Yours, Mine, and Ours --, Resource Guarding

During the first month of fostering T-Rex, whenever he would be cute and easy to handle, I would say, "He's mine."

"Mine," Jodi would respond.

But when he would pull the leash while walking him or growl, then I would say, "He's yours." and Jodi would respond: "He's yours."

But we had adopted him together--so he was Ours.

Jodi called me one morning and said, "Guess what we're doing!"
I had no idea.
"He likes fetch!"
They were playing fetch in her fenced back yard. And Rex loved it! And he loved tennis balls.
"I'm never walking him again," Jodi said.
I stopped over later that day and played fetch with him too. The problem was he wouldn't drop the ball. Does anyone have a crowbar?

I asked Joann about this at training. And she told us to have two balls. When you get ready to throw the second one, he should drop the first. This worked for a while but he was never very willing to give up the ball once he brought it back. Later, he had a stuffed toy hedge hog outside. I reached for it and he grabbed it. Again he was resource guarding.

On Saturday, day one of Good Citizen training, I explained the problem to Joann and she said that he was resource guarding. Rex thought that the toys were his and now I needed to let him know everything was mine and that nothing in the house was his.

It's funny because the night before we had gone out and bought him a pink stuffed bear and thought: this will be one of his first toys. Awwww. He loved the bear. Even a 105-pound dinosaur will look like a big baby if he's carrying a floppy pink teddy bear around in his mouth. But now I would have to take the bear away and say it was mine -- mine!

Joann took a squeaky ball she held it in front of his face. When he grabbed at it, she said, "Leave it!" Once the dog backed off, then she held it up by her shoulder and said, "Mine." The dog kept watching her and the ball. She held it to his face again and said, "Leave it." This time he left it. She said I had to do this with every toy in the house so he knows that nothing is his and that his very existence and everything he has is because of you. "It's all yours."

I took the teddy away. Rex cocked his head. I told him to leave it. He did. I laid the teddy on the floor and he started toward it. I said: "Eh!" He stopped. I reached slowly for the bear. He leaned. "Leave it," I said firmly. He stopped. I picked up the bear and said, "Mine." He waited with cocked head. After several seconds, I handed him the bear.

Joann said that training is forever. It's not just during the class. Then you have to train the dog with every interaction. Forever. Echo.

That was yesterday. The mine concept has to be reinforced constantly. Especially when you are dealing with a rambunctious T-Rex.

I understand resource guarding. I have always resource-guarded my time. Maybe we all need to lighten up a little in the area.