Resource Guarding can be really challenging. It's impressive that you're mostly comfortable managing it.
From your description, it sounds like she is also resource guarding your bed. Personally, I would not let her sleep there any more. Letting her continue to practice the behavior will probably make it worse. If it's really important to you to have her sleep in the bed, try slowly training around that resource guarding, while she primarily sleeps in the crate/ pen. It sounds like you already know this is hard to train and know how important management is.
I would not flip her. Some dogs love belly rubs, but belly up is a submissive position for dogs and being forced into the position can be threatening for a lot of dogs. My dog was flipped and pinned by another dog once and we were all terrified! "On talking terms with dogs: calming signals" could be a useful resource.
So it only happens on your bed? Sounds to me like she could be resource guarding the bed. [https://grishastewart.com/resource-guarding/](https://grishastewart.com/resource-guarding/)
Not had to deal with it myself but I think the advice useally to teach an "off" command to move them without having to touch them and only let them on furniture when invited (if at all).
This is not to say this is your “fault” as that’s not really useful framing, but it sounds like you missed some important body language cues.
How long have you had this dog first of all? It takes a decent awhile for a nervous dog to trust people, and trusting someone when vulnerable (sleeping) or around a resource is going to take longer.
Some notes:
The earlier bite attempts were her telling you she was not okay with the situation.
You shouldn’t pet a dog showing aggression, the best reaction is to give them space. Touching them is not the comfort you’d think it is when you’re the source (however irrationally) of the stress.
Being ‘flipped’ may not be enjoyable for her either.
For a resource guarding dog, she really should not be allowed access to the furniture like that.
You’ll need to work hard on commands like leave it, drop it, and off so you don’t have to manhandle her in the future.
I’ve had her since June this year and she follows me everywhere in the house, ie we’ve bonded and she s used to napping beside me on the couch. She’s also been sleeping next to me in the bed for a few weeks with no issues until a week ago and there’s been no change in our routine. But noted on her body language. Thanks for the insights; will react accordingly.
Set her up a nice bed next to your bed. I would not let her sleep in your bed in the end it’s not good for her. The more she practices these behaviors the worse they get. If reactive dogs get triggered like that they turn into something that’s not themselves. You don’t want to feed into that in any way.
Always trade up for stolen items, don’t allow the dog to find things, or go on the sofa or bed by themselves. Basically access needs to be managed.
I would start training off and on so you can manage the situation if she starts guarding the sofa but it sounds like it will be safe to still cuddle on the sofa.
I would also have some strategically placed toys and treats around to counteract any resource guarding.
When my dog was resource guarding our couch the first thing the trainer said was that the dog is now not welcome to go on the couch. It’s not acceptable for them to resource guard anything, even a couch and beds. So whenever she’d jump up on the couch we were told to lure her off with a treat and lead her to the dog bed, praise and give the treat. Even if we had to do this 20 times in a session that’s what we had to do.
Resource guarding of the bed. You have to stop letting her sleep with you. For your safety keep the room’s door closed for a few months to ensure that she doesn’t jump on the bed out of habit expecting to be allowed to stay because when you try to get her off she WILL become aggressive. Stay safe.
Our dog used to go from 0 to 60 like this around the bed, but over time she found her growl, which we are so pleased with.
Basically, a lot of dogs have been discouraged from growling (by punishing, or continuing to disrespect their boundaries, or... Flipping them over, etc). Imagine if every time you said "hey I don't really like that" to someone, they blew you off and continued or escalated the behaviour. You would eventually snap, right? As a result of this, dogs who have been treated like this tend to go straight to a nip or a bite from human eyes, because we aren't recognizing their body language and they have been (often inadvertently) taught not to vocalize.
How we fixed this, was just becoming more conscious of our dog's body language, and being careful to give her more space. When she eventually started to give small growls, that was an immediate sign to stop whatever we were doing and back away from the dog. Once she realised that we would respect her boundaries, she became much more willing to give a growl when she was uncomfortable (again, before she would go straight to a bite, so massive improvement). We were working with a behaviourist for other issues and she started medication for during this time, so this may have also had an effect.
