10 month old resource guarding – did it mess everything up?

Hi everyone,

I have a 10-month-old collie lurcher who is the sweetest girl in the world. She is incredibly gentle and loving with everyone. A little hyper, but that’s very much her breed.

My mum was looking after her today and, in true grandma fashion, spoiled her. I’ve been very clear with anyone who looks after her that we are zero rawhide, and that if she gets chews, they need to be natural and appropriate for her size. Unfortunately, when I got home, my mum had bought her a postman’s leg.

It was immediately obvious it was far too big and intense for her. My girl has never resource guarded anything in her life, but when I went to take her away from it, she had her tail tightly tucked under her body and was baring her teeth and growling. It took me about 10 minutes to safely remove her from the situation, and the chew went straight in the bin.

I’m honestly really shaken by it. This just isn’t my baby! She has always been gentle, soft, and trusting. I’m worried this means we’ve gone backwards or that I’ve somehow allowed a problem to start. I want her to always be kind and safe, and I’m terrified of her developing food guarding or aggression.

I know my mum didn’t mean any harm and simply didn’t understand how intense these chews are, so I’m not angry with her. I just feel awful and anxious that this may have caused long term damage. I want my dog to be able to have high-value rewards because she works so hard and is such a good girl, but right now I’m scared to give her anything special.

Am I overreacting? Can a single incident really cause long term issues or is this something that can be managed and prevented going forward?

Any reassurance or advice would be hugely appreciated.