How do you deal with a food aggressive dog?
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How do you deal with a food aggressive dog?
If you look at my avatar you can see that I am a dog person ;-) I had dogs all my life - and some of them had similar problems. Without knowing the dog and the owner I can give you only some general advice and tips. For more in-depth help I would suggest that you contact your local "dog training club" or similar. Your vet might be also able to put you in contact with the right association or person in your area.
The photo right hand side was taken by "WYSIWYGFOTO" aka Ed Endicott and the appropriate royalty license for its use was purchased by me ;-)
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Here my general tips and advice.
The reasons/ underlying issues
There are two, related, main reasons: The dog doesn't know his place in the pack and/ or think it is the alpha dog in the pack. Other contributing factors can be: the dog is not enough exercised, bored or has never been proper socialized. All this sounds horrible theoretic, so lets look at this from a dog's perspective of the world ;-)
A dog is a pack animal, it doesn't distinguish if this pack consists only of other dogs or is a mixed pack of animals and humans. In a pack of wolves or feral dogs normally only the alpha male and female are allowed to breed. When a puppy is born it "inherits" for a short time this "alpha status" from its parents, no member of the pack will dare to attack it or even to punish it for misbehaviour, it is under a kind of "child protection act". Only the other puppies in the litter will give it a "play fight" and so they establish the first ranking between themselves. As a puppy grows up, becomes a teenager in human speech, the behaviour of the pack changes. The older dogs or wolves now teach it what is considered proper behaviour in the pack. The rank of each animal in a pack is relatively stable and changes only when a higher-ranking animal becomes weak due to age, injury or illness. Then "rank fights" start, ending often with the death or expulsion from the pack of the previous high-ranking animal. That sounds horrible un-human (sic!) but it makes sure that the pack as a whole survives.
What does it now mean in a dog-human mixed pack, a family?
If you get a puppy it is, should be!, around 12weeks old. We used to breed dogs at home and we never gave a puppy away before it reached this age. Why? Because the "play fights" with the other puppies and the interaction with the rest of the pack are an important step in the socialising process of the dog.
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So now the practical tips.
When a dog (either as a puppy or as an older dog) enters a new pack, the new family, you must make sure that the dogs knows its place in the pack. And has to be the last place in your pack's ranking order! The dog must understand that all humans are higher ranking then it! Why? To avoid that the dog starts to behave as the alpha dog and starts to play the boss! And that can include aggressive protection of what the dog considers as "its", may it be "its" food, "its" toys or "its" territory. So how do you achieve this? The following tips are valid either for a new dog or for a dog that needs re-training in this aspect. And as this hub was requested as "How do you deal with a food aggressive dog?" My tips and advice concentrate on this aspect:
1. Determine when the best time is to feed your dog. Dogs normally rest after a meal; larger breeds HAVE to rest after a meal to avoid serious problems like bloat (Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus). You want to feed your dog at a time when there is relative quietness in the house and when the dog can relax afterwards for a time, for example when the kids are in school ;-). That brings the stress levels down and allows the dog to relax more and be a bit less protective. Try to feed your dog always at the same time. In the ideal case that should be after the "human pack" has eaten, as the alpha wolves eat first and the lower ranking pack members last.
2. Establish a place and a routine to feed your dog. Always feed your dog at the same place and follow a certain routine. You will imitate the alpha wolf that comes back from hunting and shares the food with the lower ranking members of the pack. You even might to fake that you are eating a bit first and then giving the bowl to the dog to emphasise that. Have one "main" feeder in the family, but make sure that everybody takes his/ her turn to establish the idea in the dog that all humans are higher ranking pack members that share food with the lowest ranking pack member - the dog. Soon your dog will know when it is feeding time and follow you around as you prepare its bowl. Before giving it to the dog, fake that you eat a bit of it, then let the dog do something simple like "sit" or whatever command the dog knows to "earn" their food. Don't allow that the dog jumps around, and up and down at you, wait until it has calmed down and then set the bowl to the ground. Remember you are the alpha that decides when and what to give, not the dog that demands that you do it "now". When you have set the bowl to the ground go quietly away and let the dog eat. When the dog has learned to make "sit" for the food you can expand this to train him to "sit and wait" or "down and wait" making, until YOU allow it to go up and eat the food.