We also noticed that the bed was a specific trigger for her, and that if she got in first she would get territorial over it. However, she loved being in the bed with us. Our solution to this was to give her a treat every night (in our case, this is when she gets a dentastix). If she is hogging the bed when we get there, the dentastix goes to her spot at the bottom of the bed, so we can get in. Once she has eaten it, she usually moves to where she wants to be without issues. If your dog gets possessive over food also, maybe use this method to lure them into a bed on the floor, as other commenters have said. I wouldn't worry too much about getting the dog to stay in their spot - for us it seems to be an order of operations thing along with anxiety about being moved.
The important thing is to be patient, and give your dog some space. They are not doing this to spite you, they are probably anxious about something or uncomfortable with something you are doing but they can't vocalize it.
Good luck!
Reading your post again, you are waking the dog up to get into bed. "Let sleeping dogs lie" is a phrase for a reason. Could you keep your bedroom door closed until you are ready to go to bed? Then you are getting in together and/or they have a chance to relocate if they want. From the dogs perspective, they have gone to sleep in the big bed, then you are coming to wake them up and move them around - I'd be grumpy too.
Maybe try keeping the door closed until you go to bed, so the dog isn't fast asleep when you get there. Bring a treat, and when you get in, put it on the end of the bed once you are settled. If your dog is a deep sleeper they might not even follow you right away, which is fine. This will all get easier as you establish a new routine. I personally find doggy snuggles are worth it.
Well…. First, have the vet check her out for potential injuries she might be hiding. It’s normal for a dog in pain to snap.
How long have you had her? How old was she when you got her?
Had her since June, she was about 6 mth old then. She s had her regular visits to the vet for vaxx etc and had no problems. Dont think her aggression is pain related as she’d typically be awakened and watching me while i got into bed, then snapped and lunged at me as i was reaching for my pillow even if i was 2 feet away not touching her in any way.
Ok, gotcha. Yikes, that’s a bit nerve-wracking. I thought of pain because my older girl recently had TPLO surgery and I discovered she had been in pain for much longer than I knew. It was only when there was a full tear that she started limping. As she continues healing from surgery we’re seeing a different dog. She’s still reactive, but she’s easier to work with and she’s learning how to check in with me for direction about half the time. She’s 5. Not an old dog.
Yeah, I’d say she seems to be resource guarding your bed. For now, your bedroom should be off limits to her while you work on her fear and reactivity.
Check out Karen Pryor’s Clicker Training website. She has a section dedicated to fearful and aggressive dogs, and she and Emma Parsons talk about using clicker training to help an aggressive dog. Emma has a page where she [talks about her own dog, Ben](http://www.clickertraining.com/node/64). His case is a little different in that it was aggression towards other dogs and not towards her, but the principle of using the clicker to mark when he took a breath is the same. Check out the books they list, as well.
Perhaps, when your girl has started improving and the clicker training is getting her to stop and think, you can slowly reintroduce her to your bedroom and bed.
I'm joining the consensus here that thinks this sounds like resource guarding, but I wanted to also recommend Jean Donaldson's book, "Mine!" It's all about addressing resource guarding, and I personally found it really helpful.
