Can resource guarding be trained out?

This is a serious question that I have often wondered about, even though I have never had problems with this myself and I hope it is alright to ask. Data's thread brought it back to mind. (I hope you don't mind Data)

Can an older dog be re-trained to not 'resource-guard' ?

Would like to hear other folks experiences and thoughts on this as it is one aspect of rescue or unwanted dogs I had always thought about.

Thanks.

Yes, with patience and consistency a dog can learn that it does not need to guard food and that a hand near food is a good, rather than a bad, thing

The previous treatment and experiences of the dog will determine how long it will take to have trust in people.

Thanks for your reply.

Me and my other half often watch Animal Cops on Animal Planet and it saddens me the amount of dogs pts because of resource guarding. I suppose they don't have the time or resources to work through so many dogs. But it has cheered me at least to know that for some dogs with time and patience it can be a happy ending.

Hiya no i dont mind at all lol.

To be honest ive been taking some advise people gave me and im not really making and progress . I no is been only 3 days , but today i gave him a lamb bone , and had a treat next to me . Tried to approaching him and talk to him carmly with the treat to view . He just bared his teeth again and growled very intensly .

Absolutely it can. My old Great Dane rescue dog used to be a swine for it, particularly with bones. With a creative twist, I started buying her large bones, and then attached nylon cord to the end.

As she was eating, I would pull it towards me, she would follow it, then I would take a hold of it, walk away and give it her back.

Took a few weeks but she soon came around.

a good book to buy is called 'mine, a practical guide to resource guarding in dogs' by Jean Donaldson.

if your dog is a resource guarder, its best not to give your dog any treats that he is likely to guard. especially a lamb bone. start with something he wont guard, maybe a piece of his own kibble, or some other low value reward and practice swaps.

the book mentioned above is very good and explains step by step how to beat the problem