3. After the dog has eaten. When the dog has finished eating and wanders off to have a rest, remove the bowl. Don't let any food standing around until next feeding time. Where no food there no food aggressiveness ;-)
4. If you have several dogs/ pets and they are "food aggressive" amongst themselves, you must know who is the higher ranking member in the "dog only" part of the pack and feed them in this order, higher ranking members first. If you don't know that, are unsure or your dogs go through a phase of re-establishing their ranks feed them apart and out of sight of eachother.
5. Feeding at the table Don't feed the dog at the table whilst you eat, remember the alpha wolves/ dogs share the leftovers after they had their fill, not before. Remember that a lot of human food is not suitable for dogs, salt can damage its kidneys and chocolate can even kills smaller dogs. So the best is not to feed the dog at all at the table! If they are dog-suitable leftovers keep them until the usual feeding time.
6.Things that may help. Make sure that your dog gets enough exercise, a tired dog is less likely to get aggressive then one that has to much energy left over. Make a distingtion between food time/ place and other things like playing with your dog. Give the dog the possibility to "switch the chip" between playing and being fed.
Summary: Food aggresivity is a symptom of a dominance problem. The dog doesn't know its place in the family and/ or believes itself higher ranking then one or more human members of the pack. Rfox has written an excellent hub that gives a lot of sound advice how to (re)establish the human leadership in your pack at How To Prevent Dog Bites Involving Children In case you liked my hub feel free to give it a thumb up or leave a comment in the box, I would be especially grateful for comments that help me to improve the lat-out etc of my hub, please BE critical! ;-) SY
The cutie below was captured by "Shooter" aka Michael Adams. Also for this image I have purchased the appropriate license ;-)
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Lucky you ;-) But it shows also that you are "well behaved" people that know how to bring up a dog! SY
I have a food aggressive dog, but he is 1 years old and we rescued him from a pound. He was full of ticks and has wounds on his ears and cheeks. He has gained weight and being better with us and our other dog. He does growl when I am around him and he is eating. I have started making him sit before I give him his food, so next I will try "eating" some and maybe that will also help. I appreciate your hub, it helped me.
Well done you! For rescuing him and for getting this far in his/ her/ its re-socialisation ;-) Anything I can do to help, just leave a comment on this hub and I will come back to you asap! SY
that in4mation was vey use full i knew most of it i just didnt know how to put it into pactice
Our puppy is 6 months old and she understands that humans are above her in rank but is very dominant with other dogs. we make her sit and wait for her food but she barks and bites at the older dogs if they even come near. We remove the food and wait for her to calm down if this happens. Is there anyway of correcting this aggression? She also acts very dominant (not aggressive) when there is no food.
She gets pretty scared actually when we're outside and there are new humans/sounds etc. around but she's great indoors and plays well and listens for the most part.
Thanks
My 3 month old English Bulldog puppy has expressed aggressiveness. She is a barrel of laughs usally. But sometimes she can be "mean". I have 3 other dogs in in the house and I have witnessed her aggressive behavior both with the other dogs and with myself. She can be alone or with the other dogs and certain things just seem to get to her. Certain ways we pet her and of course treats or chews and toys... trying to keep her out of things.. she is ready to fight whoever. lol I love her though and want to help her find her place in our pack! :) Any tips?
@Kendra and I love my bull puppy!
Sorry for coming back to you so late. It seems to me that both puppies show a typical "teenager" behaviour. They try to find out their place in the pecking-order. @Kendra, are the other dogs the same breed? Smaller? Which gender do the older dogs have? It might just be that she tries to become the next pack leader, if you try to avoid that try feeding the other dogs first and try to "support" them in their leader role. But perhaps it is just the first sign of a future pack leader (after the humans obviously ;-)
@I love my bull puppy!
