Cross posted in a few groups.
TL;DR: New adopted Alaskan Malemute, 2 years old, adopted twice returned twice, he’s been in my home for 4 days. He displays resource aggression, and has bitten and broken skin in defense of his favored object in those moments. I need the biting to stop, especially since he’s breaking skin every time. Any and all advice welcome.
A few days ago I adopted a beautiful 2 year old Alaskan Malemute from the shelter.
Things have been going wonderful, he’s not too bad on the leash, and picking up on my cues very quickly. For the most part he obeys all leash commands, aside from trying to chase a deer we saw the other day (crazy thing got himself wrapped around a tree) he calmed down quite a bit once it was out of sight.
He knows most basic commands (ie: sit, lay down, ect) and listens to them 4/5 times. He does well with brushing, had his first bath did great with that (until the dryer scared him, but for the most part still very well), he does fantastic in the car.
He does wonderful with other dogs so far, during walks and other strolls he pays them no attention; when I took him to a dark park he was able to be off leash with 3 other dogs and they all played and chased each other around with no signs of aggression.
He’s very sweet, and a wonderful addition to the home. However, I’ve noticed he has pretty significant resource guarding with everything aside from his food. He will steal clothes, toys, dishes, whatever he can grab and becomes exceedingly aggressive if he thinks you want to take them away from him.
This morning my ex husband tried to remove a toy (and this situation was almost completely ex’s fault) and he ended up with a pretty gnarly bite on his arm and a second on his hand, both broke the skin.
Echo had bitten a shelter employee and was put on bite quarantine prior to me adopting him, and that was interpreted to be a result of the similar situation (employee was trying to remove and object echo was currently focused on and he bit the employee, this bite also broke the skin)
I’ve heard resource guarding can’t be eliminated, but that it could be managed, does
anyone have any tips. What is the best way to handle this situation? Does anyone have similar experiences?
It was recommended by one trainer I talked to that I muzzle train him so this “couldn’t” happen. I do plan on muzzle training him for vets and groomer appointments and any other situation that it was 100% necessary. But I know a muzzle won’t help the underlying issue, and I don’t care to have him in a muzzle for significant periods of time.
I’d really love to mitigate this issue as much as I can. Prior to biting he does give off warnings, he doesn’t go straight to biting. He freezes, and gives a few air bites, he doesn’t growl, and rarely barks. Once he does this to me, I normally get down to his level, I sternly tell him to “drop it” and by the second or third time I say it he normally does. I tell him how good he is, and I offer him something that is okay for him to have, or a treat, and slowly remove the other object while he is distracted with the new one.
A few times he’s followed me for the object I was holding, but always obeys when I tell him to sit and has yet to re-take an object.
When is the proper time to intervene during these situations? (I’m assuming it’s during the warning period)
Am I handling it properly in the situations I have described?
Is there something I could be doing different?
He was adopted and returned twice, and I’d really love to be his forever home. But I need to get a handle on the biting, it’s just something I can’t tolerate.
TL;DR: New adopted Alaskan Malemute, 2 years old, adopted twice returned twice, he’s been in my home for 4 days. He displays resource aggression, and has bitten and broken skin in defense of his favored object in those moments. I need the biting to stop, especially since he’s breaking skin every time. Any and all advice welcome.
A few days ago I adopted a beautiful 2 year old Alaskan Malemute from the shelter.
Things have been going wonderful, he’s not too bad on the leash, and picking up on my cues very quickly. For the most part he obeys all leash commands, aside from trying to chase a deer we saw the other day (crazy thing got himself wrapped around a tree) he calmed down quite a bit once it was out of sight.
He knows most basic commands (ie: sit, lay down, ect) and listens to them 4/5 times. He does well with brushing, had his first bath did great with that (until the dryer scared him, but for the most part still very well), he does fantastic in the car.
He does wonderful with other dogs so far, during walks and other strolls he pays them no attention; when I took him to a dark park he was able to be off leash with 3 other dogs and they all played and chased each other around with no signs of aggression.
He’s very sweet, and a wonderful addition to the home. However, I’ve noticed he has pretty significant resource guarding with everything aside from his food. He will steal clothes, toys, dishes, whatever he can grab and becomes exceedingly aggressive if he thinks you want to take them away from him.
This morning my ex husband tried to remove a toy (and this situation was almost completely ex’s fault) and he ended up with a pretty gnarly bite on his arm and a second on his hand, both broke the skin.
Echo had bitten a shelter employee and was put on bite quarantine prior to me adopting him, and that was interpreted to be a result of the similar situation (employee was trying to remove and object echo was currently focused on and he bit the employee, this bite also broke the skin)
I’ve heard resource guarding can’t be eliminated, but that it could be managed, does
anyone have any tips. What is the best way to handle this situation? Does anyone have similar experiences?
It was recommended by one trainer I talked to that I muzzle train him so this “couldn’t” happen. I do plan on muzzle training him for vets and groomer appointments and any other situation that it was 100% necessary. But I know a muzzle won’t help the underlying issue, and I don’t care to have him in a muzzle for significant periods of time.
I’d really love to mitigate this issue as much as I can. Prior to biting he does give off warnings, he doesn’t go straight to biting. He freezes, and gives a few air bites, he doesn’t growl, and rarely barks. Once he does this to me, I normally get down to his level, I sternly tell him to “drop it” and by the second or third time I say it he normally does. I tell him how good he is, and I offer him something that is okay for him to have, or a treat, and slowly remove the other object while he is distracted with the new one.
A few times he’s followed me for the object I was holding, but always obeys when I tell him to sit and has yet to re-take an object.
When is the proper time to intervene during these situations? (I’m assuming it’s during the warning period)
Am I handling it properly in the situations I have described?
Is there something I could be doing different?
He was adopted and returned twice, and I’d really love to be his forever home. But I need to get a handle on the biting, it’s just something I can’t tolerate.
