How to Stop My Dog Being Possessive

Possessive behaviour and resource guarding are phrases that have been used interchangeably by dog professionals for years. A study to define what that means came up with the definition of “the use of avoidance, threatening, or aggressive behaviours by a dog to retain control of food or non-food items in the presence of a person or other animal.”

This means that possessive aggression can occur in a number of different situations. It’s always linked to a resource but those resources can range from food to toys, physical space or even particular people. Sometimes it will happen over their own resources or it can be a new resource they’ve stolen from you which can make it even more valuable. Dog possessive aggression can look different from case to case. Very minimal signs may be just that your pup stops eating or eats faster when you pass their food bowl. These behaviours can develop into becoming avoidant like walking away with whatever resource they’re trying to protect.

If you were to follow them and try and get an item from them, say they stole your shoe and didn’t want to give it back, this is when you might see behavioural signs like teeth baring, growling and snapping. All of these behaviours are to tell you to give them and their resource space and if you don’t listen it can further escalate to bites. The sooner you can address the behaviour, the more likely it will be to work with your pup to irradicate it.

If you want to learn how to stop a dog being possessive, you first need to understand why it occurs. Research has taught us that that while all dogs may have an instinct to protect what is theirs, anxiety is a big factor in what makes them use aggression to protect it. This suggests that like many behavioural issues, genetics plays a big role. An anxious parent will usually pass on some of these traits to puppies. You can prevent creating an environment where a pup might learn to guard their resources, if they are high anxiety, it could still be a risk.

Another risk factor is learned behaviour. A dog’s experiences throughout their life will shape how they behave in the future. Dogs who are around children or who live in multi-dog households are more likely to develop resource guarding issues because their resources are more likely to be removed from them. If you’re eating a slice of pizza and someone walks past and takes it off you, you’re likely to be bewildered the first time it happens. If it happens again you might try to eat it somewhere nice and quiet. If it continues to happen you’re going to become more antsy and potentially even aggressive towards this thief. The same happens with dogs, if they learn that what they have might get taken away then they can become protective if they think their resource might be at risk.

One of the easiest ways to work with possessive behaviours is to prevent them in the first place from ever occurring. There are a few things you can do to make sure your pooch is growing up in an environment where they don’t have to feel like they need to protect resources. First, make sure they have an abundance of what they need. Give them plenty of puppy toys so they aren’t scarce. If they have lots of toys, especially if there are other dogs in the home, they won’t feel the need to protect them. If they don’t have access to one toy they’ll likely just pick up another toy.

Using reward based training to teach your puppies boundaries is important but you and your family should also have boundaries with them. Don’t remove things from them by force. Practices like putting hands in food bowls to show dominance are outdated and can sometimes even be the cause of possessive behaviour. Teaching kids in the house to leave the dog alone if they’re eating means they get to feel safe when they’re doing something important. You can also teach behaviours that will mean you never have to forcibly remove things from your pooch too. Teaching them the cue, “drop it” means that from an early age if they steal something they shouldn’t have you can ask for it back and even reward the behaviour for giving it up with a treat.

Modern dog training techniques mean we work with our pets as family members to live together harmoniously. The days of creating an environment of fear and calling it respect are gone and we have some great, positive ways to communicate with them now. Early learning like puppy socialisation classes and training classes can get you communicating from early on and help their confidence which can help to prevent the behaviour in the first place.

In cases where a dog is an adult and showing possessive behaviours, it has usually had some time to develop and training them becomes more about reshaping how they feel in those situations. How to train a possessive dog is a mixture of reward based training and management. Management might feel like you’re putting a band-aid over the issue but it’s a useful tool in prevention and changing how they feel about situations. If you have a pooch who is aggressive over their food bowl, feeding them in a separate room away from other dogs and people might not feel productive but you’re already teaching them that they won’t be bothered when they eat.

If you want to know how to stop a dog from being possessive over toys with other dogs, you first need to identify if it’s all toys or just ones they consider to be of higher value. If they have a special toy they don’t like to share, this can be removed when playing with other dogs and given to them when they have alone time. Having multiple of the same dog toys might feel silly but it can help to lower the value of a single toy and make your pooch happier to share. Try clearing away all the toys so they can play with their doggy friends without toys for a while. A big part of stopping unwanted behaviour is to break the cycle and prevent them from practicing it. Having playtime with other dogs where they don’t have to worry about their toys means they can start to build trust and bond with their friends again.

Teaching “drop” and using high value treats can help when a dog is possessive over items around you. If they don’t like you being near their food bowl, you can prevent the behaviour from getting worse by giving them space. Working with the behaviour and improving on it means changing how they see your approach to them while they’re eating. From a distance, pass their bowl but as you pass, throw something even nicer than their food towards them like a piece of cheese or ham. After a period of doing this, they’ll start to look forward to your approach so you’re changing the emotion associated with it. For severe cases, getting a professional trainer who uses positive training techniques can really help.

Like most doggy behaviours, there is a line between possessive behaviour being natural and normal and it being an issue. It’s okay for your dog to set boundaries and communicate when they’re being cross. If they’re playing with a toy and another dog snatched it from them, it’s normal behaviour for them to communicate that they didn’t like it. Behaviour like growling if you get too close to something they’re protective over is good in some ways because they’re communicating with you that they’re feeling uncomfortable.

Our furry friends are allowed to have boundaries and perform normal behaviour but we can help in these situations. If an item is stolen and your pup isn’t happy about it, you can either play with them with a new toy, give them a treat or ask the other dog to drop it so they can have it back. Teaching your dog that you are their problem solver means they won’t feel the need to act on it themselves.

Possessiveness is a common issue that can be improved on through training to teach your pooch that you are going to protect them and make sure they have everything they need. Building a strong bond of trust with your furry friend will make it easier to deal with and prevention is always the best form of training.

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