I am not too familiar with the breed, perhaps you should contact better Whitney05 http://hubpages.com/profile/Whitney05 she might be able to give better advice. In all cases you shouldn't tolerate that the puppy is agressive against you or other humans! Make clear that fighting against you she will always loose, you have to be the pack leader, not she! What breed are the other dogs?
SY
My other dogs are pugs. Smaller than she of course. All my dogs are female. My worries are more about her growling and showing teeth to me! My pugs have showed her who is boss. lol She tests them but even though she is bigger and stronger they show teeth too. :)
"I love my bull puppy!" Simply do what your older dogs do, show the puppy who is the boss! SY
my dalmation was fine untill had spade, now growls and goes to bite when trying to put her to bed at night or got a bone, but not if eating her normal food, she will let you remove this no problem. this only started after had her done, does worry me as we have a 1yr old and an 8 yr old kids
First of all, it is very difficult to give an advice without seeing the dog/ situation. Do you have some sort of doggie club in your neighbourhood or a puppy-meeting? In all cases it is wise NOT to let the kids alone with the dog, especially not the youngest one. Growling when "put to bed" might be more related to separation anxiety then to being aggressive. In all the cases "punish" here when she growls by telling her off "NO!" in a sharp voice or shaking her gently by the neck. Dalamtians are in general intelligent dogs that are very eager to please, it shouldn't be too difficult to "explain" to her what acceptable and what un-acceptable behaviour is. Last but not least, make sure not only to read this article, read also RFox's hub http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Prevent-Dog-Bites-I great info there! All the best, SY
First of all, it is very difficult to give an advice without seeing the dog/ situation. Do you have some sort of doggie club in your neighbourhood or a puppy-meeting? In all cases it is wise NOT to let the kids alone with the dog, especially not the youngest one. Growling when "put to bed" might be more related to separation anxiety then to being aggressive. In all the cases "punish" here when she growls by telling her off "NO!" in a sharp voice or shaking her gently by the neck. Dalamtians are in general intelligent dogs that are very eager to please, it shouldn't be too difficult to "explain" to her what acceptable and what un-acceptable behaviour is. Last but not least, make sure not only to read this article, read also RFox's hub http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Prevent-Dog-Bites-I great info there! All the best, SY
Hi, thanks for the tips. Glad that my dog behaves rather well in this regard. Have you got tips on handling food aggressive kids?
cheers,
Nops, but you could try the same tricks like for a dog, should work also ;-) SY
Hi. I have a three month old puppy who attacks other dogs if food is present. It doesn't matter if she has just eaten or if she has not. she still attacks them no matter what. any advice?
For the first time ever I'm experiencing a food agressive dog. The two dogs in question are mother and pup.. Mother is 3 and pup is 2 (it was an oops litter).
Mother won't let her pup eat, even though there are two food dishes. She has no issues letting my golden retriever eat (he is silent pack alpha). I'm not sure what to do. This just started yesterday for the first time and we had to seperate my two females as the mother had pup by the throat and wouldn't let go and pup was retaliating.
Once we were able to get them seperated, they calmed right down again... The hubby and I didn't let either resume eating until they both lost all tension (mother and pup were even cleaning each others ears and face). Then we allowed mother back to her dish first (higher rank) and pup back a few minutes after, when we were certain that everything was calm.
The calm lasted about a minute before Keema attacked again.
We've seperated the dogs for the time being, and I plan to socialize them still away from food, but am keeping them seperated when they're unsupervised or eating.
They've been together for 2 years, ever since the pup was born and have never been seperated before and have never been in a fight before. I'm at a loss and completely confused with the looming 'why now?' question. It came completely out of no where.
I'm really hoping you have a suggestion for me on how to fix this problem/
@meagan Which of the tips in this hub have you already tried and what was the outcome? SY
@Jenna
Difficult to answer the "Why now?" I would certainly feed them separate for a while. Do they show signs of "rank fight" also on other occasions? I guess the rank in your pack was until now like this:
1. Humans 2. Golden Retriever 3. Mother 4. Pup (2 years, also now really a teenager, not a puppy anymore)
Without seeing the dogs I would guess that the pup tries to get a higher rank in the pack. And the mother being food aggresssive to "tell her off" and/ or "put her back in her place".
