Resource guarding in rescue lab

[Bunionbabe]

I wonder if anyone has any advice about a rescue dog we have seen and met ⁰who has been returned to kennels three times over issues with food guarding? He was placed in rescue first time after owners fed him with two small dogs and he growled at them.
Same thing happened with second owners, small dogs, shared food. Third time he did well with new owners until he was left alone in kitchen with a visiting dachsund. There was a fight and dachshund needed vet treatment. So he was sent back to rescue kennels.
The rescue people has warned the owners about his food anxieties but they forgot.
We are experienced lab owners and would like to give him a chance. Nice dog otherwise. Any advice please.

As long as you train him for impulse control so that you can pick up and put down food safely it’s unlikely to be an issue if you don’t have other animals

And never give bones or anything like that.

Number one rule is let the dog eat in peace.

Number two is don't feed anything high value that can't be finished in a few minutes like raw bones, we give rabbit ears as quick treats. He doesn't resource things like buffalo horns.

You'll find good training advice about how to desensitise him and for him to look for you for high value treats when eating but that should be once settled.

Do not go trying to pick his bowl up or you will get bit!

All the issues he was returned for would not have happened if he was left to eat in peace.

Poor boy has been mismanaged in those previous homes. Despite resource guarding being flagged by the rescue they all ‘forgot’ and allowed him to be in a position where he had to resource guard against other dogs.
It wouldn’t worry me to rehome him if I had no other dogs and I’d work on resource guarding at his own pace under behaviourist guidance.

Seems like incredibly bad management to me.
Sounds like he would be best being an only dog.
But with sensible and experienced owners who are aware of the issue, I suspect you won't have any problems or will be able to work through them if you do.

Agree the previous owners in every case have not handled it properly at all!!
Feed him in peace- alone- am assuming you have no other dogs? if not I’d just go ahead. Presumably he is still young and easily trained. I would just be very careful about feeding him alone every time and not giving bones. Have firm boundaries and decent exercise. I’m sure he will be very happy with you!! Sounds like the previous homes didn’t have much experience. Good luck!

Really bad handling previously and pretty easily managed. Much good advice already given. Of all the issues you can have with rescues (I have one!) I would say that this one is pretty mild and one of the easiest to address. The dog eats alone and finishes its food before anyone approaches it or its bowl. And needs to be an only dog.

As long as he's the only dog in the home and you're happy to leave him to eat meals and treats in peace, I can't see the issue.

Lots of dogs don't like to eat around others 🤷‍♀️

I have three rescues. One had terrible resource guarding issues - probably given he was a stray/worried about food, etc. We fed him on his own, away from the others. Left him in peace to eat. That was all that was needed in his case. Over time he has relaxed, realised his food was still there/not getting taken away, etc, and it’s no longer an issue. He’s a wonderful dog. I am sure this guy will be too with a bit of patience and understanding.

Thanks everyone. Dog is 2 and we are currently dog-less after 23 years retired so lots of time and big garden. We had told rescue we couldn't do it but have been rethinking. Not much reassurance from rescue organisation. They just say he has to be exercised away from other dogs andcill always be anxious. Bleak.
Poor boy is still I'm kennels so am tempted to see if they will reconsider us.

Why does he need to be exercised away from other dogs?

Because handling dog aggression out of the home is probably a bigger deal than just having to leave him alone to eat.

Being exercised away from other dogs is a bigger issue than resource guarding.

How would you deal with that? Everyone's situation is different and if you have a big garden/plenty of isolated places to walk him it may not be an issue for you. For me, walking with other dog owners is part of the fun so it wouldn't suit me.

Having to keep him away from other dogs would worry me more than food guarding.

Is he aggressive? Would you need to keep him muzzled and on a lead in public? That does make life very difficult so I would make sure you think about all the consequences of that.

Why’s he to be exercised away from other dogs? Thats a bigger issue.

resource guarding food from other dogs is an easy fix - we’ve never had an issue with it and I still feed my dogs separately.

Agree that being exercised away from other dogs is the bigger issue.
But why are the rescue centre saying this? Is it because of the incident with the dachshund? That wouldn't mean he needed to be exercised away from other dogs necessarily. He'd been set up to fail and unsurprisingly, he did.
I'd be asking them for more info but they sound like a pretty chaotic organisation to me. They've rehomed the dog three times to unsuitable people - presumably they get a payment each time he gets adopted.

If you adopt him, it might be a long hard road ahead of you so you'd have to be prepared for that. But he could well just have 'standard' rehomed dog needs and you get to give a lovely dog the chance he so badly needs.

