"Protective" vs "Resource Guarding"
Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 2:18 am
I've been trying to understand Bramble's behavior and have been reading online articles. Now I'm even more baffled.
Bramble appears to be very protective of my son. For instance, we had two men working on our backyard. She greeted the men,loved the attention, was totally relaxed. When my son came out, her posture changed, her ears went up and she took up position on the porch where she could keep an eye on my son and both men. When either of the men "got too close", she left the porch and put herself right in front of the entrance to the trampoline. When they moved off, she went back to her perch on the porch....then back down when they entered the "zone".
And she really does not like for dogs to get "too" close to him, especially if it scares my son.
But several articles indicate that dogs aren't really protective, that it is the pack leader's role to protect, not the packmate's. Instead, the articles suggest that what people see as protective is resource guarding.
I'm perplexed because Bramble doesn't do this with me or other adults, and he isn't her food source. She does obey him, though, when he "asks" her to do something (no where near a command and not a trained behavior.)
So what is the source of the behavior?
Bramble appears to be very protective of my son. For instance, we had two men working on our backyard. She greeted the men,loved the attention, was totally relaxed. When my son came out, her posture changed, her ears went up and she took up position on the porch where she could keep an eye on my son and both men. When either of the men "got too close", she left the porch and put herself right in front of the entrance to the trampoline. When they moved off, she went back to her perch on the porch....then back down when they entered the "zone".
And she really does not like for dogs to get "too" close to him, especially if it scares my son.
But several articles indicate that dogs aren't really protective, that it is the pack leader's role to protect, not the packmate's. Instead, the articles suggest that what people see as protective is resource guarding.
I'm perplexed because Bramble doesn't do this with me or other adults, and he isn't her food source. She does obey him, though, when he "asks" her to do something (no where near a command and not a trained behavior.)
So what is the source of the behavior?