I would observe them and feed them separated for a while. How bad is the fighting and what breed are they? Can you risk it to let them "fight it out"?
Important in this time of change is that none of the dogs tries to "out rank" the humans, keep an eye on that. SY
@ SY -
I'll start with the dogs/breeds:
Tyson - teenager/female/cross catahoula-golden. She was an oops.
Keema - mother/catahoula
You've got the ranking down perfectly, and I don't believe it's changed or in the process of changing. We never had issues with Keema or Tyson trying to outrank either my husband or I and it doesn't appear that either will try now. But I'll definitely keep an eye on that.
With the rank of the three dogs, once again, there's never been any rank issues, it seemed to just fall into place naturally. Keema seems to naturally submit to dogs larger than her (tyson is slightly smaller) and Kobe naturally slipped into the Alpha role of the three. Tyson has always been an extremely submissive dog. She submits to any animal on or off our property, including visiting dogs, our cat, etc. A good example is my mother's one dog. He's a little 8 pound min poodle/terrier cross and she will fully submit to him - it's actually somewhat humerous.
There have never been any 'rank fights' among the three dogs. Occasionally Keema has extremely gently pushed Tyson aside if she appeared to be testing the boundries - but I don't think that was ever anything more than a puppy/teenager taking things too far with the mother keeping her in place.
They had each other by the neck - with Keema initiating it - and neither were giving any signs of backing down. Both had a couple of small punctures, nother terribly serious, but I stepped between them and slowly forced the two apart with my legs. Causing them to back away from each other so they wouldn't bite me - both seemed to back down slightly once I was in the middle... I assume because they weren't about to challenge me. It was a pretty nasty fight and I think it might have been worse if both didn't have that famous loose skin around the necks in catahoula's. So I'm not sure it's a risk I want to take.
I am feeding them seperately for now, but I don't want that to be permanent. The plan for now is feed them seperate and let them socialize supervized (in case it escalates further - in my experience catahoula's are not the type of breed that forgets things).
Are one or both of the bitches spayed? If you don't intend to bred with Tyson, that would be a possibility perhaps? If both are spayed, do they get enough exercise/ work to do? Bored dogs that have too much energy tend to get easier "stressed" with eachother. Space, have both dogs enough space for themselves? SY
Neither are spayed at the moment. Maybe I'll get Tyson spayed...
Both do get tons of excercise/work.. Keema likes to herd things, so we let her do that and work with her on that and all the dogs get walked daily - a couple of miles, plus we have 27 acres of them to run/play on and we are out playing with them all the time and constantly working with them mentally through training and working.
Thanks for all your help. If you have any other suggestions I'd love to hear them!
If you don't plan to breed with Tyson it might be a help to spay her (also to avoid further oops) Remember that wolves/ dogs also use the pack rank to decide who is allowed to breed. Normally only the two alpha wolves breed in a pack. Spaying Tyson would make her smell "neutral" to Keema. It might helps, it might not. If the problem doesn't solve itself over the next two weeks or so you might look for help via your local dog training club etc. A "hub" can only give some tricks&tips, but as I can't see the dogs it is difficult to give further advice. But I hope all calms down and you have a lovely Christmas and Advent time with your family and your four-legged friends ;-) SY
Jenna, sorry, seems your comments didn't get approved first time round, anything else you need help with? SY
Thank you for the opportunity in correcting my dog Marilyn. She is a 5 lb 2 1/2 yr old yorkie pooh. About 4 months ago she started to growl at me. Especially if I go near her when she is with my husband. She is now growling at me when her food is out , she never did this before. She lets every one in the house pet her while sitting with my husband as for me soon as I do she growls. 63 days ago I took her to the breders she was not happy. Is she possible holding a grudge??? Now that she has 4 puppies her behaviour is getting worse. Should I put her on her back and hold her neck and tell her no...my husband says to do this, it works for him.
