My puppy is resource guarding. How do I stop this aggressive behavior?

Good for you for wanting to work on this behavior now, while Jax is young. Resource guarding is a common behavior in dogs. He acts this way because he's afraid you are going to take away his food or bone, and feels that he has to protect his stuff from you.

Treatment for this problem is focused on changing the dog's emotional reaction to having you approach. Essentially, you want to teach him that great things happen when you come near - so there's no need to get upset and growl or snarl. You can start by standing at a distance and tossing treats to him while he's eating or chewing on a bone. From there, as long as he's comfortable, you can progress to walking by and dropping treats on the floor or into his bowl. Eventually, it's possible to work up to touching his bone or food bowl, praising and giving a handful of tasty treats, and walking away again.

NEVER try to deal with this problem by punishing Jax or taking away his things, as this will only make him more tense and defensive around you in the future.

If you have difficulty with this training plan or if you are not seeing improvement within a few weeks, I would recommend consulting with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can help you in person. I also highly recommend the book "Mine!" by Jean Donaldson - it's an excellent guide to dealing successfully with resource guarding in dogs.

You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here (www.dacvb.org) or a qualified trainer here (www.ccpdt.org)