Citizen science–be there or be square. Researchers from the University of Guelph are conducting a survey about resource guarding in dogs. You can participate by going to this link and filling out the questionnaire. I hope you do–you’ll see why as you read more…
True confessions: I originally tried to take the survey in April, but didn’t finish it. If you’re on Facebook, you can see my post on April 24th about it. In that post I wrote: I took the survey myself and loved the videos that asked the viewer how they categorized what they saw, but got a bit frustrated at the end when the questions began to seem endless, and worse, impossible to answer correctly. (Ex: “How many people did you expose your new pup to at these four different ages: 4-8 weeks, 8 to 12 weeks?”). As if I could remember accurately!
A few Facebook readers commented that they too got a bit frustrated and didn’t finish the survey. Those comments led to a lovely talk with Jacquelyn Jacobs, one of the researchers. Here is what she had to say about the intention and goals of the research:
This particular survey is exploratory and we intend to use the results to inform future, more specific studies on resource guarding risk factors. Our ultimate aim is to help owners identify the behaviour early and give them the tools they need to either manage the behaviour and/or prevent harmful behaviours from occurring.
One of my PhD projects has been the detailed video observation of dogs around resources to describe the different strategies dogs have to control access to a resource/item/object. We’ve identified at least three through this work: 1) avoidance (for example, grabbing an item and running away with it), 2) rapid ingestion (this involves a rapid speed of eating an item, usually a food item but it can be anything the dog chooses to ingest), and 3) aggression (biting and snapping)/threatening behaviour (e.g. growling, freezing, hard stare, teeth baring). One of the things we hope will come across in the results of the large risk factor survey is the relationship between some of these different resource control strategies. In the future we hope to determine if some dogs are more or less predisposed to showing one form over another, and if so, can we do something to encourage the expression of the non-aggressive forms instead of the aggressive forms (since it is a natural behaviour, generally speaking) and help owners to recognize them and respond appropriately?
These are great goals, and I hope that you seriously consider taking the survey yourself. (I took it again recently, and finished this time. Good Trisha, Good Trisha. More on that below.) Before you do, here are some things to know:
The length of the survey: You are warned that the survey takes about 30 minutes to complete. Mea culpa; I didn’t believe it. I usually breeze through surveys in half the time that is allotted, and started mine under the dryer at the hair salon. Twenty minutes in, my hair dresser was standing over me, waiting for me to finish. I could have simply gone back to the survey and finished it later, an option anyone has, but for reasons not known to womankind, I didn’t take it. Actually, I think I do know why–see next issue.)
Being asked questions you can’t answer: That, in truth, is probably why I got out of the survey the first time. I knew there was no way I could accurately say how many people that Willie had met almost nine years ago when he was eight weeks old. But Jacquelyn reminded me that one can always choose an option that says Unsure, which is what I should have done. I do worry, however, and I expressed this concern to Ms. Jacobs, that some people would guess, but not with any accuracy. We all know that memories aren’t always accurate. I would predict that people would guess that their dog met more new people than they actually did, just like people claim to eat more fruits and vegetables than they actually do. But Jacquelyn is aware of this problem, and it is only a small section of the survey. Now that I’ve had time to think about it (and am no longer under the hair dryer at the beauty salon), I wouldn’t let it be a reason to give up on the survey.
The videos: Bear in mind that the videos illustrate a dog responding to an Assessa-Hand. You first watch the videos that categorize different types of resource guarding behavior. Then you watch other videos of the same situation, and are asked to categorize what you saw. This is a way for the researchers to get an idea of how effective watching videos are at educating people about canine behavior around resources. (This is, of course, analyzed with the respondent’s level of experience around dogs as another factor.) I love this section of the survey, both because it’s great fun and because it should provide some great data. However, do NOT get caught up on the issue of whether Assessa-Hands are appropriate ways to evaluate dogs in shelters. This study has nothing to do with that: They are simply using the videos as a way to categorize the different ways dogs respond around a resource. There is even a disclaimer (good for them), that says ***Please do not ever attempt the types of manipulations seen in the videos with your own dog.*** So, please don’t get off track about the use of Assessa-Hands; the issue is resource guarding and how dogs do it.
After talking with Ms. Jacobs, I took the test, this time for Maggie. (You can do it for only one, or all of your dogs.) It took me 25 minutes, far more enjoyably than the first time, because I started when I could focus on it for the time allotted. However, it didn’t take 30 minutes, because I got Maggie when she was over a year old, and so was not asked any questions about her early socialization. The only questions I still found troublesome include one question that asked me choose one of three options regarding my relationship with my dogs. There was no “None of the Above” choice, and I found it difficult to choose. But you can always skip it and move on. The other minor issue was the set of questions about training methodologies. Since, in Maggie’s case, they related to our work with another (sheepdog) trainer, I again had questions I couldn’t answer–like the one that asked if I and the trainer used “treats” (versus punishment), but there was no category for “positive reinforcement.”
So, is it a perfect survey? No. Is it worth taking? Absolutely! There will be a lot of great data that they can take out of it. I hope you jump in and take it yourself. Right now they have about 2,700 completed surveys, but want 4,000 in total. They need them all by August 1st, so jump on board and add your experience to the data set. For now, I’d love to hear about your own experience with resource guarding dogs, especially in relation to the categories mentioned above (avoidance, gulping food, or aggressive/threatening behavior). Right now I’m a lucky woman, and have no issues between any of my three dogs. If you do, or want to learn more about resource guarding in general, I wrote an extensive blog about the issue in May of 2013. Don’t hesitate to refer to that if you haven’t seen it and would like to learn more.)
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: The BCs and I spent two heavenly days at a Scott Glen sheepdog clinic. If only a person could clone a mini version of Scott and keep it on one’s shoulder for the next 6 months. We all learned tons. including that my whistle signals are, uh, weak. The irony of this will not escape you if you know that my master’s thesis was on the whistle signals of sheepdog handlers. Sigh.
Here’s a photo I took on Sunday. Apologies to FB readers, I already posted it there, but I do love it…
Sunday I spent most of the day digging up chest high-poison ivy (poor Jim got a big dose of it a few days ago), clearing thorny raspberry bushes (ouch) and pulling up Virginia stick seed, the worst burr ever known to fur. All in sauna-like conditions. Ah, the fun of living in the country. It’s astounding how much grows that you really, really don’t want around. And that you have to get rid of when it’s especially hot and humid.
