Why it happens
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An inborn instinct
Guarding food and valuable things is a normal part of dog behaviour. It is not a character flaw and not "dominance": that myth only pushes owners into fighting the dog, which makes the guarding stronger.
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Learning that things get taken
If a dog has had its bone or toy taken away more than once, or had a hand put in its bowl while eating, it learns to defend its things in advance. Puppies raised with many littermates at one bowl can also learn to rush and defend.
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Especially valuable things
A dog guards hardest whatever it values highest: bones, chews, food found outdoors or a stolen sock. Some dogs also guard their bed, the sofa or even a person.
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Pain, tiredness or stress
A dog that is in pain, tired or tense tolerates less and defends itself sooner. If guarding has appeared suddenly, health causes need ruling out first.
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Other animals in the home
When there are several dogs or a cat in the home, food and toys become something to compete for. A dog may guard its bowl only from other animals and let people come near calmly.
How to recognise guarding
Near food or an object the dog freezes, starts eating faster, blocks the item with its body or carries it off to a corner. It watches you out of the corner of its eye so that the whites show, flattens its ears, growls, lifts a lip and shows its teeth. If these signs are ignored, the dog may bite.
What not to do
Do not take things away by force, do not put your hand in the bowl to "teach" the dog, and do not punish growling. Growling is a warning: a punished dog may learn to stop warning and bite straight away. Do not try to "show who is boss": it only makes guarding worse.
What helps
- Peace while eating Feed the dog somewhere quiet where nobody walks past, and let it eat undisturbed. Pick up the bowl once it is empty and the dog has moved away.
- Apart from other animals Give each animal its own bowl in a separate room or behind a gate. Hand out chews and bones separately too, so nobody has anything to defend.
- Swap, do not snatch If you need to take something, offer something even tastier in exchange by tossing a treat a little way off, and pick the item up only once the dog has left it of its own accord. If the dog growls, do not take the item; distract it instead, for example by offering a walk.
- An approaching person adds Walking past while the dog eats calmly, drop a tasty bite into its bowl and keep going: the dog learns that a person near the bowl adds rather than takes away. Do this only while the dog stays relaxed; if it freezes or growls, continue this work with a professional.
- Children's safety Children must not approach a dog that is eating, chewing or sleeping. Give chews only when children are elsewhere or the dog is on its own, and never leave small children with a dog without an adult.
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When to see a trainer or behaviourist
Guarding with growling or biting is a job for a qualified trainer or behaviourist who uses reward-based methods only, especially if the guarding is getting stronger, the dog guards places or people, or there are small children at home. Until you have one, take nothing away from the dog, do not punish it and manage the situation: feed separately, give valuable items only somewhere quiet and keep children safe.
When it is a question for a vet
See a vet if guarding has appeared suddenly in an adult dog that used to be relaxed, if it has started growling or snapping when you touch, lift or brush it, as it may be in pain, if it has also started eating differently, for example chewing on one side or dropping food from its mouth, or if it seems listless or changed.