Seems to be on the rise. I swear, it seems like I'm inundated with
calls and e-mails about it lately. And GOLDENS of all things, among
them.

I'm finding that in many cases, the people who are actively trying to
avoid/prevent it, are CAUSING it with their poor approaches. Some of
them seem to be on power trips, but others are just misguided. They're
bugging the hell out of their dogs!

My dogs aren't resource guarders and I can take anything away from them
or ask them to back off their food, if I needed to. But mostly, I let
them eat in peace. I've never felt compelled to pet them while they're
eating. *I* don't want someone physically assaulting me while I'm
eating!

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Janet Boss wrote:


My dogs aren't resource guarders and I can take anything away from them
or ask them to back off their food, if I needed to. But mostly, I let
them eat in peace. I've never felt compelled to pet them while they're
eating. *I* don't want someone physically assaulting me while I'm
eating!


I don't generally do it either, but you better bet if I decide that I
want to do it every single time they put their head in a bowl it's my
right and they darn well better not get snarky about it.

On Mar 2, 1:05 pm, Janet Boss
wrote:
Seems to be on the rise. I swear, it seems like I'm inundated with
calls and e-mails about it lately. And GOLDENS of all things, among
them.

I'm finding that in many cases, the people who are actively trying to
avoid/prevent it, are CAUSING it with their poor approaches. Some of
them seem to be on power trips, but others are just misguided. They're
bugging the hell out of their dogs!

My dogs aren't resource guarders and I can take anything away from them
or ask them to back off their food, if I needed to. But mostly, I let
them eat in peace. I've never felt compelled to pet them while they're
eating. *I* don't want someone physically assaulting me while I'm
eating!

--
Janet Bosswww.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

I usually pat Yoda on his side after I give him his food just after he
starts eating. I don't do it to prevent resource guarding though... I
do it because it makes his whole body wiggle when his tail starts
wagging, which makes for a funny picture as his head swings from side
to side in his bowl as he eats. Yes, I'm a mean owner. Other than
that, if he preempts me giving him an ok to eat I will tell him to sit
to stop his eating, which he will do while eating without a second
thought. I have always done this. Never had a problem with resource
guarding though, so it isn't one of my concerns.

Nick

On Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:05:16 -0500, Janet Boss
wrote:

Seems to be on the rise.

What else is on the rise?

Hmmmm.

Poorly bred dogs!

I swear, it seems like I'm inundated with
calls and e-mails about it lately. And GOLDENS of all things, among
them.

What else is on the rise?

Hmmmm.

Poorly bred GRs!

I think RG is primarily a matter of poor breeding, and perhaps even
related somewhat to (or a part of) dominance aggression.

The vast majority of resource guarders I've ever encountered have
usually had just very poor, very unstable overall temperaments.

Period.

Yeah, the behavior can be managed and/or modified, but the root cause
is to be found at the breeder level.

Or because of random breeding, e.g., strays, etc.

Again, that's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.


--
Handsome Jack Morrison

Got some spare time?
http://hotair.com/archives/2007/02/1...g-heroes-home/
Repent, sinners!
http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk...he_planet.html
Remember these words - Al Gore's "Generation Investment Management":
http://www.ecotality.com/blog/?p=350
Every family has a different carbon footprint - And here's The Goracle's!
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/006966.htm
The Goracle's hypocrisy exposed (Hey, Tara, didn't you once date Al?):
http://www.economist.com/debate/free...win_for_al.cfm
"Reality-based community" more about faith than reality:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull

In article ,
Janet Boss wrote:
Seems to be on the rise. I swear, it seems like I'm inundated with
calls and e-mails about it lately. And GOLDENS of all things, among
them.

This year's fashionable pathology, I expect.

I'm finding that in many cases, the people who are actively trying to
avoid/prevent it, are CAUSING it with their poor approaches. Some of
them seem to be on power trips, but others are just misguided. They're
bugging the hell out of their dogs!