But here is one of the joys of living in the country: Check out this butterfly, looking toward the right in the photograph.
But, no, it’s not. The eye spot and wing extensions are there to confuse predators. Look carefully at the left and you’ll see the real head, along with the insect’s black and white antenna. I never would have seen this wonderful creature if I hadn’t been chest deep in raspberry bushes and pulling vines out of my wild plum trees. Check out this article on faking out predators, which includes a video of a somewhat similar-looking (Lycaenid) butterfly that also moves its wings back and forth to attract attention away from its head. Anyone know the species ID of the one in my yard? I’m in Wisconsin, so don’t go guessing a species that’s common in Thailand! I look forward to learning more about this lovely creature.
em says
It’s a hairstreak! The butterfly, that is. Probably a Banded Hairstreak, but I confess that I have a hard time telling them from Hickory Hairstreaks.
Like you, I’m very lucky to have two dogs with no guarding issues, but I’m intrigued by the survey(though i’m not certain how fully I could answer since I knew neither of my dogs from puppyhood).
Lovely photo of the dogs, and congrats on a crummy task completed – I know the aggravation of digging out thorn bushes (rugosa roses in my case) only too well. 🙂
Lila says
We recently adopted another dog, Marley, and I noticed right away she has resource guarding issues with our first dog Badger- she growls at him if he goes near her crate, moreso if she has a treat in there (and she hoards treats rather than eating them right away). She’ll also growl at him if she’s on a lap and he gets close. We definitely need to work on the lap-guarding, because that is not okay. She’s very submissive with people, and I’m not sure how to deal with dog-dog guarding.
But reading the quote from Jacquelyn was very informative, because I realized that Badger also does some resource guarding – he’ll grab up a chew from the floor and run away with it if he sees me reach to pick it up. He does the same with toys, but mostly in the context of playing, and he knows “wait” in that context. (I just realized that I should start using “wait” with chews too, and giving them back as the reward).
I’ll add this to the list of things I need to work on with them… it seems like as soon as we start seeing improvement with one issue (Marley gets overly excited about everything, and she’s starting to learn that I want a “sit” rather than a “jump up and down crazily” at meal or walk times), there are other issues to work on. So it goes.
Trisha says
em: Could you come over and dig out the rose bushes? We have them too, just haven’t even gotten to them yet. Jeesh. I am beginning to yearn for winter. Seriously.
And do fill out the survey. If you got your dog after puppyhood you simply aren’t asked those questions. (I should have been more clear about that.)
Barb Stanek says
Sigh. I “should” fill out the questionnaire. Alas, thinking about “talking about” my dog and resource guarding is daunting. There was another incident this morning. Although things are much better than they were at the beginning, living with this is wearing. There is aggression, and the resource guarding is only over me and with my other dog.
But since your warned me about the questionnaire, and perhaps my dog’s experience will provide just the help that someone else needs, I’ll fill it out. Thanks for the heads up about it. Off I go!
LisaW says
Best line of the week so far: ” . . . but I confess that I have a hard time telling them from Hickory Hairstreaks.”
Made me laugh out loud and I’m still chuckling. Thanks, em.
I started the survey but there are several answers that do not come close to fitting my situation/answers. Not sure how to address that and still have it be valuable to the researchers. There would be many unanswered sections. Both our dogs came to us after puppyhood with no known history.
Monika & Sam says
Sam couldn’t guard anything if his life depending on it! I have had other dogs (notably shelter rescues) however that had severe resource guarding. One poor OES has been lost in a national park and needed to hunt his food so I kind of made allowances for him (though he had tons of other issues related to how he’d been treated by the previous owner). In the end all I wanted to do was help him feel like a normal dog, rather than a traumatized, overstressed canine. Eventually he was returned to the breed rescue as his size was so large, I was afraid I’d be pulled down and injured whenever he went after food (i.e. squirrels, cats, runners, men) due to his large size. He eventually went to a family who lived in the country and while his remaining days weren’t perfect (poor thing suffered from PTSD so badly), I think his new family did the best they could. Sometimes we just can’t save them all. 🙁
P.S. Your two in the meadow look so sweet, love that ‘ear action.’
Mary Keebler says
I took the survey mostly about Zeke, my only real resource guarder – but otherwise a laid back, sweet tempered hound. Then I was asked about my other dogs, and one of my others is a loony tune – but not a resource guarder. I kept giving the correct answers, which made Wendy sound like this amazing, wonderful dog, and thinking “But she’s crazy! She is untrustworthy with other dogs (except Zeke) and with cats! She barks at people like she is going to eat them!” But, by golly, she is NOT a resource guarder! And I do love her.
Margaret McLaughlin says
A couple of questions.
Do they want info on dogs who are NOT resource guarders? I’ve never had one.
Unless–question 2. I got a guide dog puppy at 5m to finish raising, & she was a hard-core thief. I saw it as purely an attention-seeking device–she would snatch high-value-to-humans objects, like shoes or kitchen linens, & dance around just out of reach. Trading post did not work, since the potential thrill of the chase outweighed treats, & she’d obviously had a lot of that reinforcement in her first raiser home. The school told me to ignore the behavior unless she had something really dangerous, & instead ask my own dog for behaviors that I could click & treat. Worked perfectly–as soon as Shelby saw Nina being reinforced the stolen object lost value & the treat acquired value, & she would drop the object & start to offer behaviors.
Point of this ramble is that I never saw this as resource guarding, & still don’t. Am I wrong?
Beth says
Interesting. I may try to find the time somewhere to take the survey.
Maddie does not resource guard at all, as far as I have seen.
Jack is a mostly peaceful soul who doesn’t want to fight but also really, really likes his stuff and has a strong sense of “mine!”. What I find interesting is that I see the three strategies outlined above as points on a continuum, not distinct strategies.
With items that are easy to carry (large treats, a favorite toy), Jack’s first choice is “avoidance.” He will go to great lengths to avoid, moving his prize multiple times if an interloper is interested.
With items that aren’t easy to carry (a bowl of kibble), he tries “eat faster.”
But if the interloper persists, despite his strategy, he will escalate to “aggression” (hard stare, lunge-bark). We of course try to avoid these situations.
The problem with aggression as a strategy (besides the obvious risks of an all-out fight) is you run the risk of losing your prize if you open your mouth to make good on the hard stare’s promise…. so a smart dog may use aggression as a last resort.
Other dogs may not display all behaviors on the continuum, but I always saw one as the logical progression of the other rather than a separate strategy.