thank you
Carole...lost and getting broken hearted
First of all be very careful when handling her, Yorkies a very fragile ;-) But yes, you have to show her her place in the family, at the moment it seems to me she believes herself to be the rank highest female in the pack, but that is your place! So yes you have to get your "pack rank" back from her, your husband is right, just tell her off each time she does growl at you (also your husband should do it) So next time she growls at you when she is with your husband you BOTH have to tell her off and then ignore her for a while. Ignoring works a tread with some dogs;-) Hope that helps and Happy New Year to your whole family pack, SY
PS No, I don't think that she holds a grudge against you because you took her to the breeder ;-)
Thank you for the very quick response...And a very happy New Year to you and yours.
Another ? after I give her a treat or food and she does not eat them right away should I take them away including the treat. I gave her a treat that she saved and when I walked near she started to growl.
Thank you
Carole
Don't take it away but also don't allow her to growl or snap at you. SY
Thank you for linking to my site as a useful link :)
Happy new year...keep up the good work!
Nick
You are welcome Nick! Feel free to comment here as much as you like, sometimes two opinions are better then only one ;-) SY
We recently added a 3 month old husky puppy to our household. We currently have a 1o year old GSD mix and a 2 year old BC mix. We have never had food aggression issues until we added Sasha. Its horrible. My husband and I can remove her food bowl from her with no problem but she protects the community bowl from the other two dogs. If I offer treats, she attacks the other two dogs for their treats even though she has hers. When given her own bowl, she goes to her bowl, eats her food and then goes after the other two.
Tonight she wolfed down her treat without chewing it and immediately went after the other two dogs for theirs. She was my husbands anniversary present from me but at this point, I can barely tolerate her. Then I feel badly for feeling this way. I'm nearly 50 and have had dogs my whole life and have never had this problem before.
I need some suggestions here. Please.
Some additional questions: Is the husky puppy male or female? How do the other dogs react to its behaviour? What to you mean by "GSD mix" and "BC mix", which breeds to you mean? How does the husky behave with regard to the other dogs when no food is involved, during walks, play time for example? SY
The husky pup is a female. I had decided to get a female so we wouldnt have any dominance issues with my older male dog. GSD is German Shepard mix and BC is Border Collie mix. My older male dog, when the husky takes his food will walk away. He truly is a non confrontational type of dog. My 2 yo female dog, will challenge the husky female and then we have an all out fight, which we step in to break up.
When there is no food involved, there is normal puppy play from the husky, although this morning I noticed that she is starting to get more aggressive as far as trying to get the most attention from my husband and I.
I told her that she had to wait her turn and ignored her and she bit me in the arm. I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and told her no loudly. She laid her ears back in a submissive way and immediately laid down. When she tried it again, harshly told her no and she immediately laid down.
So I think I'm dealing with dominance issues that is now moving from food to other areas. -Laurie
Wow, this puppy has a strong will to be the alpha in your household - with three months! I think you are right with your analysis of "dominance issues that is now moving from food to other areas". It is very difficult to give advice without seeing the dogs interact, but some suggestions nevertheless:
1. Most important: You have done very well in telling her off not to bite you, keep this up, it must be always in her mind that "humans are alpha, humans are superior, a dog is neither allowed to do anything against and/or hurt any human" That is the most important as a husky is not exactly a small dog.
2. Start to fully train her now. Might be she is an early starter, very intelligent or simply bored. Give her things to learn, train her. Make her tired ;-) Do you have an agility training group where you live? If you go for walks with all three, let the others "show off" what they have learned. Then she has to do the same. Teach her to learn from the other dogs to get her reward.
3. Socialize her with other dogs also, not only your own, as much as possible. Find a puppy group that meets or a group of dog owners that go for walks together. She has to learn that she is not the centre of the universe, that there will be always a dog that is higher ranking than her.
4. When you break up a fight between the two females make sure to pass the message that you, the humans, are fighting on the site of the other dog, not on her.
Hope that helps a bit, check back if you have more questions, SY
Thank you so much! I'm going to put these things into action immediately. We just moved to this area so I'm not sure about what's available but I will certainly look to see what's available, in order to train her.
