Resource guarding is a common and fairly normal behavior in dogs. Dogs may guard from humans, other dogs, or both! They commonly guard food items, but may also guard their resting spaces, toys, random objects they find or steal, or even their people. There are lots of ways we can help a dog feel secure about their stuff to prevent it from becoming an issue. Here are a few tips:

• Use good management to prevent your dog from accessing things you don't want her to snag
• Make sure you have goodie jars stashed around your home so you can easily trade if your dog does get into something she shouldn't - always trade instead of taking something from your dog
• Instead of physically moving a dog from one place to another, use a treat toss or just call them away
• Help your dog feel good about you approaching when she has something of value, like a meal or a favorite toy, by tossing an extra tasty piece of food as you pass by
• Use management tools like x-pens, gates, crates, etc to give dogs space from other animals or children when eating or getting a valuable chewy

Note: If you have serious guarding concerns and are worried about the safety of yourself or someone in your home, especially if you have children, please reach out to myself or a local force-free trainer.