So also reactive? That's a tougher challenge (my dog had this) but not insurmountable and not as bleak as you may think. You need to commit to counter conditioning training and be really consistent. My dog is no longer reactive but is dog selective so I always need to be wary. But she goes to daycare and has dog friends - something I thought impossible in the early days. The plus points of my girl was that she was very good in the house and good with people and children, so I focused on the good stuff while working on the not so good! It's so rewarding when their behaviour improves.

Last family to take him said he was great with their small kids and we have taken him for a walk on lead and he's taken treats from us, no sign of aggression. We have always had our dogs off lead so want to continue that. Rescue not given any reason for that advice. Need to dig a bit deeper. Dog is a lab so not usually aggressive breed.

Dog was bought as a pup by 'chaotic' family along with his litter mate. They already had two chihuahuas and several children. Food issues started then. They rehomed him with current organisation. Family 2 had a small dog, same issues. Rehomed again. Last family no dogs, 2 kids but visitor brought dachshund one lunchtime. Big fight, dachsund injured and dog rehomed for third time. Yes, stupid people.

Please don't do this, this is exactly how resource guarding is created and worsened. It confirms to the dog that they have something to be worried about.
It can absolutely be managed if the dog is given a safe space to eat alone. A good trainer will be able to help you with management and practicing getting the dog to swap things for higher value treats or toys so you can take things in an emergency

I think the rescue is talking about dog on dog aggression, not dog to human.
I don't mean to be rude but you don't sound very experienced!
Maybe your experience comes from times gone by, dog ownership has changed quite a bit over the years.

I would want to know:

a) had he ever guarded against humans
b) has he ever shown anxiety about humans handling foood/toys around him
c) depending on the answers to the first two, do you have children in the home (as residents or guests)

...and since your update I'd now want to know more about why they want him exercised away from other dogs.

If he has guarded against humans, your management of him would need to be much tighter than if he hasn't. Labs are often scroungers and you need agreed methods of dealing with it when he gets something he shouldn't have and is dangerous to him. Ideally you need the kind of tight management where he nevers gets it to start with.

If he shows signs of anxiety around humans handling items of value, he needs consideration and patience so that it does not get worse and - ideally - gets a bit better with the humans he trusts, at least.

If you regulaerly have children in the home and he shows active guarding against humans, I would reconsider. It can be done, it's hard work and it puts too big a risk there (IMO) right from the off.

Why does he need to be exercised away from other dogs?

There are a lot of variables here, too many to cover off. But I would want to truly understand what's made them say this. Reactivity can sometimes be helped with training but it tends more to be a lifelong 'condition' that you will always be managing and it does change life with the dog. Depending on where you live, it can severely change the walks you can do and when you can do them. Depending on friends and family, it can severely change when you can take the dog visiting and when you can't. And in my experience, it's not unusual for reactivity to also struggle to be left alone (i.e. they suffer from more than one anxiety-related behaviour) and this can make it all doubly difficult. Go into it with eyes open.

Last family to take him said he was great with their small kids and we have taken him for a walk on lead and he's taken treats from us, no sign of aggression. We have always had our dogs off lead so want to continue that.

Some cross posts so a few further thoughts:

1. They all say they are great with kids. Trust me - surprisingly few people can really recognise the early signs of a dog that is not great with kids, so take this with a huge pinch of salt
2. Taking treats from you is not a clear sign he does not guard against humans. It's more likely he learned in a treat giving scenario, the treats only flow one way
3. On lead, off lead - it really depends on the dog, not you. If (for eg) he scavanges and either struggles to hand over objects or swallows them quickly to keep them safe, he may need a lead as manual prevention.

All good signs. He will be highly trainable because of age and breed. Good with kids is a massive plus.
Re off lead exercising you may have to give up on that dream unless you can train a bombproof recall or muzzle train. As I say, I have more or less trained the reactivity out of my dog but would never trust her 100%. She is only off lead in a secure field or on the beach at the crack of dawn.
She can be off lead with dogs at daycare because she knows them and has been introduced gradually.
You have the time and commitment to make this work.
When I got ours I thought 'what the hell have we done', but now she has come so far, I'm thinking - when she goes, will we ever find another dog as good? How things can change...

This! Let a dog eat on its own, in peace.

We had a very gentle dog without resource issues but always fed him outside (except in bad weather) on his own.

If children came over they were told not to disturb him whilst he was eating just as I was told about my grannies dogs when I was a kid.

See the world through his eyes. Maybe at some time he’s had to guard his food or possessions/treats. Feeding him alone undisturbed, away from anyone is the answer?

Poor dog. So many homes.

Disagree. You need to be able to put the food down safely. There is nothing wrong with training the dog to sit until you have done so.