Does your dog like to ‘help’ you with the yard work? Are they underfoot while you are cooking? Need something to distract them on a rainy day? We have a wide selection of toys and edible chews to help keep them entertained! Raw bones, bully sticks, collagen chews, dried tendons, fish skin rolls, and more…but do you know how your dog reacts when they have such a wonderful treasure?  

Knowing how your dog reacts to a high value treat is important. Even dogs who have NEVER shown signs of food aggression can display resource guarding behavior over something new that they perceive as high value. Please exercise caution when introducing something like this to your dog, especially if you have a multi-pet household or young children in the mix.   

Patricia McConnell has a wonderful blog post on resource guarding. Please take a few moments to see what signs to watch for and what she recommends.
  

There are so many benefits to allowing your dog to have appropriate chews besides keeping them busy and out from underfoot. We touched on many of them in last week’s blog. You simply need to know how your dog responds so you know if precautions are necessary. As I’m not a trainer or animal behaviorist, I’m not going to give recommendations for what to do if you discover your dog does have resource guarding tendencies. But, I will close with an example from my recent experience.  

When I adopted Phoenix, I talked with the rescue regarding how he responded with food, treats, etc. Tank came to live with me two months after Phoenix. Both dogs have perfectly wonderful manners. They allow me to touch their bowls when eating, if one drops a treat (it happens rarely but it does happen) and the other swoops in to scoop it up, they simply look to me to provide a replacement. (Yes, I am well trained.) Individually, they have no problem at all with high value chews around me or the cats. However, I have found that a brand new, high value chew will sometimes instigate a slight guarding response from one or the other. To prevent anything from escalating, I prefer to separate them when they first are given a new chew. Tank is perfectly happy to take his treasure outside to lay in the sun and enjoy. Phoenix prefers to wander the house carrying his for a while before curling up on his blanket to enjoy it. Once the newness of the treat has worn off, they can be in the same space and trade their chews without a problem. I feel that the benefits of a healthy chew are more than worth making sure they have a safe space to enjoy them in.