Trading for Treats

Give-and-Take: A Good Game for ALL Dogs to Learn

You can help prevent resource guarding in a dog that does not display overt signs of the behavior by teaching him the give-and-take game.

Start by offering him a toy that he likes, but is not extremely valuable to him. When he opens his mouth, say “Take It!”  When he does, tell him he’s a good boy, and then offer him a treat.

When he opens his mouth to take the treat and drops the toy, say “give,” (or “trade,” or “share”) and let him nibble at the treat while you pick up the toy.

The nibbling part is important. If you let him eat the treat and then try to pick up the toy he will race you for it, which may actually encourage resource guarding.

While he is nibbling, slowly and calmly pick up the toy. Let him finish eating the treat, then offer him the toy again and say “Take It!” as he puts his mouth around it.

Practiced several times a day, a few repetitions at a time, this game will teach your dog the very useful behavior of “give” on cue. He will also learn that if he gives something up to you, odds are good that he’ll get it back again or something even better.

Troubleshooting

If he won’t take the toy: Find a toy that he likes more. If he is only a mild resource guarder you can even use a toy such as a Kong with a cookie inside it. Use a low-value treat (a bland cookie or cracker) in the toy, and a much higher-value treat (a piece of cheese or roast beef) for his reward.

If he won’t drop the toy for the treat: You need a much better treat. Don’t be stingy here; hard dry cookies and bits of dog kibble just may not be exciting enough to convince him to give up a toy that he likes. Even the toughest nut will usually crack for something like a piece of sardine or a hot dog.

If after a couple of times he just looks for the treat and ignores the toy: Good! You’re convincing him that the stuff you have is better than the stuff he has. That’s what you want him to think. You can either plan to do just a few repetitions each session, or you can gradually increase the value of the object he shares with you.

Once your dog has learned to play the give-and-take game, you can use it for objects other than toys. When he grabs something he shouldn’t have, such as your new Nikes or the remote control, instead of playing the “chase” game, go get a nice treat and ask him to share. He should be happy to trade.

If your dog won’t trade you his object for the treat in your hand, or worse, starts to guard it aggressively, drop high-value treats on the ground in a trail that leads away from the object.  When he drops it to follow the treat trail, wait until he is far away from it and have someone else pick it up, or leave him a large pile of treats and calmly walk back to the object and pick it up yourself.  If necessary," Hansel-and-Gretel" him with a treat trail into another room and close the door before you pick it up. Then reevaluate your training program to figure out where you went wrong, or where you may have rushed him.

Remember: Go slow and don’t rush this training. Sometimes your dog may back-slide or seem to be stuck at one level - don’t worry, continue with the training until he improves. If you find you can only get your dog so far in this training and he is still guarding the important objects, then it is time to consider calling in a professional to help you.