We have two acres of land and our older dog doesn't need to be leashed when we go out. He stays put, our two year old is a runner so she stays on a lead, as does our husky. We live in a highly wooded area and today we took them for a long walk in the woods and tired all three of them out.
Thank you again for your help.
You are welcome, keep us posted how it goes! SY
i have 2 cavalier king charles spaniel a dog and a bitch,the dog who has been castrated early on when he was about 1 is very food aggresive,he will not let you near him when he is eating and also tries to steel the bitches food,but i just seperated them and feeding time but now its got worse,he sits beside the water all day so she cant get a drink and if i try to take it he growls and shows his teeth even when i fill another bowl for the bitch he will follow me growling and the other day he actually jumped to snatch it out my hand.this has also been the case with toys.i have tried to show him that i am the boss with no luck,he growls his ears go back and his eyes bulge out his head.the dog and bitch are both 5 years old i bought them as pups the dog first and 2 months later the bitch for added company for him.any help would be greatly appreciated.also the bitch is very submissive and very,very affectionate she will often put her paws on our shoulders and press her face against ours as if she is snuggling in and at bed time she snuggles in to my son(hes 12),has no issues with food and will let you take anything from her without a fight,but when the dog and bitch play fight which is always innatiated by the bitch she always wins and when hes down she tries to mate with him which i tell her off for.
also i forgot to mention he has started to bark at every little thing and barks at visitors until he gets attention,this can be very annoying he sometimes just sits staring at me waggling his tale and barking until i stroke him
You say: "i have tried to show him that i am the boss" but you didn't tell us HOW you have tried. Can you be a bit more specific? Thanks, SY
good ideas
hi again i have made him sit and wait before giving him his food and i have pinned him down by his neck as i read this is what the pack leader would do (not so as it would hurt just to restrain him) when he growls and tries to steel the bitches food and we always eat before he and the bitch do i hope this is helpful
another thing is ive heard that this over affectionate behaviour that the bitch is doing and the trying to mate with the dog is another leadership method i would like to know if that is correct i would also like to add that the dog has not bitten anyone hard yet but i am quite sure he will as he has given me these little soft bites i assume to be a warning i am the only one he has done this with but i am also the only one who challenges this behaviour
Regarding the aggressivity of the dog: It is really paramount that everybody in your family shows him that they are higher then he in the pecking order. First the humans, then the dogs. You all have to train him that he has to give up food and toys as soon as you ask him to and without growling and/ or biting! Also for his own safety, imagine he finds something like a poisened bait or something similar dangerous on your walks and you can't get it out of his mouth! Some of my dogs would react just to a firm "NO!" others I really had to pick up by their neck fur and shake them (Careful with very small dogs when doing this!) to show That I am serious. You are lucky that yours are King Charles Spaniels, not German Shephardcdogs ;-) Consistency is also important, dogs need clear rules. Also keep them occupied with walks/ plays/ training/teach them tricks, an occupied dog that has a "job" is far less likely to test the pecking order then a bored one. If things don't get better with this tips I would look for a local dog club that offers some basic obedience traing in a group. Interacting with other dogs in a group, for example in dog walks/ parks where many dogs meet and play without lead can also do wonders. He just has to learn that he is not the boss/ center of the universe. And that when he is a good dog that life is so much more fun for him.
The bitch most likely sees herself as lower in rang then "her humans" I wouldn't worry to much about her. Just make sure that it stays so. What does the bitch do when the dog tries to get her food/ toys? Does she fight back or does she give them up readily?
hi thanks for the help,the bitch will just walks away if the dog wants something she has i have never seen her angry,it always makes us laugh on the rare occasion that she gets over excited and barks as it is so unusual she just likes her cuddles,they are like chalk and cheese.i would also like to add the dog never cuddles in,he will bark for a stroke but he would never willingly come and sit on your lap.we often feel sorry for him and go and give him a cuddle as he looks so lonely.also i dont know if this is relevant but the bitch does sometimes lie on top of him,say he lies against the corner of the couch to go to sleep she will just climb on top of him and go to sleep,he doesnt seem to mind this though.just so i have this right,if my dog has something i dont think he should have or has taken from the bitch is it safe for me to pick him up by the scruff of the neck?
also if he growls when i do this should i do it until he stops or just until he drops the toy/food?
