Resource Aggression What is It, and Why Does it Matter?

Does the idea of a dog standing protectively in front of their possessions strike you are normal? Do you see a dog growling when someone approaches their food as normal? If so, you need to be aware of how dangerous this behavior can truly be. But first, let us discuss for a moment exactly what resource aggression is.

Resource aggression simply means that your pet shows aggression if someone comes too close to what they view as their belongings. This can range from a toy, to food, even the place where they sleep. While dogs are normally very protective animals, they should never growl or attempt to bite someone if they become too close. This is never a good behavior to encourage under any circumstances.

Next, becomes the issue of why exactly is it dangerous? Think and consider how horribly you would feel if a small child approached, your dog unnoticed and your dog attacked them. You would likely be quite upset, as well as the child may potentially need stitches or even worse surgery to repair their face. This is not something that any dog owner looks forward to. Thankfully, there is a solution and ways avoid these problems so that you do not have to worry about your dog becoming the attacker in such a situation.

The answer is typically quite simple. Train your dog to accept people approaching them while they play with their toys, as well as while they are eating. This is not something that should be done initially with children, nor should you expect your pet to readily accept this. You should begin to slowly train your pet to accept people walking up to them while they are playing with their toys, as well as start to train your pet to accept when someone removes a toy from your pet.

You should always reward your pet with a treat when you are working on training issues and your pet performs well. Many people opt to use a clicker when training their pet, which is perfectly acceptable as long as your pet is rewarded for the good behavior. You should always start with simple ideas such as approaching your pet while they are by their toys and bed or food, and slowly work up to removing the toy or food from them while they are eating or playing.