Beth says
Another point I find interesting is this: Jack will guard stuff he thinks as “his” but not stuff he thinks of as “ours” (the people’s stuff), even if it’s higher value.
So if Maddie tries to stick her head in Jack’s food bowl, he will chase her off. But we can give them the mixing bowl from chicken salad to lick and they will both cheerfully stuff their faces in the same bowl and eat at the same time, even though this is a higher value item for them.
Also, if we don’t watch, now that Maddie is getting old Jack will try to push her away from her food bowl if he finishes his first, but he never uses any aggressive posturing to do so at all. He just walks over and starts to eat (she would give up and walk away if we didn’t referee). So if she walks to his bowl, he growls but if he walks to hers, he does not.
It does seem that at least some dogs have some sense of what is “theirs” to be guarded and what is not and can’t be.
Kat says
I took the survey when I saw you mention it on Facebook. Both mine were adopted at a year old so I got to skip all the puppy questions. Finna, does however, have resource guarding issues from time to time. They really only show up these days when she’s in pain. They were actually more of an issue when we adopted her than I realized at the time. She was such a white hot mess in all regards that the resource guarding didn’t really stand out as the highest priority for fixing. Fortunately Ranger mostly dealt with that issue while I worked on other things. Anytime she would resource guard anything from him he’d disappear it first opportunity. He’d take whatever it was she’d been guarding from him outside and bury it in the yard. She never tried to guard her antler chew and he never touched it. She apparently grasped the idea fairly quickly and stopped guarding her stuff from him. My biggest problem with the survey is that there was no way to express the above when the questions asked about how I handled resource guarding issues. And there was the how often did you do this section where the available answers didn’t match what I’d done. I hand fed both my dogs often when they were first adopted. It was a way to bond with them but also for Finna especially to make sure hands by the food bowl were associated with good things rather than perceived as a threat. The choices for how often did you feed your dog by hand, as I recall, were daily, weekly, monthly. I did it several times a week for several months but not every day. I finally decided daily came closer to reality than weekly so used that answer. Loved the video section as well.
julie says
The survey takes about 2 seconds if you answer “No” to the “Do you currently own a dog?” question.
Susan Whelan says
I have two standard poodles and a Jack Russell and luckily, none of them are resource guarders…except…the poodle pup is a year and a half old and he resource guards people’s attention. He absolutely loves people, any people, and if they are making a fuss of him and another dog tries to get a little attention, he’ll growl at them. It would be rather funny if it wasn’t for the fact that it is a true case of resource guarding only in a different form and he’s gone as far as the air snapping to chase the other dogs away from the person giving him some love. He’s okay with me and the two at home, doing a hip check or just shoving his big head in between. It’s only when we’re out that I see this kind of silliness but he’s a big strong dog and I don’t want another dog to take offense and have it get serious so it’s going to take some work. Just thought you might like to hear about a different kind of “get lost, it’s MINE!”
Kathleen Bullard says
Six months after we adopted our little rescue, our neighbors adopted one. They are pretty well matched in size although Rosie is a bit younger and taller (and white) while Blake is stockier (and black). So cute together! They love playing with each other and after Rosie broke her leg leaping off a fence into our yard, my neighbor and I created a gate in the fence so that they could visit each other whenever they want (and close it when we want).
They exhibit resource guarding but it looks like play to me. Favorite games are snatching toys from each other’s houses and immediately taking them home, and especially stealing those antlers that are popular now. But either one will soon tire of the game and let the other have it, or they both just drop it and go on to something else. They bark and growl a bit but always with a play bow so I don’t worry about it. If its dinnertime they may eat at each other’s houses, but there is never any resource guarding around the food, again so I don’t worry about it.
It’s so hard not to anthropomorphize behaviors but this really looks like fun play, not aggression to me!
Jules says
Rather off-topic, but is your thesis about whistle signals somewhere available? :$
Robin says
I did take the survey, and found it to be just as lengthy as suggested, but interesting. There were some questions that I felt I didn’t have an adequate answer to choose from, but took advantage of the n/a option!
It really gave me another way of looking at my dog’s behaviour. She’s a very fearful dog with an unknown history , so I was not surprised at her resource guarding. I am glad to see that she is progressing slowly, at least with family. We could get down and eat with her out of her bowl and she’d just carry on, I think!
The videos were great, IMHO, they gave a good visual of different responses. I didn’t really notice the hand, ha-ha isn’t that funny? I was concentrating so much on the dogs (fear of a pop quiz somehow intruded), they were all I noticed.
It was enjoyable and educational.
Is there a “like” button? Haha
Frances says
I have done the survey for both my dogs, but like others struggled to find answers that fitted their behaviour. I have had them from pups, but really cannot remember how many people and dogs they met at each stage, so had to answer “unsure”. Both are tiny, so are understandably wary of big bouncy dogs, but whether this constitutes mild fear or moderate fear is a difficult judgement call! Both will play keep away with toys to instigate a game, but when played with a toy it means Mine! And very, very occasionally they will squabble over a really good treat or chew, when it is not clearly identified as being for one or the other, or the mat they are chewing on is too small for sufficient distance between them. I would have liked to have been able to explain that Poppy could easily have turned into a full blown resource guarder – she tried to guard my lap, and will still take toys off to a safe spot and lie on top of them – but I nipped the lap business in the bud by praising and rewarding her for moving over and making space, and putting her down on the floor if she continued to grumble. And Sophy has very little interest in toys, so there is little point in guarding them. And Sophy can control half the room without even lifting an eyebrow. And… and… and… I hate trying to fit the endlessly fascinating behaviour of my dogs into a limited range of check boxes!
Samantha McCollough says
My 5-year-old GSP displays inappropriate resource guarding. It is interesting to note how she responds differently to each dog, though. With my senior dog, who she was raised with, she rarely displays any guarding at all, unless he approaches her while sleeping (less resource guarding and more of a learned fear response to dogs approaching due to being involved in several attacks in her lifetime). With our new puppies, she aggressively guards her crate, bed, food, anything in the vicinity when the puppies are around. We have been scrambling to try and counter-condition her but it has been difficult to manage along with everything else our zoo of a doghouse requires. Happy to see this research being conducted and looking forward to the results.
HFR says
I’m definitely going to try and take the survey.