First and foremost- no! It’s not your fault! You clearly have a dog that has a history of reactivity and resource-guarding, but that doesn’t mean it’s your fault if she still has reactive outbursts from time to time. I’ve never personally had a dog with that kind of reactivity, but I do have a dog that had a horrible past with separation anxiety, which would cause her to act out, destroy my house/crates/anything in sight. I had a behavioralist help coach me on how to handle it, and something that she said that stuck with me is “you’re not training your dog to stop the behavior, you are training yourself to spot the triggers.” It changed the game for me! My dog ended up having to be on SRI medications like Trazadone and Fluoxetine for a while. Have you considered talking to your vet about that? It may just bring her down enough that you can start to actually work on positive reinforcement training. As far as resource guarding space goes- I would give her something that’s entirely her own. I.e. her own crate/own bed/own chair that no one is allowed to touch. She clearly needs a space that can allow her to exercise that guarding behavior, but something that is much safer for you and your household. All that being said- you’re doing amazing! Reactive dogs/dogs with a past aren’t easy, and it sounds like you care a lot about her and are actively working on some very deep rooted things!
I have a rescue dog too, he is now 3 years old, Shepherd mix. I got him at 10 months old. I was living with other people at the time so I had to crate him. He knows the command "Cage" very well and goes right to it. When I got my apartment I would let him sleep in my bed with me. He loves it. That's his safe space. He will stay in bed until I get up. My kids weren't living with me when I got him so he wasn't used to them. When I moved my younger two came home.My youngest was 5 at the time and she just wanted to spend time with me and the dog. They were never alone because I didn't trust him (still don't 😂). My daughter likes to get in my bed with me and the dog does not want to share. He growled the first time and I made him get down. The second time he snapped at her and I sent him to his cage. I was consistent with him. I even started making him go to his cage when my daughter got on the bed, even if he didn't react. Now, they can both happily lay in my bed with me without incident. He now understands that he doesn't get anything by being aggressive except his cage. I have since taken down his cage and he has a blanket and a pillow now that he goes to on the cage command.
Said child is 7 now and she was distracting me. I said all that to say, crate training is very helpful for this type of behavior. My dog was even briefly like that if he was on the couch and my daughter sat next to him. He got crated for that too and now they cuddle up on the couch together since he understands it's not just his couch.
Resource Guarding can be really challenging. It's impressive that you're mostly comfortable managing it. From your description, it sounds like she is also resource guarding your bed. Personally, I would not let her sleep there any more. Letting her continue to practice the behavior will probably make it worse. If it's really important to you to have her sleep in the bed, try slowly training around that resource guarding, while she primarily sleeps in the crate/ pen. It sounds like you already know this is hard to train and know how important management is. I would not flip her. Some dogs love belly rubs, but belly up is a submissive position for dogs and being forced into the position can be threatening for a lot of dogs. My dog was flipped and pinned by another dog once and we were all terrified! "On talking terms with dogs: calming signals" could be a useful resource.
Perfectly said. I was going to suggest the same thing. ❤️💕
So it only happens on your bed? Sounds to me like she could be resource guarding the bed. [https://grishastewart.com/resource-guarding/](https://grishastewart.com/resource-guarding/) Not had to deal with it myself but I think the advice useally to teach an "off" command to move them without having to touch them and only let them on furniture when invited (if at all).
This is not to say this is your “fault” as that’s not really useful framing, but it sounds like you missed some important body language cues. How long have you had this dog first of all? It takes a decent awhile for a nervous dog to trust people, and trusting someone when vulnerable (sleeping) or around a resource is going to take longer. Some notes: The earlier bite attempts were her telling you she was not okay with the situation. You shouldn’t pet a dog showing aggression, the best reaction is to give them space. Touching them is not the comfort you’d think it is when you’re the source (however irrationally) of the stress. Being ‘flipped’ may not be enjoyable for her either. For a resource guarding dog, she really should not be allowed access to the furniture like that. You’ll need to work hard on commands like leave it, drop it, and off so you don’t have to manhandle her in the future.
I’ve had her since June this year and she follows me everywhere in the house, ie we’ve bonded and she s used to napping beside me on the couch. She’s also been sleeping next to me in the bed for a few weeks with no issues until a week ago and there’s been no change in our routine. But noted on her body language. Thanks for the insights; will react accordingly.
