This evening, I was talking with an old friend I just reconnected with through the miracle of the Internet, and she told me about a problem her dog had several months ago. The dog is a bully breed, and got into a fight over food with a mini-dachshund, resulting in the doxie needing stitches. Normally the bully girl was good with other dogs, but during meal times, the dogs were fed separately because she was "guardy" - protective of food items. This management approach is pretty common, and definitely called for if a dog has a tendency to guard resources from others (be they other dogs or people). It's important that dogs not be allowed to practice inappropriate behavior. After all, practice makes perfect.
However, management is only the first step. It's also important to work with the dog to help them develop a greater tolerance for having other dogs or people around those desirable resources without feeling the need to escalate to aggression. After all, no one is perfect - you can't guarantee that an accident won't happen. Dog food might be left in a public area, a tasty morsel might be dropped from a plate, or a door left unlatched during a mealtime, allowing two dogs to butt heads unexpectedly. The former happened with my friend - the doxie's food was accidentally left down and the bully girl decided she wanted it. Doxies being big dogs in little bodies, she wasn't going to allow her meal to be obsconded with, and viola, Dog fight!
Based on how long it took to break up the fight, I don't think the bully girl intended to kill the doxie - she could easily have done so if she wanted. I think the bully girl wanted the doxie to give in, and the doxie refused. Of course this is all based on second hand information, but the point really is, it's important to not only identify the triggers for our dogs' behavior problems and manage them so that they can't practice the behaviors, but also to address the underlying emotional & behavioral issues. Managing is only half the battle.
Dealing with resource guarding can be challenging, and potentially dangerous, so if this is a problem you're facing, I recommend finding an experience behavior consultant to work with. Be sure that this person has a solid understanding of the science of how animals learn, and avoid working with someone who recommends punishment for aggression and anxiety issues. Punishment may temporarily suppress the aggression, but in the long run, it doesn't address the anxiety, and the aggression will often re-emerge even more intensely down the road. Better to avoid the fallout from punishment and work with someone versed in the processes of classical and operant conditioning in a systematic behavior modification program.
In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about dealing with resource guarding, I strongly recommend Jean Donaldson's book Mine! A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding In Dogs.
