Setting expectations for successful training outcomes is an extremely important skill, especially for aggression cases in dogs. Understanding what a dog looks like once training has been put in place is key: by visualising the goal, it becomes easier for you to see the roadmap to get there.
I learned about the importance of setting expectations early in my dog training career when working with a family who was struggling with resource guarding. Like many resource guarding dogs prior to training, their terrier puppy was guarding toys, food puzzles and chews. Her people reported that if they reached in to take something away she would growl. If they persisted in taking it from her, by restraining her to grab the, item she would escalate to biting. Together we implemented some very successful strategies which resulted in no new instances of biting and the dog could drop high value found items on a verbal cue. I was pleased with the results until I received an email a few weeks later. The email explained that the problem was still present as the dog would still bite under some circumstances. An attached video demonstrated several excellent drop it repetitions with a bully stick (“this works well, we are happy with this, … but”). Then, the family gave the bully stick back to the puppy, picked her up, chew and all, to manually extract the bully 
stick from her mouth.The puppy began growling when picked up and proceeded to deliver a level 1 bite to her person’s face (“You see? The problem is not fixed.”). What went wrong in this story was not a failure of training, but a failure on my part to correctly set expectations.
Resource Guarders Anonymous
Resource guarding is an evolutionarily advantageous behaviour which allows feral dogs (and other wild animals) to survive when access to food, water and safe shelter is limited. Dogs who can retain access to these assets during tough times are the ones who go on to survive and procreate. As a behavior, resource guarding appears to have a strong, endurance component and can present even when resources are plentiful and survival is not at stake.
Guarding will look different in each dog, but follows some general trends. Guarding behaviors are typically “fight” or “flight” presenting. Fight-style guarders will freeze, growl, snarl, snap and bite when approached if they have a resource. Flight-style guarders may run away with their treasure to a safe spot or try to swallow it quickly to prevent it from being taken. Many dogs exhibit both styles, choosing to flee unless cornered.
Commonly guarded resources include: Food, Food-related-items or areas, chews, food puzzles, toys, found objects (e.g. sticks or socks), preferred sleeping spots and water bowls. In less common cases, dogs may guard favorite people or other animals, and in rare cases “random” items which would normally have no value to a dog. Dogs may guard items from everybody equally, or you may find that your dog shows increased aggression towards unfamiliar adults, children or other dogs when compared with their response to yourself.
When assessing resource guarding, you can take stock of the following parameters:
- How many different types of things or spaces will your dog guard?
- Does your dog guard from everybody or does the guarding occur towards a subset of people (e.g. strangers, children or dogs).
- Where does the guarding typically take place and how predictably does it occur?
- Does your dog always give ample warning signs (freeze, growl, turn away or run off) before escalating to a more severe response?
Resource guarding is a dangerous behavior which can be made worse with unskilled intervention, therefore I always recommend that you bring in a professional to oversee the training plan. Generally speaking, the more specific and predictable resource guarding is, the easier it will be to manage and train. In my experience, where resource guarding is unpredictable (e.g. the same resource may elicit a severe response on one day, and not on another) or widespread there is often another factor at play which makes the training process very difficult. In some cases this other factor is physiological, so consulting with a veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist is advised.
When is an Agressive Dog not an Agressive Dog?
The truth of the matter is that any dog has the potential to aggress. You are asking the wrong questions if you are thinking along the lines of: “when will my dog not be aggressive anymore?” or simply “will my dog be fixed?” It’s tempting to consider dogs as either safe or dangerous, but this is a troubling over-simplification. In reality, the most docile dogs may become aggressive when hurt or provoked, and dogs with the potential to be extremely dangerous may live in such a manner as to exclude opportunities for aggression.
Consider the case of the dog who is rehomed when a child is welcomed into the family. Prior to the addition of a child, the dog is considered “safe” because they have never shown signs of aggression. Home-life is very predictable, and the dog is never disturbed when eating. When a baby comes along, aggression around food and toys suddenly occurs. In the past, the parents left the dog alone when eating but now the child may get close during mealtimes. Before there was simply less food for the dog to get at, now spills and messes are commonplace. Additionally, the dog may now be getting inadequate sleep which increases the likelihood of aggressive incidents around sleeping spaces. The dog didn’t change. They didn’t go from being “not aggressive” to “aggressive.” The environment changed in such a way that the aggressive behaviors surfaced.