I have one dog that doesn’t resource guard at all and the other does a bit. But here’s the funny thing, it’s a game to her. She’s not a player at all, never has been. But her favorite thing to do is have a ball or something valuable between her front paws while she is laying down and just wait for some other dog to come near it. If they do, she lets out a low growl (no lip lifting, etc). If they go away, she’ll just wait for someone else to come near. If the other dog is brave and tries to grab it anyway, she will quickly grab it while growling. It took me forever to figure out that this was fun for her. It was a favorite thing for her to do in the dog park (when we used to go). She never got in a fight with another dog over it, it seems most dogs knew she was playing, or at least respected her game. There was always that danger that some other dog would not get the message that she was playing and a fight could break out (she has never started a fight, but will gladly join in if asked) so I always kept a close eye on it.
When my younger dog was a pup, she would hold the very end of a bully stick in her mouth. My pup would come over and start to gnaw on the other end, while she held the stick. She would growl the entire time (that low growl from her throat) while he was chewing on the stick that she held in her mouth. It was clear she was in heaven. Strangest thing I ever saw.
To this day, if he goes too near anything that she doesn’t want him to have she’ll growl and sometimes let out a sharp bark, but he completely respects her and will stand there staring at it until she gets up and he can have it.
I’ve learned not to get involved in their “negotiations” and I think that’s helped them work out their language, as it were. They’ve never fought but that’s because my younger dog knows his role. Even now that she is 15 years old and he is more than twice her size, he gives her her space.
Oh, and she lets me take whatever I want from her. I wouldn’t have been so easy going about it otherwise, I don’t think.
Nic1 says
Trisha – I am so impressed at your ability to prioritize time at the beauty salon whilst also clearing acres of land, educating us all on your blog, writing your lifetime memoirs, working your dogs. I don’t know how you fit it all in! Although you did multi task with the survey at the salon – good thinking! I have many hours travelling next week so that may well be a good opportunity to complete it…
I do think that genetics has such an important role here. If we continue to select dogs to breed as companions and pets in the way that we do, then isn’t RG something that is quite possibly inevitable in some dogs and in particular, Guarding Breeds? 🙂
So, to me I think a tendency to RG is just normal behaviour for a typical dog, but inappropriate for us when we want dogs to just relinquish stuff without a fuss that happens to be important to them. That’s dried out Cat poop, brand new squeaky tennis balls and hedgehogs in my case.
My view is that although RG is treatable, the baseline tendency or a genetic set point will always exist – it’s just educating people with skills to prevent an escalation into learned aggression and hopefully nipping it in the bud.
I’m fortunate in that I don’t have any full blown RG issues, but just because my girl has not displayed the behaviour in our home, if she was managed and handled differently, it could certainly escalate.
Btw, I just love Maggie’s ears and as for Willie…. Doesn’t he look so well and contented in that photo? Ear scratches to them both.
Vic Neumann says
My recent experience with resource guarding comes entirely from one of my friend’s Great Dane females, Sophie. Both Danes spend a great deal of time hiking and playing with our three Leos and there’s never a problem until this happens:
Knowing that it’s better to separate them while they’re chasing their own balls on the empty soccer field, we give them all a dozen or two throws and then head off into the woods together. My older male, Vikahn, loves to bring his ball into the river so that’s never a problem as he’s apart from Sophie who barely likes to get her toes wet. So last Saturday, as we continued on our hike, Vikahn comes out of the river and drops his ball while going after a new scent. Sophie quickly grabs it, but that’s no problem for Vikahn and never has been even though his a fanatic ball chaser.
A couple of minutes later Sophie drops the ball and Tom picks it up to put into his pocket for the rest of the hike and he purposefully did it just at that moment because no other dogs were around. But the wet ball slipped out of his hand and the transfer to his pocket took longer than anticipated. During that time, Vikahn’s son, Yulee – a year and a half 150 pound Leo was strolling by minding his own business and BAM, Sophie goes after him!
No harm, other than ruffled feathers and it was over as soon as it started, but this was her typical behavior for years now. If she had a ball or other object in her mouth and then it was dropped or taken away, she would go after the closest canine at that moment (but interestingly never Cassie, our smaller, 11 year old matriarch, who Sadie respects and fears).
Knowing this is her MO, we’re usually very careful about creating the potential situation that I described above – but best laid plans…
Two seconds later, Yulee and Sadie are running together in the woods and all is forgotten – until and if there is another goof by a human.
em says
@Trisha: Ha! Digging out rose bushes is not something I’m anxious ever to do again- thick gloves, long loppers, and a trusty pickaxe are your friends, though.
I did take the survey and found the videos in particular very interesting, though I did stumble on a few questions that seemed impossible to answer, most had helpful write-in boxes for “other” that I made liberal use of.
I did have a general question about guarding behavior after taking the survey and watching the video, though. Namely, are we making any/enough of a distinction between mild but serious guarding and play behavior? I am thinking specifically of the category of “keep away”.
Like Beth, I tend to see freezing, warning postures, growling, and snapping on a continuum- as escalating guarding behaviors. Aggressive defense, if you will. But ‘keep away’ seems like the oddball- I can see how it is very often paired with resource guarding, but it is also a super common element in play. Many dogs who grab and run will never escalate to aggressive behaviors- when a toy is concerned, pursuit is often desired, it seems to me.
I know that dog play behaviors are often inhibited versions of social behaviors (fighting, hunting, so why not resource guarding?) But do studies like this differentiate between behaviors done “in jest” and dogs who honestly want to keep their food or toys away from others and may escalate to aggression if pursued? Even some of the other signs- growling, freezing, etc.- when dogs and toys are involved how should we distinguish between guarding and play behaviors?
For my own answers, I disregarded all the vigorously growly games of tug that Sandy has played in her lifetime, along with Otis’ tendency to grab toys and run with them from other dogs and assumed that the survey wished to know about “serious” guarding behaviors rather than playful ones. But I freely admit that I am judging in part by the outcomes of their behaviors- in years of play, it never HAS escalated to serious guarding aggression- but I know that with some dogs the line is quite a bit blurrier- play aggression CAN tip into serious aggression. What a complicated issue!
Just to throw one more monkey wrench into the mix, I’ll share the one example I can think of where Otis will engage in resource guarding- it’s quite uncommon, but it’s happened on three occasions that I can think of , so I’d say it’s consistent.
