Chapter 4: Body Language & Safety
If Dogs Get Into a Fight
Despite all your efforts, your resident dog and the new foster may get into a fight. It can look and sound very scary but is usually mostly bluffing.
What to do:
Make a really loud noise (a soda can with coins in it works great) to redirect their attention
Separate the dogs immediately
Keep them separated for a bit to cool down
If one of the dogs is actually biting the other dog or has their jaw locked on them, pull on their collar tightly to temporarily cut off their breathing till they release
This does not mean the dogs hate each other or that your new dog is aggressive. Just like people, dogs can get heated and overstep boundaries.
Remember: your resident dog is also adjusting to this change and may be protecting their home and resources.
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Remove all triggers initially: No toys, bones, or high-value items in communal areas during the first few weeks. This prevents incidents while you assess the dog.
Feed separately, always: Resource guarding often appears or worsens around food when new dogs enter the home (see Tip 3).
Learn what they guard: Make a list of what triggers guarding, when it happens, and how intense the behavior is. Note the distance at which it happens. This helps you create a training plan and discuss with coordinators if needed.
Find high-value rewards: Pick treats worth MORE to your dog than what they’re guarding. If they won’t trade, you need a better treat (stinky cheese, hot dog, rotisserie chicken), not more force.
Start small with low-value items: Begin with things your dog doesn’t care much about. Practice ‘Drop it’ or ‘Leave it’ with a high-value treat as the reward. Once they drop the item, reward them AND give the item back sometimes.
Build positive associations with your approach: When your dog is eating or playing with a toy, approach calmly and drop an even better treat nearby (without taking anything away). Walk away. Repeat over several days.
Never punish guarding behavior: Punishment makes it worse. Walk away. Come back when they’re calm and work on training separately.
Trade, don’t take: When you need something back, offer something better in exchange. Always use the ‘trade’ method rather than forcibly removing items.
Supervise bone/chew time: Only give high-value chews when you can supervise. Remove them with a trade before you stop supervising.
Train in isolation first: Practice ‘Drop it’ and trading with the foster alone first. Once reliable, practice with other dogs at a distance. Gradually decrease the distance over time.
Allow appropriate dog-to-dog communication: If your resident dog grumbles at the foster for getting too close to their food or bed, that’s normal communication. Not all growling is a problem—it’s how dogs set boundaries.
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Resource guarding is when a dog protects items they value—food, toys, bones, spaces, or even people. This is not dominance or bad behavior—it’s natural canine instinct. Dogs were bred for thousands of years to guard things. The good news: it can be managed and improved with training.
Signs of Resource Guarding:
Stiffening or freezing over an item
Hard stare or side-eye
Growling, showing teeth, or snapping
Positioning the body over the item
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If your foster shows intense guarding (hard biting, won’t accept any trades, guards multiple items aggressively), contact your foster coordinator immediately. A qualified behaviorist may be needed. Resource guarding in foster dogs often improves with time, routine, and realizing resources are abundant—but safety comes first.
DO NOT:
DO NOT reach into a crate with a dog and a bone. If you need to get the dog out and they’re guarding something, coax them out with a very high-value item like cheese, salami, or hot dog. Once they’re away from the crate, you can safely retrieve your item.