Here another resource guarder. He won't try to steal something, and even if something is just lieing on the floor and I tell him to 'leave it' he won't touch it. He doesn't have a problem with me taking his food, toys… But if I give him a bone then I can't take it back before he is finished with it. or better, I couldn't. The way I fixed the problem is not by trading of just taking it away, but by making him feel comfortable with something while I'm very close to him. So basically. I first give him a bone, and I would hold it while he was eating it. Then just sitting and walking around him and giving him a little treat from time to time, without taking his bone away. The next time, I took a book and went to sit right next to him, completly ignoring him. Doesn't took long before he stopped gnarling at me if stretched my hand at him while he had a bone. And after a while I could just easily take, whatever he had, away from him without a reaction. Most of the time I just give it back, but if it is something he really can't have, I'm now able to just take it from him.
I don't know if this will help or not, I have only had one resource guarder, and he was brought up by someone else. All the dogs I have raised have never, ever had a problem with me taking things from them as I would start from the beginning putting my hand in their mouth and working with them to that end of taking something from them and trading up.
The one dog that was a guarder, I would having something, preferably very, very smelly and not terrible for him, and pretend I would be eating it first and then turn away from him and pretend I was resource guarding it from him. It would just peak his interest enough whereby he would drop what he had and would come over to see if what I had was better than what he had. I would then throw it and while he went to retrieve it, I would steal what he had. I realize this would probably not work with many dogs, but it worked with him. Sometimes you have to figure out your own way to fake out your own dog. Only you would know if it would work with your dog and adjust a method to work into your program.
Good luck.
Not quite on topic, but my sister had a GSD that devised her own distraction methods to get what she wanted from the Shepherd/Husky cross that shared the house. If he had something she wanted, she would run to the door and bark! He, of course, would come running, and she would double back and steal his treasure. Smart dog! I mention this because this type of distraction can also work (at least once) with a Basenji. Ignore the theft, go to the door, either ring the bell or open the door and pretend you are talking to someone. With luck, the dog will be distracted enough to leave the loot and come see what is going on…....at which point you grab the dog (don't get into a race for the loot, you will lose!) Pretending it is walk time can also work.
Basenjis are smart enough to catch on, and not so easily fooled next time, but in an emergency there are lots of distractions that may have the desired effect.
LOL, my oldest rottie, if one of the other dogs was on HER bed, would go to the window and bark. They would run to the window, she would run to the bed. However, other stuff, they let her have it– she was the ruler. If they got too rowdy, she got up, took their toys away one by one, put on her bed, laid down on them. Play over.
I like eeefarm's suggestion purely because my basenjis use distraction when they want something from another. They for instance will jump up excitedly to look out the window and when the one with the article gets up to see what the excitement is the first will grab the same.
All this talk of creating diversions to thwart a resource guarder reminds me of this guy:
http://animalsbeingdicks.com/post/12598824899/diversion-dog
(wish I could embed)
Yeah our dogs do similar things to each other all the time, but usually in order to steal someones spot on the couch. Our dogs act like their is something outside, then when the other dog comes, they steal it's spot on the couch or with someone.