If he finds a dead animal at the dog park AND I pick it up (either having taken it from him or pulled it out of a tree (ewww, thanks Ms. Redtail), bag it to carry away AND a STRANGE dog (one he’s met for the first time that day) tries to grab it from ME, Otis will growl, bark, stare and posture at them, coming between me and the other dog and generally acting like a jerk. He won’t pursue or snap at them (I guess- they have always backed off).
So here’s my question-what is motivating him here? He won’t defend any item that he himself is holding with anything more than a subtle freeze and stare, even from a strange dog, and not even that toward familar dogs (any dogs he’s met repeatedly, not necessarily particular playmates). He won’t guard me alone from strange dogs’ approach, either. Is this social policing- he doesn’t like the stranger breaking the rules by trying to snatch at our valuables? Is it simply a cumulative effect of excitement combined with frustration- stranger, high value resource, other dog’s excitement? Is it jealousy at the notion that an outsider might take something he regards as “his”? If so, why is this jealousy restricted to strangers?
I guess the ultimate question in my string of questions is, ‘why are dogs ever willing to share?’ Resource guarding makes perfect logical sense- the real question, I suspect, is what happens, consciously or unconsciously that motivates a dog to override that impulse to defend their possessions.
em says
@LisaW I’m glad you got a kick out of my Hairstreak comment- bug names are the best!
Frances says
I agree that Keep Away, when accompanied by play bows and other play behaviour, seems to me to be very much at the play end of guarding. I am also reminded, by HFR’s comment, of the way my mother’s poodle used to tease the cat. This was 50 years ago, when it was assumed that a dog with a bone or other treasure would guard it, and (as we were repeatedly told as children), it was your fault if you got snapped at for going too close. The dog was Not Allowed to growl at, chase, or otherwise discommode the cat. She was, however, allowed to protect her bones and other chews. She would leave the bone on the middle of the room, and disappear under a chair. Sooner or later the cat would have to walk past to get to the fire, going within the mystical protection zone around the precious object. Cue dog rushing out, growling and teeth bared, to grab the bone away from the oblivious cat. After a few minutes of chewing it, she would replace it in the middle of the room, and retreat under the chair to wait for the cat to go by again. It was more a game than anything else – they would groom each other, take it in turns to yell at the door for someone to open it, and the cat would share bits of the Sunday roast with the dog, dropping them down to her from the top of the freezer that only she could reach. Such a long time ago, and I still miss them both…
Trisha says
em and butterfly ID: Thanks so much! You inspired me–I spent some time (okay, far too much time) trying to figure out the difference between the Banded and Hickory Hairstreaks, but gave up when I read this about discriminating between the species:
“Photographs or a good sight view may yield an accurate identification in perhaps 80% of cases, but genitalic dissection is required for a fully reliable diagnosis (Klots 1961; Nelson 2004).”
Genitalic dissection will just have to wait.
Trisha says
To all of those who have written in with resource guarding issues, you might want to read the article I posted in May of 2013. There is also a a very clear and specific book about using counter conditioning to treat it, title Mine!, by Jean Donaldson.
To all who have dogs who aren’t resource guarders: Yes yes, they definitely want data on those dogs too. None of my dogs are RG’s, but I still filled out the survey. Comparative data is always valuable: For example, if they are looking for a breed for sex effect, it could be interesting if they found one group seemed to have a lot of RG’s in it, another not. Of course, then they’d have to do a second study to follow up on the appearance of a group effect, but that’s how research works. One question, a potential answer, which then leads to the next question.
To Margaret and the dancing guide dog puppy: I agree completely that the behavior is not RG. It’s a great fun game to get attention. I’ve seen that in so many smart dogs. (Those are the dogs who inspired to me say “I’m so sorry,” when someone bragged about how smart their dog is.
Trisha says
Beth: I love your description of the continuum of take away, gulp or defend that your dog shows. Food for thought for the researchers, (and all of us) for sure.
Kat: Has Ranger’s IQ been tested? Is he enrolled in the gifted class?
To Susan: Oh yes yes yes, RG’g a human is no different than RG’g a bone. I tell people that you “are your dog’s bone, and there is ONLY ONE of you in the entire world!” No wonder dogs get so possessive!
To Frances, re fitting complicated behavior into boxes. I feel your pain. I did suggest to Jacqueline that they might have been better off asking less, and making it easier to categorize behaviors.
Trisha says
HFR: Great story about the RG game. I guess any social animal can turn something into a game, hey? I love that other dogs seem to get the message. This reminds me of a female BC I had, Bess, who was gooey submissive around my other dogs. A female golden retriever came to visit, and I went all melty when Bess picked up one of her toys, took it over to the visitor and dropped it at her feet. When the golden put her head down to sniff the toy, Bess charged at her, growling. I thought her message was clear. “My house. My farm. My toy. Got it?” That’s when I started saying “There’s a reason that bitch is a dirty word.”
To Nic1: I agree that RG is usually treatable, although sometimes it can be tricky in busy households with lots of actors. And you are 100% right that it’s a ‘natural behavior.’ I’ll bet what is also natural is a variation in the population of who is more so than others. We do know that in general, “possession is the law,” in canid societies, which explains an earlier comment that the household dogs could all eat out of the same bowl, but one would RG guard if s/he had something by him/her self.
To em: As usual, brilliant questions. And fascinating behavior of Otis. I have no idea how common that is. And only wild guesses about why he would defend resources that you were holding, but he wasn’t. The “pack back up” theory? That if you are holding it, he acts as your homey–“Tall Two Leg Female has the goods, I’m here as pack back up and more willing to engage if we are acting as a group.” ???
And the ultimate question: Why do dogs ever share? Ah, we could go off on a tangent there. Because they are highly social animals who evolved to hunt as a social group, raise young together and thus exhibit short term altruism for long term gain? Because they, as individuals, hate conflict? Because they just don’t, Scarlet, give a damn? I guess one could ask those questions from a proximate perspective (why did that dog not guard the toy, and what exactly happened cognitively and physiologically for that to happen) and from an ultimate perspective: What evolutionary process have led sharing in canids?
Trisha says
To Vic Neumann: Another fascinating story! I’d classify Sophie as a dog with little frustration tolerance for sure. I’ve seen several dogs like that–they get frustrated by one thing and take it out on the closest possible victim. Funny how we tell stories about someone who can’t go after the mean boss and goes home and ‘kicks the dog.’ Sounds like Sophie knows that story well!
Bruce says
We have been fortunate to avoid resource guarding issues with our various groups of dogs. Pug is a food hog so we feed her separately, but otherwise the pack cheerfully shares toys, crates, beds, treats, and people. I wonder if our frequent dog-sitting helps the home dogs acclimate to sharing resources.
