, as a larger breed he may be more prone to things like arthritis or dysplasia of the hips and elbows, cruciate ligament problems and so on.

gardenroute

krlyr wrote: »

the enclosed nature of a crate made him feel less threatened (you'd be unlikely to be leaning in to his crate, or even over the top of it, whereas it sounds like you now have a small kitchen and his bed is by an essential piece of furniture that may be constantly having things put on/taken off/sat next to, etc.).

Sounds like you're onto something here. The cage which he had for the first few months was by the rarely used front door which is a big difference to an open basket in the kitchen next to the fridge.

I'll book an appt with the vet, but he's so active and happy I can't imagine he's in any pain at the moment.

He always did it a bit, but it does seem to have got worse recently. He's more aggressive at night and he's only in the last month or so done it when you are in the kitchen during the day.

Thanks for your help!!

gardenroute

Thanks krlyr
Just in case anyone else has this problem, this is what I found:

To treat location guarding:

Approach your dog's bed (or whatever spot he guards) with a high-value treat that he can smell as you get nearer.

Give him the treat while he's still on his bed. The idea is that he'll start associating something positive (the treat) with a person approaching him in his special spot.

Over the course of days and weeks, vary the angle at which you approach as well as the types of treats you offer.

Eventually, as your dog becomes more at ease, practice luring him away from his bed by using the most desirable and delicious treats.

All of these exercises usually take weeks--desensitization doesn't happen over the course of just a few sessions.