Do you know where they're "learning" about this stuff?
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

If you can't say it clearly, you don't understand it yourself -- John Searle

In article sOZFh.24515$PD2.23132@attbi_s22,
Robin Nuttall wrote:


I don't generally do it either, but you better bet if I decide that I
want to do it every single time they put their head in a bowl it's my
right and they darn well better not get snarky about it.

Well YEAH. In many of these cases, the owner has been an incredible
pest, or has been taking food AWAY constantly, and often with a newly
adopted adult dog.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

In article ,
Handsome Jack Morrison wrote:


What else is on the rise?

Hmmmm.

Poorly bred dogs!
What else is on the rise?

Hmmmm.

Poorly bred GRs!

I think RG is primarily a matter of poor breeding, and perhaps even
related somewhat to (or a part of) dominance aggression.

I'm inclined to agree as a general rule. Rudy failed the food part of
the shelter TT. As you know, he's a poorly bred Golden. His mode of
guarding was just holding on to something very tightly, which we broke
his first morning here (when he had a pigeon that he was determined to
hold on to - my little bird dog had part of it right!).

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

On Fri, 02 Mar 2007 15:16:52 -0500, Janet Boss
wrote:

In article sOZFh.24515$PD2.23132@attbi_s22,
Robin Nuttall wrote:


I don't generally do it either, but you better bet if I decide that I
want to do it every single time they put their head in a bowl it's my
right and they darn well better not get snarky about it.

Well YEAH. In many of these cases, the owner has been an incredible
pest, or has been taking food AWAY constantly, and often with a newly
adopted adult dog.

Maybe, just maybe, the dog was adopted because the dog's previous
owner got rid of him because of his resource guarding and/or other
displays of dominance aggression?

I think it would be about as hard to actually create resource guarding
as it would be to create dominance aggression.

Exacerbate it? Yes.

Create it out of whole cloth?

I don't think so.

--
Handsome Jack Morrison

Rosie O'Donnell and Mel Shore. Assholes separated at birth?
http://hotair.com/archives/2007/03/0...quit-the-view/
Got some spare time?
http://hotair.com/archives/2007/02/1...g-heroes-home/
Repent, sinners!
http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk...he_planet.html
Remember these words - Al Gore's "Generation Investment Management":
http://www.ecotality.com/blog/?p=350
Every family has a different carbon footprint - And here's The Goracle's!
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/006966.htm
The Goracle's hypocrisy exposed (Hey, Tara, didn't you once date Al?):
http://www.economist.com/debate/free...win_for_al.cfm
"Reality-based community" more about faith than reality:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull

In article ,
(Melinda Shore) wrote:



Do you know where they're "learning" about this stuff?

No, and that is what I need to find out about a bit more. One couple,
who e-mailed me, had been so hell bent on teaching their new Chessie
Puppy to not be a RG, that they really blew it:

" When she was a little pup, we would always put our hand in her bowl
while she was eating.* We did this to help prevent any food aggression
problems from developing.* That has not been the case.* When we put her
bowl down to eat, she becomes a different dog.* We've started calling
this "tunnel vision".*
She does not like to be touched while eating.* She has even started to
show teeth if you get too close to her.* She has nipped at my boyfriend
and bite me once.* We have tried a number of different exercise to try
and break her of this habit.* We've tried hand feeding while petting
her; tried claiming her food by standing over the bowl to show "we're
the bigger dog"; tried taking her food away when she beginnings to growl
or show teeth; tried feeding with her collar on and correcting her.* I
feel like we're at a dead end road.* We are not sure what to do- we
don't want to get rid of her but we're afraid that one day she might
hurt someone.* Do you have any other suggestionsŠ ?*"

I never heard back from them.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

In article ,
Handsome Jack Morrison wrote:


Exacerbate it? Yes.

Create it out of whole cloth?

I don't think so.

I agree. They're not going to take a dog who has never done it and
create it in this case (newly adopted adult dog). But it would be nice
if people let a dog feel a bit more secure before starting to poke him
while he's eating.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com