This brings us back to setting expectations. Unfortunately, expecting your dog to never aggress under any circumstances is unrealistic. It seems valid because in human society violence, especially towards family, is a moral failing. Dogs do not understand human morality and it cannot be explained to them, so we cannot hold them to these same standards. This is where I failed with my terrier client earlier. I was very happy with the training outcomes for the dog, but I had failed to address the unrealistic expectation of her humans: a dog who would not aggress under any circumstances.
So What CAN I Expect From My Guarding Dog?
When you have the correct expectations for training, resource guarding can be effectively managed and overcome in many cases. Here are the expectations I choose to set with my clients these days:
- Resource Guarding will be greatly reduced (to near 0 incidents) through management practices. Management is when you change your environment such that resource guarding does not present. For example, serving single-sitting chews, feeding dogs in separate rooms in the home and using a muzzle on walks if the dog guards found items.
- More warning signs are given for longer duration by the dog (e.g. freeze, growl). This is typically achieved through a program of systematic counter conditioning and desensitisation, coupled with walking away from your dog when growling does occur. By spending time reinforcing these warning signs in your dog, they are more likely to give plenty of notice before escalation to a bite or swallow incident. This allows the human to take stock of the situation and implement de-escalation routines, as well as reducing biting incidents which “came out of nowhere” or “took us by surprise.” This may seem counterintuitive to some, but growling is simply communication and provides the trainer with crucial information moving forward. Never punish your dog for growling, as suppression of this behavior typically leads to faster escalation to a bite.
- Effective de-escalation protocols are in place. If your dog does begin to guard, a clear protocol for de-escalation is given, such that the dog can be removed from the guardable item/area quickly without further aggression. Once removed, the dog can go back to a calm baseline state.
- Skills such as “go to your bed/crate” and “drop it” are introduced, put on verbal cue and rewarded. With practice, guarder dogs will begin to confidently follow these cues even when presented with their most high-value items.
If your case of guarding is extreme, unpredictable, non-responsive to normal training protocols or very difficult to manage, consider consulting with a veterinary behaviorist to check for underlying physiological causes.
Effective Training Keeps Everybody Safe
When all the above expectations are met through consistent training protocols and environmental management, the dog is much safer in the household. Many resource guarder dogs go on to live perfectly normal, happy and fulfilled lives. You may never have a dog who can be trusted to “put up with anything” without resorting to aggression, but you will have a dog who can be managed, de-escalated and taught skills to neutralize the old aggressive response.
As the dog’s guardian, the responsibility to implement these protocols belongs to you – not your dog. Ultimately, feeling safe and comfortable around your pet is the end goal for this process. If you are struggling with this, please reach out to a credentialed dog trainer or veterinary behaviorist. We’re here to help you.
Dr. Sarah Shapiro-Ward
Dr. Sarah Shapiro-Ward CPDT-KA, KPA-CTP has lived and worked as a professional dog trainer in two of Canada’s most densely populated downtown communities: Toronto and Vancouver. Sarah is best known for her viral trick training videos with her Cockapoo Percy, including tricks such as playing Jenga, Connect Four and Painting on Canvas. She also has a standard poodle, Eleanor, and a part-time horse, Echo.
Before becoming a dog trainer, Sarah completed her Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 2015. Though she has long since left the laboratory behind, she still enjoys keeping up with the literature and applying her skills of critical analysis to dog training scenarios.
Sarah is a frequent guest on the live call-in radio show CBC BC Today, answering Vancouver’s dog behaviour questions. She has also been featured on Jimmy Fallon, The Daily Mail UK, NHK Japan, Good Morning America, The New York Post & others.
Besides training tricks, Sarah teaches group classes and private lessons for city dog owners across Vancouver through When Hounds Fly. She can be found on Instagram and TikTok @prancingpoodles.
