I am very happy to report we have made a small breakthrough with Roxy's resource guarding.
After trying a couple things that didn't feel quite right, I decided that we were going to avoid situations in which Roxy felt that she had to RG. We have been doing this a couple of months.
Historically, she would get quiet (sign #1) as soon as she had a tennis ball. She would then become very stiff (sign #2). Following, with added stress and Increased proxemics, she would cover the ball with her front paws and rest her head on top of her paws (sign #3). Slight curl of the lip and wrinkle of the snout (#4), growl ( #5). All the while she would guard the ball without chewing or playing with it. It seemed as if the tennis ball was a huge burden to her that caused immediate stress.
This time when I approached while she had the tennis ball i saw a huge change. I paid attention to her body and it appeared to remain relaxed without stiffening. I then said a couple of words to her to see how she responded to my voice. She paid me little attention and just chewed on the ball. This was very new!
The next step was to introduce Guinness into the situation. He sat probably 4 feet away, next to me. She seemed disinterested and uninvested with his presence.
The next step was to see how she reacted to my interference. I grabbed the ball from her to see what she would do. I saw no visible signs of distress. I quickly gave it back and said good girl.
Te next step was to see if she would willingly give the ball to me. I gave her the "drop it" command. (We actually use "let go"). She stopped chewing on the ball and allowed me to grab it. I did so and noticed immediately her eye contact. In other cases when she needs to "say please", I require the same eye contact. I did not give her the ball back this time, but she was enthusiastically rewarded with treats and attention for her good job. Incentive is very important in positive association.
Here it is on video. It may not look like much... but it's an incredible improvement.
Our next step in testing her progress will be to introduce an outside dog to the situation. Adding a dog not from her pack may have different results... I will keep you posted!