The article did help me notice an interesting behavior last night. Wife was on the couch eating frozen grapes. Red Dog and the Pug wrestled nearby, occasionally sending entreating glances toward the grapes. Samoyed comes over to say “hi” and Red Dog (who usually defers to the older Sammy) plants herself squarely between Sammy and the grapes. Red Dog’s body language seemed to be saying, “If I can’t have any grapes, you sure as heck are not getting any!”
No fireworks, but I will keep an eye out.
[No, the dogs were not getting any of the grapes. Yes, we are aware that grapes have been associated with kidney failure in dogs.]
I love rugosa roses – they smell like cloves crossed with heaven. Trish and Em, why are you digging out one of my favorite plants?
Kat says
The sharing behavior in canines (and felines) is one that I find especially intriguing. Before the advent of Finna stray dogs would always follow Ranger home and not infrequently would actually break into our yard to be with Ranger. There was a Pomeranian and Manchester Terrier duo that were frequent guests. Ranger and the terrier had a great time playing together but the Pom was unhappy about their games and would interrupt them and bark and generally be the fun police. Ranger’s solution was to dig up a bone he’d cached in the yard and drop it at the Pom’s feet. Pom was more than happy to trade his terrier friend for the disgusting bone. It was surprising to me though that Ranger would give such a high value item to another dog.
The pattern of behavior between Finna and The Great Catsby is another one that fascinates me. They figured out how working together they can get the refrigerator open. (all sympathy for living with four very smart critters is welcome). They’ll happily share anything they manage to ‘hunt’ out of the fridge. The’ll also ‘hunt’ anything left on the kitchen counter. More times than I care to admit someone has left a bag of treats out on the counter. The bag will be sealed but there. The Great Catsby will jump on the counter and knock the bag down to Finna who makes short work of it with her bigger teeth and then they share the treats. But let Finna get the bag by herself and no way is she willing to share with the cat. The same is true if Catsby gets it by himself, in that case he won’t share with her. The Great Catsby will, however, share with Ranger under any and all circumstances as far as we’ve observed. If Finna has ‘hunted’ something herself or with Catsby Ranger just avoids whatever she has until she’s sated. Ranger and Catsby never hunt together but when my daughter was being forgetful and not remembering to feed the cats (her responsibility) in a timely fashion Ranger was letting Catsby have several mouthfuls of Ranger’s breakfast before saying “enough” and eating the rest. I actually observed him calling the cat to breakfast during that period. Then daughter got her act together and the sharing of breakfast ended since the cats were once again being fed in a timely manner.
So many fascinating and complex interactions to observe and wonder about.
em says
@Bruce- in my case the rugosa in question was a huuuuge thorny menace right on the edge of our property and hanging into the street snatching at careless walkers and cyclists . My particular thorn hedge didn’t even have pleasant smelling flowers so rather than waging constant battle to keep it contained, out it came.
Never fear, I replanted the area with……ROSES! Domesticated types, though- some lovely Old Garden varieties with a more manageable size and growth habit, planted further back from the street.
Kathy says
I took the survey when you first mentioned it a while ago–on Facebook, maybe?–and found it took me a while longer than 30 minutes. I did it for both my dogs and was also hamstrung by that “how do you regard your dogs?” question. Isn’t that funny, Trisha? That one stuck with me too–none of the options expressed my relationship with my dogs, but I just chose the one that was closest–don’t remember which it was. I recommend taking the survey, not only because it’s helping the researchers, but also because the videos really showed the behaviors clearly, giving me some very helpful comparisons to my own dogs’ behaviors.
Nic1 says
em and Kat, what smart and truly fascinating pets you both have! It strikes me that there is an awful lot of untapped evidence due to the enormous amount of anecdotes people have about their animals. Who was it who said that research is like stories, but with data?
Also, behaviourists, veterinary behaviourists and trainers – what quality of records do you keep on clients? I think this will probably vary enormously due to the level of professionalism they have adopted and what is and isn’t mandatory, but it strikes me that it wouldn’t be too difficult to data mine professional organisations members data, such as the PPG and APDT, for data related to resource guarding.
Breed, sex, spayed or neutered. Age on adoption or purchase, prior experience with dogs, training methodology, multi dog or single dog household, treatment success…etc. This is all information professionals capture yes?
The use of Big Data and data mining is very en vogue in the medical profession. It’s also proving very useful. Why don’t the professional animal behaviourists tap into this? It’s easy to capture data centrally. It would have the potential to be such a rich resource, locally and even globally.
LisaW says
The first few years our dogs lived together they played and shared toys and tugged and ran together. There was an occasional snark from Olive but that was about it. When Olive got injured and was put on restrictions, she became more possessive of her people and space (she couldn’t have toys for quite a long time). The smaller her space and the fewer resources she had the more she guarded what little she did have. Once she was healed and the two dogs could play together again — although not as robustly as in the past — we put out a few toys. One night they were tugging on a stuffed animal and things were getting too rough. We stopped the tug game and went to pick up the toy and Olive went after Phoebe (the peacenik). We tried to slowly reintroduce stuffed toys but they would always start a scuffle. Anything floppy that you can shake in your mouth Olive becomes very possessive over. Bones, balls, chews are no problem. For the most part, furniture, people, spaces are ok, too. But there are certain types of items she guards vigorously.
Prior to our current two dogs, we never had a resource guarder, and we have had many different dogs and pairings. It is interesting to ponder. I, too, like em’s question of why would they share?
Nic1 says
https://www.dogsciencegroup.org/current-projects/
The above link has a list of current worldwide research projects. If you sign up, you can join in.
‘We are an informal bunch of like-minded enthusiasts keen to learn more about the dogs we love. The aim of this website is to put dog people together with professional scientists conducting studies to improve our understanding of the health and behaviour of modern, 21st Century dogs.’
Sounds great!
Laura says
At M and Kat,
As others have already said, what amazing pets you have, particularly their social skills. I would love to just sit and watch them at play or otherwise interacting with other dogs. I don’t think I could complete the survey, as I can’t see well enough to watch the videos, but perhaps with a sighted friend describing to me what the dog is doing I could. I’d love to fill it out, if only to contribute to the research going on. I’ve only encountered a few dogs in my life that resource guarded. the first, was a male golden retriever who guarded his ball from everyone. My Uncle warned us kids, not to take the ball from him and that if he growled at us, it was because we were teasing him and shouldn’t touch his ball. Consequently, I was afraid, a little, of the dog because I didn’t know how close was too close, or if I was doing something wrong. Knowing what I know now about dogs, I think, though my Uncle’s warning not to tease the dog was correct, I believe that the RG behavior could’ve been managed quite nicely instead of just letting the dog have his way.
