Dear Dogcharmer,
I have a three-year-old PBGV and a three-year-old Lab mix, Gina and Phoebe, both females. They were adopted as puppies at the same time, and are as close and happy with each other as you could possibly imagine. Not knowing their precise ages we designated both their third birthdays as October 2. So this last October 2, we celebrated by tossing them two steak bones with a little meat on them. This resulted in a terrible fight with both dogs needing to visit the vet, and my husband with a nasty bite on his hand and on his arm. We used to feed them with their bowls about three feet apart, never a problem! Your advice will be appreciated.
Penny
Dear Penny,
The first thing that comes to mind for me is, “I’m sorry that door has been opened.” In my experience, when warning looks or growls escalate into an “unrestricted bite” fight, there’s a greater possibility of it happening again. The “resource” that a dog guards can take many forms. It can be the food bowl. I’ve had many calls over the years from people who told me they can’t go near or pet their dog when it’s eating. The food is the resource. My solution for that one probably works over 90 percent of the time. Start by approaching the eating dog with soft words and quickly drop a piece of meat in the food bowl, linger a second, give one brief pet, and then walk away. Do this a bunch of times, increasing touch and linger times, and Rover’s attitude becomes, “Come on by, you’re always welcome when I’m dining!”
Grandpa’s sitting on the couch watching TV while snuggling Rover, his son’s Chihuahua, and four-year-old granddaughter has the audacity to approach Grandpa. And Rover starts growling. In this case, Grandpa is the resource, and Rover doesn’t want to share him!
I have a memory that goes back about 18 years and still pains me when I think about it. At the time, my dogs were Mike, a 90-pound Dobe, and MacDuff, a 5-pound Mini Pin. They were as close as two dogs could be. So close that to my astonishment, MacDuff raided Mike’s bowl when Mike was actually eating. Thankfully, the first time that happened I was right there to intervene when Mike gave a warning growl. I scooped Duff up, and from that point on, they were fed in such a way that Duff couldn’t get to Mike when he was eating.
On Xmas Eve day, my wife Jaye and I were really busy preparing for our kids to visit. The dogs always got special treats on holidays, and this was no exception. Mike and Duff were being a nuisance, getting in our way as we were putting presents under the tree, and we decided to get them out of our way by putting them in the yard with a couple of treats. Being as distracted as we were with preparing for the kids and Xmas, it took me about 20 seconds to realize, “BAD MOVE!” I ran into the yard, and what I saw was horrifying. Duff must have immediately run over to grab Mike’s treat. Duff was rolling on his back with blood spurting from somewhere on his body. It required my applying pressure to the wound to slow the bleeding and our vet’s briefly stabilizing him, and then our taking a ferry to a vet center that specialized in bite wounds. We were told he had a 50–50 chance of surviving, and thankfully, he did, and lived to the ripe old age of 14. Interestingly, later that night after the incident, when Mike went into the yard and smelled the blood, he howled, the only time we ever heard him howl. When Duff came home three days later, Mike lay next to him and sighed multiple times, as in self-censorship. After that, they still continued to be best friends.
In my experience, anti-resource guarding can be trained to a point — depending on the temperament of the dog and the strength or the intensity of the “desirability” of the resource.
So, Penny, to just about any dog, real bones with meat on them, well, it just doesn’t get more intensely desirable! As I said, the unrestricted fight door has been opened. Henceforth, separation when eating, and hot toys. Best of luck. (For those who don’t know—a PBGV is a Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen, the French version of a Basset Hound.)
Dogcharmer Tom
P.S.: I used to get crazy when I was socializing a dog at a dog park, and an ignorant dog owner would enter with his dog and throw a ball or Frisbee for his dog to retrieve. Talk about creating the perfect conditions for a dog fight –– multiple dogs trying to retrieve one toy!
Have a question for the Dogcharmer? Write to him at dogsrshelby@msn.com. Visit Tom Shelby’s website at dogsrshelby.com, and find him on Instagram @DogTrainerDiaries.
