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5 month golden retriever resource guarding food, seeking positive outcomes

8 replies

Stephiluu · 17/03/2026 18:02

Hi, I have a 5 month old golden retriever puppy who is the sweetest boy. He loves cuddles and will play with us all day if he had the chance but I have had 2 experiences with resource guarding with him. The first we had only had him 3 day, we went to the vets and they gave him a lick mat whilst they checked him over, it was 2 hours past his dinner time and it turns out I wasn’t feeding him enough, when the vet went to feel his belly my puppy thought she was going to move him away from the lick mat and he growls and snapped at her. Now 10 weeks later he had his first pigs ear, he had been playing with my son for a while before and was very overstimulated, I gave him the pigs ear and he ran to his crate to enjoy it, unfortunately I was very stupid and wanted to go pet him whilst he was in there chewing it (first dog, had no idea I shouldn’t of done that so I take 100% of the blame) anyway, he kept turning his head from me whilst he lay there stiff, trying to warn me and I don’t realise, it was at least another minute of me trying to stroke him before he panicked when I went to close to his mouth and he full on bit me, drew blood and I had to have my arm glued together. I know I will get some ‘how stupid’ are you’ comments and yes I admit I was stupid but never expected that. Since then we have been working with a behaviourist to help me and him understand how to move forward and make sure it doesn’t happen again. He doesn’t do it with toys or anything else that we have found so far and the behaviourist says he’s a lovely boy, both times we’re due to fear/hunger, I know that if he got some food he shouldn't have then it would probably happen again so we now trade everything but it still worries the life out of me. I’m just wondering if anyone has a similar story and can give me some positive outcomes. He really is the loveliest dog but I feel so anxious by it all

OP posts:
powershowerforanhour · 17/03/2026 18:15

I've never seen a 3 month old growling and snapping that ended well sorry. Mind you, most of the pups I've seen that showed aggression had owners that completely minimised and dismissed my attempts to explain the seriousness of the situation and didn't bother their arse to spend the time, money and effort on a behavourist as recommended , so hopefully yours will get sorted out.

SpanielsGalore · 18/03/2026 09:29

I took on a 7 month old dog, that had bitten in his previous home. The dog resource guarded his food bowl from the other dog in the home. The owner dealt with it by taking his bowl away from him whilst he was eating. Which eventually escalated to a bite.
Of all the dogs I have owned, he is the one I would totally trust not to bite someone. He never once showed any aggression to another person whilst with me. And he had so many painful vet treatments, he was certainly pushed far enough to bite.

You know what triggered the incidents with your boy and realise the second one at least was your fault. As long as you learn from this and take steps to learn about dog behaviour and body language, you should be able to avoid it happening again.

Hopefully your behaviourist is a good one and isn't using out dated training methods, based on dominance theory.

Good luck. I hope things work out well for you all.

DogAnxiety · 18/03/2026 09:33

Where did you get him from? Some GR lines have resource guarding tendencies.

I don’t think there is much you can do except don’t leave him alone with children ever (goes without saying) and keep working with the behaviourist. Is the behaviourist properly qualified? Anyone can call themselves a dog behaviourist. What is their professional membership body?

Hoppinggreen · 18/03/2026 09:48

I have a wonderful 10 year old GR, my 4th one BUT he was a bugger for Resource guarding as a pup. When he was round 10 weeks old he bit me quite badly when I went to put him in his crate to do the school run and he had a chew.
He would steal things and got nuts if you tired to get it off him and I hadn't had anything like that with my previous ones. We tried to manage it for a bit but as he got bigger it got worse and with 2 DC we felt we needed to do something or he had to go. We got specialist help from a Behviourist who taught us how to recognise and manage triggers. The main thing was to back right off if he had something (unless imminent danger) and let him bring the item to us in exchange for cheese, he actually started to drop the item if we said the word Cheese after a while.
He is about 90% solid now but we don't give him anything that he could guard such as bones or chews, although I am pretty confident he would give it to me if I asked. About a year ago someone gave him chew despite being asked not to and he took it into his bed and growled but I sat nearby and asked for it and he came and gave it to me.
I don't think you cure RG but you can manage it pretty well.

Stephiluu · 18/03/2026 12:38

Thanks all. The behaviourist is a Vet behaviourist and was recommended to me by my vet, she uses positive reinforcement and my puppy loves her so that says it all. I got him from a lovely family and the dad was a stud, both mum and dad have champion bloodlines and perfect health, I paid a lot of money to get a well bred golden. He will quite happily trade most items so I know I can manage it

OP posts:
2Pandora · 18/03/2026 12:57

One of my rescue lurchers,who had been very badly treated resource guards food, toys and his bed, when we tried to ‘swop’ for higher value ( lumps of beef) he realised they were kept in the fridge so started guarding that instead of. 🤷‍♀️. No help to you op but still makes me laugh - outwitted by a lurcher !!!!

TheHungryHungryLandsharks · 18/03/2026 14:25

I might sound quite blunt as I tend to be honest about issues like this so apologies in advance if it comes across as a bit short - but it is coming from a place of trying to help, I just think honesty is important.

The bad news: the main issue here if your Golden Retriever puppy wasn't well bred and almost certainly had issues around food before you ever re-homed him. Champion bloodlines and good health do not a good breeder maker. (Were the parents heart tested, out of interest?)

Resource guarding is not unusual with poorly bred Golden Retrievers combined with novice owners as it's hard to spot the warning signs. It's not 'lines' as a PP has suggested where Golden Retrievers have shown guarding issues - it's not hereditary like PRA or dysplasia. It's all down to the breeder or the owner. It's only hereditary in so much as bad breeders breed defective dogs so every dog they breed is likely to have issues.

Sometimes it does come from nowhere, but with a puppy as young as yours...it's a breeder issue. I imagine the instance at the vet just reinforced the behaviour the dog had already learnt with his littermates. So, unfortunately, you didn't start with a 'blank slate' - you started with a puppy who already had issues around food.

The good news: this is only food. No dogs need long lasting treats. They are unnecessary. They do absolutely nothing for the dogs health, wellbeing or mental enrichment. They are a tool used by owners to keep the dog distracted. Training is always a better option (10 minutes 4-5 times a day instead of any 'mental enrichment toys').

So, the answer is: no more chews. No lick matts. No kongs. No pigs ear. Nothing that isn't either a quick treat (bit of chicken etc) when he's done something good, or his dinner. If you continue to give him things that he could guard, it will never improve and it could escalate - including to resource guarding people, toys or other things.

Honestly though (and I genuinely don't say this lightly), but resource guarding in a dog this young, when there's a novice owner at the wheel, is going to be a challenge. I am really sorry because whilst resource guarding can be managed, you're forever going to be on your toes and waiting for something to happen. Resource guarding is one of the hardest things to manage when it comes to dog behaviour, and particularly with Golden Retrievers.

Edit: Just to say, I know the breed really well (I currently have 5 Golden Retrievers and have been breeding for 21 years and my mum bred for 30 years before me, I also do re-homing for my local rescue and show). So the above is based on decades of experience of the breed - not just me mouthing off without knowing what I'm saying! (Which sometimes it does come across as)😃

Hoppinggreen · 18/03/2026 14:30

I agree with everything @TheHungryHungryLandsharks says
Prevention is key to this as I don't think you can ever 100% cure it

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