My childhood dog was only a resource guarder if you kept presenting a toy to him, having him reach for it and then pulling it away. He got sick of the teasing, keep-away game and would nip at us. My parents blamed the dog for this, threatening to “get rid of,” him when he nipped at us kids. Again, looking back as an adult, I would never tolerate that kind of teasing of my dog from my own children. I’ve told my husband, if we are blessed with children and they tease the dog and are snapped at or growled at, frankly that’s the reaction they’re going to get. Of course we would work on the behavior and educate the kids, but to blame the dog for a reaction it’s only having because it’s been teased for 15 minutes is wrong.
My first impulse is to say that none of my guide dogs have ever been resource guarders, but I think they have, in a very mild way. Seamus once snatched a corn cob right out of an open trash can. My brother saw this and immediately grabbed the end of the cob hanging out of Seamus’s mouth. He and the dog both gripped the treasure, my brother saying “drop it,” in a loud, serious voice. seamus’s reaction was histarical and I still chuckle at it. He just stood there, happily swishing his tail back and forth and, doggedly, Punn intended, holding onto that corn cob. I was surprised to see him still happy, ears up and tail waving, but never releasing the cob. That’s all he did, and only relinquished the cob when we pryed his jaws open. I could feel the joy coming from him, as if he was saying, “This is the greatest game ever. Not only do I have this great thing and bye the way it’s mine, but you’re playing tug… awesome!” When ever I take something from him, whether he should have it or not, he gives it up and doesn’t try to get it back unless I offer it to him again. I know we can work on his “out,” cue, the dog will do anything for food, but that’s the most guarding behavior I’ve seen from him. When it comes to other dogs and toys, all of my dogs have shared nicely, but they are taught this behavior in the kennels at guide dog school. An instructor once told me that they have what are called “Toy days.” A day where they bring the new dogs in training into the kennel and they give them toys. Sharing is reinforced, scuffles are not and over time, they learn to give up toys without any fuss. My first dog was a toy stealer. He’d just walk up to another dog, usually the guide of a friend and take the toy. All guide dogs I’ve met seem to have the same expression on their face when this happens. I’ve been told it looks like, “Ok… I guess you can have it, but I really wanted that.” He learned his lesson though, once he was retired. Of course this happened when I wasn’t with him… sigh. My Uncle asked if he could take him for a walk and I said yes. He took him down to our relatives’ property and they had their pet dog there. Marlin tried to take a toy and got a nip in the cheek for it. He didn’t respond aggressively, only jumped back and looked confused, but I didn’t like it that my Uncle had put him in a position to get bit. I felt I should’ve been there, but I didn’t know my relatives were even up at their cabin the same time we were at ours. I think my dogs expect that all other dogs will share toys as easily as their guide dog friends, but it’s not true. Now, if Seamus is bugging another dog for a toy, I say no to him and give him his own toy, even if it’s another guide dog he knows well. I feel it’s only right for the other dog to have it’s toy because Seamus can always get another one. When other dogs Rg in front of him, Seamus is the most laid back in his response. My mother in law has a little Chiwawa-Paum mix, who RGs her. Get Foxie on my lap or my husband’s and Seamus can come up for pets just fine, but have her on my mother in law’s lap and the growling and barking immediately starts. The first time I saw Seamus approach for attention and Foxie started in on him, I didn’t know what his reaction would be, but he just looked at her as if to say, “Really?” and walked away, making himself comfortable on the couch beside me. Perhaps, when we’re down for a visit in a week or so, Mama Ann will let me work with Foxie a little to help her work past this behavior. She’s a good dog.
HFR says
In reference to why dogs share…Just this morning I was listening to a rebroadcast of a TED radio hour titled “Animals and Us”. The last segment was about animals and their morality or lack thereof. The professor (of course I can’t remember his name, but he was supposedly one of the first to look at traits other than violence in animals that may indicate human primal behaviors), talked about how altruism, sharing, etc, are also natural traits in the wild. He told this lovely story of how in the group of chimps they were studying, there was an elderly female who was physically limited by arthritis. The younger members of the group would often go to the fountain (which was a long walk for her), talk a drink and then come back to the older girl and feed her water from their mouths. Or when she tried to climb up on a branch they would push her up to help her climb. The younger chimps received no rewards for this, they just seemed to do it out of altruism. It’s so lovely to think about, isn’t it?
Trisha says
HFR: I’ll bet the TED talk was from Frans de Waal, yes? Brilliant researcher and intellect (used to be here at UW-Madison, we miss him! Full disclosure: I count him as a friend, lucky me, so I’m not completely objective, but then.. who ever is? If anyone reading this hasn’t read his books yet, I highly recommend them. Just google his name…
Rebecca Rice says
I took the survey, and, since Trisha had posted the bit about it being (essentially) a feasibility study of the study design, sent my comments on the questions and the difficulty in answering them to the researcher. I tend to do that on tests where I can: point out the assumptions (you are asking this question with a preconceived idea of the situation, and it doesn’t always fit), spots where greater clarity is required, or where more or less granularity is helpful. Assumptions and unrecognized biases tend to be the biggest problems I run across. The later tends to show up in surveys where, probably subconsciously, the asker has a viewpoint about the situation, which makes them color their questions. For example, if you believe that patients should be able to have their physician help them die at end of life, you will phrase your questions with a bias towards “helping is good” and “denying is bad”. (For example: Is it ok to let someone suffer before dying, or should they have access to euthanasia if they request it?) Even the best of us do that, and it is helpful, imo, to get feedback on questions to see where they can be improved before going out to a larger group.
And, I realized when taking the test that I had never considered my dogs’ actions of taking their treats off to their own respective locations (front room and back) to be resource guarding, but thinking about it, it is. What could be more evident than “I’m taking my stuff and leaving”? But since it’s a peaceful sort of guarding, I don’t lump it in with resource guarding, since I tend to think of that as something that can potentially escalate into aggression. Which gets back to my first comment about assumptions and biases.
jackied says
I did it. Interesting how my previously starved dog with neurological problems and complex fear aggression issues has no resource guarding problem at all, while the happy cuddly one does food guard! (Not as much as she used to, since I have been working on it.)