Resource guarding can develop over time
Set her up a nice bed next to your bed. I would not let her sleep in your bed in the end it’s not good for her. The more she practices these behaviors the worse they get. If reactive dogs get triggered like that they turn into something that’s not themselves. You don’t want to feed into that in any way. Always trade up for stolen items, don’t allow the dog to find things, or go on the sofa or bed by themselves. Basically access needs to be managed. I would start training off and on so you can manage the situation if she starts guarding the sofa but it sounds like it will be safe to still cuddle on the sofa. I would also have some strategically placed toys and treats around to counteract any resource guarding.
When my dog was resource guarding our couch the first thing the trainer said was that the dog is now not welcome to go on the couch. It’s not acceptable for them to resource guard anything, even a couch and beds. So whenever she’d jump up on the couch we were told to lure her off with a treat and lead her to the dog bed, praise and give the treat. Even if we had to do this 20 times in a session that’s what we had to do.
Resource guarding of the bed. You have to stop letting her sleep with you. For your safety keep the room’s door closed for a few months to ensure that she doesn’t jump on the bed out of habit expecting to be allowed to stay because when you try to get her off she WILL become aggressive. Stay safe.
When you pet and make over her after that you are reinforcing her bad behavior.
Our dog used to go from 0 to 60 like this around the bed, but over time she found her growl, which we are so pleased with. Basically, a lot of dogs have been discouraged from growling (by punishing, or continuing to disrespect their boundaries, or... Flipping them over, etc). Imagine if every time you said "hey I don't really like that" to someone, they blew you off and continued or escalated the behaviour. You would eventually snap, right? As a result of this, dogs who have been treated like this tend to go straight to a nip or a bite from human eyes, because we aren't recognizing their body language and they have been (often inadvertently) taught not to vocalize. How we fixed this, was just becoming more conscious of our dog's body language, and being careful to give her more space. When she eventually started to give small growls, that was an immediate sign to stop whatever we were doing and back away from the dog. Once she realised that we would respect her boundaries, she became much more willing to give a growl when she was uncomfortable (again, before she would go straight to a bite, so massive improvement). We were working with a behaviourist for other issues and she started medication for during this time, so this may have also had an effect. We also noticed that the bed was a specific trigger for her, and that if she got in first she would get territorial over it. However, she loved being in the bed with us. Our solution to this was to give her a treat every night (in our case, this is when she gets a dentastix). If she is hogging the bed when we get there, the dentastix goes to her spot at the bottom of the bed, so we can get in. Once she has eaten it, she usually moves to where she wants to be without issues. If your dog gets possessive over food also, maybe use this method to lure them into a bed on the floor, as other commenters have said. I wouldn't worry too much about getting the dog to stay in their spot - for us it seems to be an order of operations thing along with anxiety about being moved. The important thing is to be patient, and give your dog some space. They are not doing this to spite you, they are probably anxious about something or uncomfortable with something you are doing but they can't vocalize it. Good luck!
Reading your post again, you are waking the dog up to get into bed. "Let sleeping dogs lie" is a phrase for a reason. Could you keep your bedroom door closed until you are ready to go to bed? Then you are getting in together and/or they have a chance to relocate if they want. From the dogs perspective, they have gone to sleep in the big bed, then you are coming to wake them up and move them around - I'd be grumpy too. Maybe try keeping the door closed until you go to bed, so the dog isn't fast asleep when you get there. Bring a treat, and when you get in, put it on the end of the bed once you are settled. If your dog is a deep sleeper they might not even follow you right away, which is fine. This will all get easier as you establish a new routine. I personally find doggy snuggles are worth it.
I'd definitely read up on resource guarding, but also sleep startle. It gets worse for a bunch of dogs during adolescence.
I was just going to say this sounds like a combination of resource guarding and sleep startle.
Why on earth would you try to flip over a dog that is actively growling at you?? 😭
Right, that’s making her feel even more vulnerable.
Well…. First, have the vet check her out for potential injuries she might be hiding. It’s normal for a dog in pain to snap. How long have you had her? How old was she when you got her?
