Shane's owners called Companion Animal Solutions for help after their young male herding breed dog had bitten his owner on the arm when he tried to take some stolen food away from Shane. The bite left deep punctures and bruising, and the owners were debating whether to euthanize their dog.

Shane had exhibited some early, mild resource guarding tendencies that had been made worse by some ill-considered advice. He was also a mischievous, playful, and intelligent dog who learned early on that he could initiate a great game of chase-me by grabbing something off the sofa or counter and running away with it. As the resource-guarding become more intense, these games always ended with a confrontation as one of the owners tried to recover the stolen object. The fun game always terminated in growls and snaps.

Shane's owners were lucky -- they live alone in a rural area, and don't have many visitors (especially children) who might be endangered during an accidental encounter. They had the time and space to work on the problem.

We assured Shane's owners that their main problem was that they had a really smart dog who happened to stumble on an entertainment method that carried the seeds of trouble. We said he was a lovely dog and we didn't think euthanasia was the answer.

Our first step was to stop playing the fun chase-me game that Shane found so reinforcing. His confused expression when snatching a dishtowel failed to bring on the chase was priceless. We let him carry it around until he got bored. Then we engaged him in a legal game of tug on the deck. We used the tug game to teach a really good "give" and Shane's owners started making sure that he got lots of legal, safe, interactive playtime so that he would have less need to make up more hazardous games. We also taught Shane a strong "go-to-mat" behavior so that his owners could read the Sunday paper in peace without having to keep watch for a thieving nose poking up onto the sofa. Next, Shane's owners learned how to reward him for progressive relaxation on his mat, so that he would experience less of the anxiety that was driving some of his conflict-seeking behavior. Shane also learned more general impulse-control as part of his daily routine. I instructed Shane's owners to stop confronting him if a successful theft occurred, and to feel free to trade for a really fantastic treat if Shane happened to grab something extremely fragile, valuable, or dangerous. They also worked on a counterconditioning protocol to help Shane feel calmer when he had a valued resource.

Shane improved rapidly. At our third visit, he would readily lie on his mat for minutes at a time, not an easy task for this busy young dog. He played tug very nicely and gave up the toy on a verbal cue. His stealing behavior still occurred, but very infrequently; it was no fun any more since no one would acknowledge it. Shane's owners took him back to class to help keep him learning and improving. When the grandkids visit, they separate Shane for the duration, just to be absolutely safe, but they now feel they can live safely with him and that he is a valued family member.