Hi - I found this hub doing a google search on food aggression. I'm in need of some help on the subject...
I have a one-year-old Border Collie mix who is a bit of a mystery to me as of late. I adopted him from the SPCA when he was about eight weeks old and used to play with his ears and paws and pet him while we was eating, take away his food for a few seconds, make him sit and give it back. He was soooo great about all of this, tail always wagging, that after a while I phased it out. Then things changed a few months ago - I had a treat for him and a visitor knelt down to pet him, and he growled at her. I decided to start the food aggression prevention again, but this time he would growl at me if I was petting him while he was eating.
Then I tried feeding him by handful, making him earn each handful. This was fine, but if someone went to pet him while he was eating, he'd growl. Then I tried holding his bowl while he ate and petting him at the same time. If he growled, I'd say "NO" and calmly take his food away for about 10 minutes or so, then try again. After a month of this, he was getting better and growling less. Then all of a sudden a week or two ago, he started getting worse again. Now it takes me 45 minutes just to feed him a meal!
Also, recently he's been "running away" when he has a new toy/treat/kong with peanut butter and I go near him. If I follow him, he drops it and puts his ears back and gets all tense. If I bend down, he growls. I think he's afraid I'm going to take it away, but this growling is unacceptable, so how can I allow him to keep what he's growling at me for? At the same time, I don't want to reinforce his fear...I'm so lost. Please help!!!
"Now it takes me 45 minutes just to feed him a meal!"
Just relax a bit, seems you are overdoing the traing here a bit. You don't need to make him earn every bite of food! Also border collies are the most intelligent breeds of all, does he have something to do with his brain? Relax a bit on the obedience side of things and invent some fun games like finding hidden treasures and/ or agility. You have to re-discover the fun you two had being pack together! SY
I Found this page looking up food agression. I havre been "Working" with him to over come this Big Problem.I adopted "Elvis" from, the spca. He is an 1 1/2 year old mix pointer /dalmation . He is food agressive. Did he starve in his past life? He will guard his bowl. He will try to "Bury" or hide his bowl. He always tries to leave "Leftover's"He will "attack" cats or dogs if they come in the room if he is eating. My daughter sat in a chair next to hime while he was eating. He went to bite her.Fortunatekly she had her shoes on. I gave him 2 steak bone's tonight . One he went under the bed with. I put another on the floor to see what he would do. He left the one bone out in the open. I walked around the room and he began to growl at me. That was the first time that has happened. He stayed under the bed with the one bone. I felt threatened. He is now trying to make up for his bad behavior. One bone is back in the open while the other is under the bed. I picked up the bone and gave it back to him. No more bone's ever again for Elvis? I have had him for 3 months and love him dearly as he loves me. Do I return him to the shelter? He is overcoming his fear of Man. He use to run and hide. Help!!
There are limits of how much advice can be given via a web site, I strongly suggest that you contact your vet and/ or SPCA and ask them to recommend somebody that can help you, your family and the dog. If he "goes and bites a child" then there are far more issues involved then that can be tackled by a web site advise. I guess you live in the UK? There is a lot of help around in doggie clubs etc which will be far more effective then my remote advice. SY
Recently adopted a female four year old sheltie, we have a male nine year old at home as well. All good things, at first. Now the female, screams, actually screams when our male is eating his food, she thinks that it should be hers. She runs into him and snarls. When I used a NO command she was beside herself and turned her agression toward me, not biting, just snarling. Should we feed them separately?
