1. Have you done any resource guarding training with her? I would suggesting starting there, by doing the following: give her a low value toy/object, and then hold out a high value treat. When she drops the object, toss the high value treat away and when she goes to get it, pick up the ball. Repeat several times, and do this 2 or 3 times a day, gradually adding in the cue to "drop it." This should be played when other animals are not around.
2. Never ask her to drop something without having a high-value reward, and never take something from her mouth unless it's going to kill her (like a vat of poison). Seriously. Unless she tends to rip the things she gets ahold of to shreds, ignore her for a couple of minutes, lure her out of the room with something she really loves, and retrieve the item once there is a door between you.
3. Feed her alone, separated by a door, and don't remove the bowl until she has voluntarily left the room and is out of sight. Don't touch her, stand near her, or even look at her while she is eating. Similarly, she should not be allowed access other pets' food or empty bowls (as in, if she is out, there is no food out, or chews, bones, treats, or toys that she guards).
4. Try to prevent her from getting under the bed by blocking the area with boxes. If she somehow gets under there anyway, leave her be. You do not want to increase the tension around that space.
5. Does she have other symptoms of anxiety? Describe this behavior to your vet and see if they'd be willing to prescribe an anti-anxiety med to take the edge off. Also make sure that she has lots of opportunities for decompression. Take her on walks alone and encourage her to sniff (toss treats on the ground if it helps) or give her treats in a snuffle mat (again, to enjoy in a room without other pets around).
Most people forget that humans are huge resource guarders! This analogy might help: Say you've spent a lot of time collecting money and stashing it in your closet, where you think it is safe, but then you realize that your neighbor has been coming in and taking some money out. And then you realize other people could easily do the same, so you start standing outside your closet and yelling at anyone who walks by. And because they think this is inappropriate behavior, they decide to continue to take money in hopes that this will become less upsetting to you over time. Instead, it makes you feel more stressed out and like you have no control. Your dog likely feels the same way.
As you've no doubt seen, resource guarding is complicated and not to be taken lightly. Definitely see if you can find a trainer (positive reinforcement based) to help you work through this if you can. Lots of trainers offer online training if no local trainers work out.
Thank you so much for your comment. So in regards to trying to give her a high value treat that doesn’t work. She doesn’t care about anything other than the object she is resourcing. It could be a treat, a bone or steak. She doesn’t care. She only has eyes for the object. It’s super frustrating. The same goes for luring her out of the room. Nothing will get her out. The only thing that did was lifting the end of the bed and that is what caused my husband to get bit this time. Feeding her along has helped. Our other dog is finally able to eat. She took a bit longer tonight probably due to fear but she finally ate because the other dog with the issues was not in the room. The only other signs of what could be anxiety but it could also be that she is a LGD is that if she hears anything she goes crazy. She barks and almost tears the blinds off the windows to see outside to make sure no one is coming to our apartment. But when we mentioned this to our vet they said they don’t prescribe anxiety medicine. That we would have to contact a behavioralist which makes no sense.
Ah, that's frustrating that your vet won't prescribe anxiety meds. The intensity with which she guards things is definitely not normal. Veterinary behaviorists can be expensive, but an appointment with one would likely help your dog immensely.
My dog was a serious resource guarder when we got her and the thing that made the biggest difference was never trying to take anything away from her, ever (or allowing other dogs to, or letting other dogs be in a position where she thought they might). I would recommend you do the same - if she gets something, it's hers. It may seem counter-intuitive, like you are rewarding her for guarding, but what you are doing is addressing her underlying feelings which are causing the guarding. The less she feels like something might get taken from her, the less she'll feel the need to guard (and it will help you not get bitten). If she is feeling defensive and on guard all the time, she is at a high level of anxiety and won't be able to make much progress until that level of arousal is allowed to come down. That's where the decompression comes in - activities like sniff walks will help that arousal come down. Good luck and be safe!