HFR says
Trisha: Yes, that was him! I should have known you’d know him. He was wonderful and explained things so clearly. Clearly a special mind. I will definitely check out his books.
By the way, did the survey. Fun!
Beata says
I have 2 Airedale terriers – 9 yo and 18months old – both raised from 12 weeks old. Luska – the little one has recently developed an aggressive type of resource guarding – only in relation to the older Felek – not humans. It;’s getting progressively worse – with toys, bed, food on MY plate etc. Felek is definitely not interested in fights, so he often turns around/walks away, but sometimes she pounces suddenly and he purely defends himself. He gets quite traumatized by her attacks, so I will have to try to find someone with a good approach and up-to-date knowledge to help. I will definitely fill out the questionnaire as I need to learn as much as I can in any case. I live in Canberra, Australia and there are not many trainers here… Any comments or hints will be greatly appreciated.
Bruce says
Rebecca’s comment about her dogs taking treats to their own locations reminded me of a story. Years ago I had a food-hound beagle mix and a food-indifferent shepherd mix. When given a durable treat, the beagle mix would furiously gnaw away as if her life depended on it, with the goal of reducing the treat to a size that would b-a-r-e-l-y traverse her esophagus.
The shepherd mix, intimidated by the beagle’s furious gnawing, would take his treat out to the garden, dig a hole, and bury the treat, returning to the house with a distinctive brown nose. Beagle mix would eat her treat, sniff shepherd mix’s nose to discern where the treat was buried, dig up the treat, and eat it.
The poor shepherd mix never figured out a more effective strategy. We had to lock him in a bedroom if we wanted him to enjoy his treat.
I suppose that each dog was resource-guarding in his or her way. Fortunately both dogs were good-natured about sharing resources. Other than their first meal together (which is a whole ‘nother story), they never had any resource-related conflicts.
Rachel says
Sieger never exhibited any guarding behaviors until Remus joined the family. Suddenly all the toys in the house had to be in his control all the time, all the people belonged exclusively to him, and anything that Remus showed any interest in became Sieger’s most treasured possession EVER. I did not tolerate this and started working immediately to condition Sieger to allow Remus to have access to his own things. Having Remus eat in his crate for the first several months definitely helped, as Sieger could not access the food bowl. As Sieger has been reinforced for sharing and has bonded with Remus (they’re glued at the hip, more or less), the guarding has become less of an issue. However, Sieger still can’t stand the sight of Remus getting affection in his presence, and will bowl his way into any petting or cuddling that he detects. He also still occasionally tries to steal whatever Remus has, usually when he is “bored” (as he has been this week due to the unusually hot temperatures that are limiting our usual activities).
Remus handles all this with surprising nonchalance. He alternates tactics depending on the situation: if Sieger wants to steal a toy that Remus knows he can find an identical replacement for, he simply lets him have it and goes to find the other one. If Sieger butts in on a belly rub, Remus scoots over and shares (“Mom has enough love for both of us, and look! She has two hands!”). If Sieger hides his stuffed kong and comes to take the one Remus is gnawing, Remus sniffs out the hidden one and empties it for Sieger. If the toy or treat is unique, Remus has jaws of steel and refuses to let go; if Sieger persists, Remus will give a low growl and move to another location. I intervene and redirect Sieger to another activity if he doesn’t get the hint.
When Remus first came to us, he did bolt his food very quickly and would growl at us if we got close to him while he ate. This was short-lived, as we gave him a lot of positive reinforcement for allowing us to move around him and pet him while he ate (with two young kids in the house as well, aggression in the kitchen around food is a no-go). I suspect that the food guarding was a holdover from being with his littermates, and once he realized that we didn’t care that he was eating and weren’t going to swipe his food, it wasn’t necessary to protect it.
In watching the boys interact, I think Sieger is really more of a wanna-bee personality, and Remus just doesn’t care (maybe he’s more confident, but not sure yet, he’s still very young). Sieger appears to enjoy dictating to Remus, and seems to think he’s the boss; his RG behaviors are repeated attempts to assert his top-dog position, which Remus generally isn’t impressed with. Sieger gets a very sheepish look on his face when I catch him stealing and hoarding and tell him to find something else to do. I’m really interested to watch how the interactions change as Remus continues to grow up (he’ll be 8 months old this month).
LisaW says
It seems there are differences between resource guarding dog-to-people versus dog-to-dog. From the stories so far, there is a slight variation in either what resources are worth guarding and/or length of time before guarding was either distinguished or managed when it was dog-to-person guarding. I’m hoping the researchers will look to see if there is a distinction and under what circumstances. Interesting . . .
Frances says
I have been thinking more about resource guarding over the last few days, and one thing that has struck me is the way something that was considered an intrinsic part of dog behaviour when I was young has come to be seen as a behavioural problem 50 years later. When I was a child it was assumed a dog would protect its food or bone – we were taught never to approach a dog when it was eating. A well trained and socialised dog might allow its owner to remove a bone, but certainly would not have been expected to tolerate such behaviour from any other human. And any pup knows that possession gives it the right to protect what it has even from adult dogs, who will usually respect the rule. We now expect that dogs should never toilet where they live no matter how long they have to wait while their owners work all day, never bark at anything we do not consider a threat (while scaring off those things we do), give up anything and everything to any human and never squabble over possessions with another dog, be polite to strange dogs and humans, ignore running prey animals… I would be very interested to get an ethologist’s view on what impact this might be having on our dogs – individually and as a species. Scope for a dozen PhDs, I know!
Ellen Jefferies says
I took it for 3 of our 10 dogs 2 of them litter mates, 3 very different personalities, however…. My answers are worse than useless Since we’re the breeders and start on day one, by the time wee ones are 8 weeks we’ve already got them behaving the way we want so they’ll fit comfortably in a big pack. We also want all the basic training done before they go to new homes. My answers are going to be strange too because we do not take them out and about until they’ve had all shots at 16 weeks, then every day we throw the entire litter in the van, take them to the mall, load them in a shopping cart and take them all over to meet everyone. Of course, meeting the world with the entire litter there, from the safety of a shopping cart, is a far cry from a tiny puppy drug around on the floor at weeks. So much has to do with training, and so little is done these days to teach people how to do it. And on that note, a breeder friend of mine taught her entire litter to get perfect scores on the Volhard puppy aptitude test