The male is laid back, easy going. Is he now the subordinate and she the alpha? I know not to disturb the hierachy but won't the male older dog feel sad or slighted by his reassignment? Are we to defer to her and leave him to second fiddle?
sheltiegirl
@sheltiegirl
I think the problem is that she is deadly afraid of starving, I would call it "food anxiety" rather than "food aggresivity" and yes, I would feed them apart for a while. Make also sure to feed always at the same time do that she learns that there will be always enough food for her, that she doesn't have to starve. That can take a while, if that doesn't help and/ or if other problems occur please seek advice at your vet/ local dog club as an anxious dog can bite easily! SY
When I'm in park with my 3 years old golden retriever female, I'm giving her and her playmates treats for "good behaviour", from sit position. I regularly change the order of giving (sometimes she first, sometimes not) and there was never any problems. But if a dog tries to take a treat intended for her (trying to take from my hand when it's close to her mouth or even from her mouth), she barks and sometimes even snaps. Should I consider this aggressive behaviour and (potential) problem? Thank you very much for your answer!
@Irene
No, I think that is perfectly normal behaviour ;-) SY
i work at an animal shelter, and monday nite we received a severely emmaciated pitbull puppy. he and his brother were found living in a car with no food or water. The owner has been cited and the pup is on legal hold at work until the 24th of this month. i plan on bringing him home after his hold is up to foster.
i've worked with him the past two days at work. he's so thin you can see most all of his bones. i've been feeding him very small meals every 2-3 hours, so as to not make him sick. he's quite food aggressive/anxious, though i can't blame him knowing his situation. i've been feeding him by hand as often as possible, giving him a piece of kibble when i pass so he'll associate me with getting things instead of losing them. i sit beside him while he eats and talk to him, try to touch him as well. he'll growl but has never snapped or even really snarled. i have this week and maybe another one or two to work with him, get him healthy and ready to find a home. are there any tips you could give me, things i could do in a shelter situation, so that he can pass his behavioral test and be able to be adopted?
Thank you for all the info.
How old are the puppies? I would suggest that you just continue what you are doing. The puppy sounds anxious, understandable as you say, but I really doubt that you can solve all his problems in a couple of weeks. How is his brother reacting? Are they together or separated? It is really difficult to give advice like this via the internet! Is there a possibility that he stays longer in the foster care of an experienced dog handler? SY
i believe we are aiming to get him into a rescue that is used to dealing with the situation, i just need to get him to the point of being able to go. his brother is about 6 months old, while the little guy is about 5 or 5 and a half months. they aren't of the same little, but lived together and might have the same mother. the 6 month old is about three times larger and thin, but not skin and bones. ego only weighs about eight pounds, so he's quite small for his age. they were put in the same kennel upon arrival, but i separated them because the big one would jump on the small one. the big brother seems to be doing well, he's eating well and not really showing signs of much aggression at all. i'm just going to keep up what i've been doing and what i've read here and try my hardest to get him more weight and less anxious. thank you for answering my question. i know it was a lot to ask, but any info is helpful. thanks again.
I wish you two all the best, I am sure you are of to a good start, patience, lve and knowledge are the key. I think you have all three of them ;-) SY
My dog is 8 and half years old. She has always been food aggressive. She has just recently become aggressive more often away from food. And towards my daughter who is a year and a half old. My little one is afraid of her as she has snipped at her twice. I really am at a loss. She is getting meaner and meaner with age.
@Jessica
I really suggest to contact a local dog trainer/ dog club, especially as the problem involves a small child. There is only so much that can be done over the internet, but a problem like this needs personal contact with the family/dog. Ask your vet for a good dog trainer/dog club! SY
We adopted an 11 month old lab/great dane mix from the humane society May 2008 he was extremly ill (within 36 hours of being home he was admitted for about 4 days) he is doing great except he is food agressive. He will growl and show his teeth if you touch his head while he is eating. Today he actually bit my husband! He says this will get worse. I have two small children who know to stay away while he is eating but am I putting them in danger? I WILL try your advice! I hope we can turn this around, we love him!
@Mfeath Please make sure that the children are always supervised when with the dog! And if the situation doesn't get better, please look for local help like dog training clubs and so on. A great Dane is not a Chihuhua!
aprilkerr says:
17 months ago
I think my dog is about as non-food aggressive as you can get. We've been very lucky to have such a well behaved dog.