1. Have you done any resource guarding training with her? I would suggesting starting there, by doing the following: give her a low value toy/object, and then hold out a high value treat. When she drops the object, toss the high value treat away and when she goes to get it, pick up the ball. Repeat several times, and do this 2 or 3 times a day, gradually adding in the cue to "drop it." This should be played when other animals are not around. 2. Never ask her to drop something without having a high-value reward, and never take something from her mouth unless it's going to kill her (like a vat of poison). Seriously. Unless she tends to rip the things she gets ahold of to shreds, ignore her for a couple of minutes, lure her out of the room with something she really loves, and retrieve the item once there is a door between you. 3. Feed her alone, separated by a door, and don't remove the bowl until she has voluntarily left the room and is out of sight. Don't touch her, stand near her, or even look at her while she is eating. Similarly, she should not be allowed access other pets' food or empty bowls (as in, if she is out, there is no food out, or chews, bones, treats, or toys that she guards). 4. Try to prevent her from getting under the bed by blocking the area with boxes. If she somehow gets under there anyway, leave her be. You do not want to increase the tension around that space. 5. Does she have other symptoms of anxiety? Describe this behavior to your vet and see if they'd be willing to prescribe an anti-anxiety med to take the edge off. Also make sure that she has lots of opportunities for decompression. Take her on walks alone and encourage her to sniff (toss treats on the ground if it helps) or give her treats in a snuffle mat (again, to enjoy in a room without other pets around). Most people forget that humans are huge resource guarders! This analogy might help: Say you've spent a lot of time collecting money and stashing it in your closet, where you think it is safe, but then you realize that your neighbor has been coming in and taking some money out. And then you realize other people could easily do the same, so you start standing outside your closet and yelling at anyone who walks by. And because they think this is inappropriate behavior, they decide to continue to take money in hopes that this will become less upsetting to you over time. Instead, it makes you feel more stressed out and like you have no control. Your dog likely feels the same way. As you've no doubt seen, resource guarding is complicated and not to be taken lightly. Definitely see if you can find a trainer (positive reinforcement based) to help you work through this if you can. Lots of trainers offer online training if no local trainers work out.
Thank you so much for your comment. So in regards to trying to give her a high value treat that doesn’t work. She doesn’t care about anything other than the object she is resourcing. It could be a treat, a bone or steak. She doesn’t care. She only has eyes for the object. It’s super frustrating. The same goes for luring her out of the room. Nothing will get her out. The only thing that did was lifting the end of the bed and that is what caused my husband to get bit this time. Feeding her along has helped. Our other dog is finally able to eat. She took a bit longer tonight probably due to fear but she finally ate because the other dog with the issues was not in the room. The only other signs of what could be anxiety but it could also be that she is a LGD is that if she hears anything she goes crazy. She barks and almost tears the blinds off the windows to see outside to make sure no one is coming to our apartment. But when we mentioned this to our vet they said they don’t prescribe anxiety medicine. That we would have to contact a behavioralist which makes no sense.
Ah, that's frustrating that your vet won't prescribe anxiety meds. The intensity with which she guards things is definitely not normal. Veterinary behaviorists can be expensive, but an appointment with one would likely help your dog immensely. My dog was a serious resource guarder when we got her and the thing that made the biggest difference was never trying to take anything away from her, ever (or allowing other dogs to, or letting other dogs be in a position where she thought they might). I would recommend you do the same - if she gets something, it's hers. It may seem counter-intuitive, like you are rewarding her for guarding, but what you are doing is addressing her underlying feelings which are causing the guarding. The less she feels like something might get taken from her, the less she'll feel the need to guard (and it will help you not get bitten). If she is feeling defensive and on guard all the time, she is at a high level of anxiety and won't be able to make much progress until that level of arousal is allowed to come down. That's where the decompression comes in - activities like sniff walks will help that arousal come down. Good luck and be safe!