Why Labels are Not Helpful
It All Begins Here
It puts a label on the dog that is not helpful to the human, or the dog. It tells some other person's storyline that can get adopted by the human partner, and stuck on the dog. A description label can make the difference between a dog in a shelter finding a home or not; living and not. It's unfair to the dog!
The label makes the human partner feel like they are in a mess with their dogs and doomed to live with a serious behavior issue. Some people will take the label and get rid of their dog because they don't want to deal with it.
Experience with dogs is not education necessarily. Sure, you can learn a lot by observing them and being with them, but that doesn't mean you are describing them accurately. I see this ALL the time. It drives me nuts! It would be easy to attach some kind of story to him and his behavior in that situation, if you didn't know him. Sure. It "looks like",... but that is missing a whole lot of information.
Small Changes Can Help So Much
It All Begins Here
Many time resource guarding type behaviors can be avoided if we respect the dog's space, don't tease or stick hands in bowls or their food, or otherwise harass them when they are eating or with a chew.
Often times, resource guarding occurs because of the dog’s perception of an event. It can happen even if the human doesn’t think the thing should be that important or if it doesn’t make sense to the human. If the dog feels it, it is so. Perception is often the reality.
Of course, if you think your dog might be showing resource guarding behaviors, address them with a professional as soon as possible. Oftentimes, this behavior can spread like wildfire. There can be many reasons why the dog is showing those behaviors. The longer it goes on, the worse it spreads. Choose someone who has a deep level of canine education.