Many pet parents go through the experience every day. Their dog doesn’t like to share. There is nothing shameful about t...
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Many pet parents go through the experience every day. Their dog doesn’t like to share. There is nothing shameful about that. But it can make trips to the dog park turn stressful. Your dog might get into fights with other dogs over toys, sticks, and everything between.
What can you do as a dog owner? Let’s break it down.
Why Do Dogs Guard Toys?
For dogs, guarding toys and not sharing is a natural behavior and instinct. The professional term is “resource guarding”. It is an instinct that has its origin in canine psychology.
In the wild, there are many animals and not that much food. So, guarding your food is a way to make sure you get a meal and nobody steals it from you. Even with wolves, this is a normal behavior.
But because something is natural, it doesn’t make it desirable. Any dog can develop resource guarding. There are no dog breeds that are more prone to it.
The Root of the Issue
If you want to understand the behavior better, you have to take a look at history. Humans may prefer sharing food, but that is not something that happens among canines.
Wolves have an ownership zone around their mouth or within lunging distance. Other wolves respect that zone and they do not enter it.
And while dogs are not wolves, they descend from them. They have retained some of the adaptive traits to survive.
With domestication, owners control access to food distribution. Yet, dogs might still fight over resources like food and toys.
Guarding food, covering objects, and protecting physical space are adaptive traits found in a natural environment. We might have domesticated dogs, but their survival instinct still persists.
How do you know if your dog guards things?
Here are signs that point to resource guarding:
- Standing over an item with a stiff and still posture
- Lowering its body posture when someone approaches the item
- Eating food or treats quickly
- Growling or showing aggressiveness to protect their item
- Running away with items
- Hidings items
Top 4 Training Methods to Try
If your dog shows guarding behavior, you can try several techniques to resolve the issue. If you want your furry friend to socialize with other canines, you have to teach him to share. It is not an easy road, but you can get there. Here are some dog training methods you can try.
Teach Your Dog To Share With You
Before your dog will share with other canines, he has to learn to share with you. Toward other dogs, your pup might show aggressiveness. But that aggression rarely applies to owners.
Practice taking toys from your dog and playing with them. Always reward when your dog brings you a toy and drops it, or lets you take it away.
By taking his toy, and then playing again, you teach the basic concept of sharing. When possible, play this game with different people. Call up your friends, partner, and relatives, and have them do the same with your dog. The more people share toys with your dog, the better.
Teach the Command Drop It
One of the most important commands for sharing is to drop it. It is the cornerstone of getting your dog to share anything with others.
Drop it means your dog instantly leaves whatever he has in his mouth and focuses on you. You can use it to resolve volatile situations. If your dog drops the toy and puts his focus on you, there will be no problem with toys with other dogs.
To teach it, have your dog hold a toy and then offer a treat so that he opens his mouth. When the dog puts the toy down, say “drop it”, and give him a treat. Repeat every day for a few minutes. Always reward after the dog puts the toy down.
Share Toys With Other Dogs
You are ready for the last step in training your dog how to share toys. For this step, always use toys that your dog is not in love with. Never use his favorite toy for teaching to share in the beginning.
Call up a friend with a dog, one that is friendly with your own. It is imperative that the dogs have played before.
Get them together, and while they play, ask your dog to drop the toy. Give him a treat if he does it. Allow the other dog to pick up the toy. If your dog is calm and doesn’t protest, reward it again with more treats.
Repeat many, many times, so that your dog learns that other canines can have their toy.
Desensitization
Desensitization is a common strategy for resolving issues in dogs. The idea is that the more your dog gets exposed to certain stimuli, the less likely he is to react.
For this method, you assign one dog to be the guarding dog, and the other to be the approaching dog. Secure the guarding dog with a leash and give him a toy. Start with a low-value toy and from there, work your way up.
Bring the approaching dog to the guarding dog and stop well outside of the danger zone. Reward the guarding dog for not having an adverse reaction, and the approaching dog for not going after the toy.
Your goal is to have both dogs remain in the zone of appropriate behavior.
Extra Tips
Now let’s talk about some bonus tips that ensure you succeed in teaching your dog to share toys.
- Always reward your puppy when he follows a command or drops a toy
- Practice with other dogs using games like fetch
- Do not punish a dog that refuses to share
- Provide treats and toys in separate areas
- Train obedience cues so that your dog responds promptly to them. Use obedience cues to redirect your dog away from potential problem
- Use toys in association with training
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