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Resource Guarding or Space Invasion? Reasons for Aggressive Outburts in Dogs

Labels like Resource Guarding can blind us to other possible explanations to aggressive outbursts by our companion dog.   The common understanding of resource guarding is that your dog may show the following behaviors: tense, stiff, give you a non-wavering gaze, lip retraction to show teeth, growling, snapping, and/or biting when a person or other animal approaches. This behavior usually occurs only when a person or other animal approaches your dog while: meal preparation, eating, sleeping, has a toy, by a “favorite” place or there might be a “new” item brought into the house, food/treats/vomit, anything related to meals – …  Continue reading →