Q: My two-year-old Labrador has recently started resource guarding his food bowl, growling if anyone goes near him while he’s eating. He’s never done this before. Should I be worried, and what can I do about it?

A: Resource guarding is actually one of the most natural behaviours in the canine world; dogs are hardwired to protect things they consider valuable, and food sits right at the top of that list. The fact that it’s emerged now, at two years old, isn’t unusual either; this is the age at which many dogs reach full social maturity and begin to assert themselves in ways they didn’t as puppies. What matters most is how you respond to it early on, because guarding behaviour can escalate if it’s handled incorrectly.

The worst thing you can do is punish the growl. We know that sounds counterintuitive, but the growl is your dog communicating; it’s a warning signal, and suppressing it doesn’t remove the underlying anxiety, it just removes the warning. Instead, the goal is to change the emotional association your dog has with people approaching his bowl. A technique called counter-conditioning, where you approach the bowl and drop in something even more delicious, then walk away, can go a long way toward teaching him that human presence near his food predicts good things rather than a threat.

That said, because guarding behaviour carries an element of risk, particularly in homes with children, we’d strongly encourage you to get a professional involved sooner rather than later. Please do speak to your vet to rule out any underlying health or pain-related triggers, and then consult a qualified clinical animal behaviourist who can assess the situation in person and build a safe, tailored modification plan.