Resource guarding me?

[opalescent]

I’ve noticed recently that my dog reacts quite badly when my husband gives me a cuddle- she gets very barky and jumps up, and is very agitated. I hadn’t thought much about it (although it annoys my husband 😂), but it’s only just dawned on me that this is probably actually resource guarding? What can I do about this? (She is a 14 month only cocker, and I am very much her main person in the house)

Nope not resource guarding.

Dogs naturally do not like it when dogs or people get close together.

Two dogs getting close together will usually be separated by a third dog coming between them to split them up.

That is what your dog is doing a natural behaviour to split up two people getting close together. They tend to do it more to people they know rather than strangers luckily.

Just drop treats on the floor when your husband approaches and usually your dog will get used to it. There is more you can do if this is not enough.

Oh that's good to know!! Thank you so much, will try the treat idea 😊

Hi,

I agree it doesn't sound like resource guarding but for completely different reason, I have never come across the idea that dogs don't like people or dogs being close (and I've spent the last ten years working as a trainer and behaviourist).

I just think we're quick to label behaviours as resource guarding when there's often a more straight forward explanation. It's difficult to say what the explanation is in this case though without seeing exactly what she's doing and knowing more about the situations this is happening in.

From the description of her behaviour, the two most likely reasons are;

• Attention seeking - she's learnt to jump around and be noisy to get some attention when you're attention has momentarily gone elsewhere. You'll know if it's this one because she will stop when she gets attention (you looking at her or speaking to her etc). It would be unusual though for her to only attention seek in this one situation, does she ever get like this when he's not around? If it is attention seeking, throwing treats at her is not a good idea as this will just reward and encourage it even more. If you think it is just her demanding attention, you want to make sure the noisy annoying behaviours don't get anything from you (even your eye contact) and she only gets your attention when she's doing something you want e.g., being quiet. You can set her up for success with this by giving her a chew or her dinner in a Kong e.g., if you know you're going to have a cuddle watching TV.

• Reactivity towards your husband - she's feeling worried about your husband coming into her space (if she has been sat with you when he comes over for a cuddle) and she is trying to say she wants him to give her some more space. It may be that she's always slightly worried about being around him but she only feels safe enough when you're there to react and attempt to tell him 'give me some space please'. You'll know if it's this one because she will be generally avoidant of him and is unlikely to go to him for cuddles. In this case the suggestion above of throwing some treats could actually help to make her feel more comfortable about being around him. But I would highly recommend working with a CCAB or APBC qualified behaviourist if you do think it's this option as it could easily escalate into something more serious if not handled correctly.

Best of luck :)

Really you do not know about splitting up in dog language?

@PetPositive as a dog trainer and behaviourist you must have studied Turid Rugaas probably got the book on your book shelf - loads on dog splitting in her calming signals book