Is Your Dog Guarding the Couch? Here’s What You Need to Know
If your dog is guarding the couch, it’s not about dominance or bad behavior, it’s about insecurity and anxiety. The couch is a safe space, and your dog may fear losing access to it. Resource guarding can develop subtly over time, and by the time growling or snapping happens, your dog has likely been trying to communicate discomfort for a while. Read Animals Asia's Team Manager at Chengdu Bear Rescue Centre Amanda Goble 's article to learn what are the signs that your dog might be guarding the couch and what do do about it.
The most important thing you can do if your dog appears to be guarding the couch is to seek the help of a qualified, humane dog trainer. Your dog and your home situation are unique, and the process of helping your dog overcome this behaviour should be tailored to their needs. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to animal training. Also, the behaviours and signals involved in resource guarding can be very subtle, and any behaviour modification needs to be done in a very thoughtful and precise way. Despite good intentions, training without a solid, behaviour-based plan could even worsen the problem. Do your canine companion a favour and enlist the advice of a pro; the results will be much more effective and faster than going it alone.
It’s important that a dog who guards the couch isn’t doing so to be bad, greedy, or to get their way. A dog who resource guards is feeling insecure. The couch is a safe and comfortable place that your dog enjoys. A couch-guarding dog may have developed a fear that they’ll lose access to the couch or that another person or dog will get close and bother or frighten them, for example. This is common in houses with more than one dog, as well as households with kids, but it can happen in any family.
It’s likely that by the time you realise there’s a problem with your dog resource guarding the couch, the issue has been developing for a while. This is because we often miss the early, subtle signals that a dog uses to express their discomfort and anxiety. Because communicating “quietly” through body language didn’t work for the dog, they begin trying more “loud” communication such as growling or showing teeth. Being aware of your dog’s feelings by paying attention to their body language will go a long way to recognising a developing problem.
If your dog is experiencing resource anxiety around the couch, when another dog or person approaches, they may:
Resource guarding the sofa can begin at any age and can happen in any breed of dog. If your dog has recently had a big life change or stressful event, they may be having “big feelings” including anxiety or insecurity which can contribute to guarding. However, sometimes it’s not possible to know how the problem started.
If a dog shows any signs of guarding the couch, do not scold, spank, or otherwise punish the dog. Remember, guarding the couch doesn’t happen because the dog has a bad attitude or is being “dominant.”? It’s because the dog feels insecure or worried about their situation. Punishment is the worst response to resource guarding, because the punishment teaches the dog to not express their discomfort. It also builds an association between you and bad or scary things - exactly the opposite of what your canine friend needs, which is support and understanding.
Instead, if a dog tells you that they’re uncomfortable with sharing the couch, listen to them. Give them space by backing away, calling your other pet away, or immediately guiding children to a different area away from the dog. This teaches your dog that you’ll respect their communication.? Then, get in contact with a humane trainer who can tailor a behavior plan for your dog’s unique situation. Until you can put that plan in action, it may be necessary to keep the room with the couch closed off from the dog while others are in the area.
The sooner you can find a qualified trainer, the sooner your dog will be able to overcome their resource anxiety and share the sofa with a sense of safety and security.