My dog growls with bones. Is it resource guarding? What to do?

Question

Our mixed Border Collie/Australia Shepard that is year and half old. He has started to growl at us when he is chewing on a bone treat if we come close he thinks we are trying to take it away from him. Should we scold him and why is he acting this way. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 1 year and 3 months old | 40 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

Hi there. Many dogs will freeze and growl, snarl, or snap if they have something valuable (like a bone or bully stick) and they're afraid you might take it away. This is actually quite a normal behavior for dogs, and is just their way of trying to protect their stuff :) To help Sam learn that you're not a threat, you can try walking by and casually tossing him a treat occasionally while he's chewing on his bone. This way, he learns that good things happen when you approach - so no need to growl! NEVER reprimand him for growling, and never try to forcibly take the bone away, as this will only teach him that he was right to be wary of you approaching and is likely to make the problem worse. If you want more detailed information about how to work on this problem, I highly recommend the book "Mine!" by Jean Donaldson.

My dog growls with bones. Is it resource guarding? What to do?

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