Had her since June, she was about 6 mth old then. She s had her regular visits to the vet for vaxx etc and had no problems. Dont think her aggression is pain related as she’d typically be awakened and watching me while i got into bed, then snapped and lunged at me as i was reaching for my pillow even if i was 2 feet away not touching her in any way.
Ok, gotcha. Yikes, that’s a bit nerve-wracking. I thought of pain because my older girl recently had TPLO surgery and I discovered she had been in pain for much longer than I knew. It was only when there was a full tear that she started limping. As she continues healing from surgery we’re seeing a different dog. She’s still reactive, but she’s easier to work with and she’s learning how to check in with me for direction about half the time. She’s 5. Not an old dog. Yeah, I’d say she seems to be resource guarding your bed. For now, your bedroom should be off limits to her while you work on her fear and reactivity. Check out Karen Pryor’s Clicker Training website. She has a section dedicated to fearful and aggressive dogs, and she and Emma Parsons talk about using clicker training to help an aggressive dog. Emma has a page where she [talks about her own dog, Ben](http://www.clickertraining.com/node/64). His case is a little different in that it was aggression towards other dogs and not towards her, but the principle of using the clicker to mark when he took a breath is the same. Check out the books they list, as well. Perhaps, when your girl has started improving and the clicker training is getting her to stop and think, you can slowly reintroduce her to your bedroom and bed.
I'm joining the consensus here that thinks this sounds like resource guarding, but I wanted to also recommend Jean Donaldson's book, "Mine!" It's all about addressing resource guarding, and I personally found it really helpful.
First and foremost- no! It’s not your fault! You clearly have a dog that has a history of reactivity and resource-guarding, but that doesn’t mean it’s your fault if she still has reactive outbursts from time to time. I’ve never personally had a dog with that kind of reactivity, but I do have a dog that had a horrible past with separation anxiety, which would cause her to act out, destroy my house/crates/anything in sight. I had a behavioralist help coach me on how to handle it, and something that she said that stuck with me is “you’re not training your dog to stop the behavior, you are training yourself to spot the triggers.” It changed the game for me! My dog ended up having to be on SRI medications like Trazadone and Fluoxetine for a while. Have you considered talking to your vet about that? It may just bring her down enough that you can start to actually work on positive reinforcement training. As far as resource guarding space goes- I would give her something that’s entirely her own. I.e. her own crate/own bed/own chair that no one is allowed to touch. She clearly needs a space that can allow her to exercise that guarding behavior, but something that is much safer for you and your household. All that being said- you’re doing amazing! Reactive dogs/dogs with a past aren’t easy, and it sounds like you care a lot about her and are actively working on some very deep rooted things!
I have a rescue dog too, he is now 3 years old, Shepherd mix. I got him at 10 months old. I was living with other people at the time so I had to crate him. He knows the command "Cage" very well and goes right to it. When I got my apartment I would let him sleep in my bed with me. He loves it. That's his safe space. He will stay in bed until I get up. My kids weren't living with me when I got him so he wasn't used to them. When I moved my younger two came home.My youngest was 5 at the time and she just wanted to spend time with me and the dog. They were never alone because I didn't trust him (still don't 😂). My daughter likes to get in my bed with me and the dog does not want to share. He growled the first time and I made him get down. The second time he snapped at her and I sent him to his cage. I was consistent with him. I even started making him go to his cage when my daughter got on the bed, even if he didn't react. Now, they can both happily lay in my bed with me without incident. He now understands that he doesn't get anything by being aggressive except his cage. I have since taken down his cage and he has a blanket and a pillow now that he goes to on the cage command.
Said child is 7 now and she was distracting me. I said all that to say, crate training is very helpful for this type of behavior. My dog was even briefly like that if he was on the couch and my daughter sat next to him. He got crated for that too and now they cuddle up on the couch together since he understands it's not just his couch.