Why is My Dog Guarding its Food?

Does your dog seem irrationally protective over their food? After all, you feed them, so why should they stiffen up or growl when you approach their food bowl? This behavior is called resource guarding, and we provide some possible explanations for the behavior.

Fear-Based Behavior

Resource guarding, an instinctual defensive behavior that dogs exhibit to protect their resources, is a completely natural response. If your dog is guarding their food, it does not mean that they are overly aggressive or trying to be dominant over you. It is simply their survival instinct kicking in!

Competing with Litter-mates

Other experts believe that food guarding begins at a young age, when puppies compete with each other for limited resources, such as their mother’s milk or food. The theory behind this belief is that puppies who eat the fastest grow the fastest and become dominant over their fellow litter-mates. Although most dogs don’t live with their litter-mates for their whole lives, dogs could continue this competitive behavior out of habit.

Environmental Causes

Environments such as dog shelters can greatly increase food guarding behaviors in dogs. Shelters are extremely stressful environments where unfortunately, dogs may not know when and if their next meal is coming. This can make them extra protective over the food they do have. Though shelter environments are extreme, you should try using a free-feeding style of feeding your dog to give them access to a full food bowl at all times.

Genetic Influence

Another possible influence on food guarding in dogs is their genetic make-up. Livestock guardians like Border Collies have a natural instinct to guard their flock against predators, so this could influence protectiveness over food. Unfortunately, there is little research about genetic influences on aggressiveness to make any definitive conclusions!

While we don’t know the exact reason that dogs guard their food, we do know that protecting their food is not an aggressive behavior. If your dog gets exceptionally aggressive about protecting their food, however, always seek out advice from your vet!