Puppy Becoming Food Agressive

[waffle]

I have a 5 month CKCS x who usually is very eager to please and friendly. Lately when he gets something like a chicken wing or meat and is approached, he will either become aggressive and start to growl or will run off with the food to another room. What can I do to stop this? I already eat before i give him food and make him sit before giving him his meal.. Any help would be appreciated

Edited March 13, 2010 by waffle

[happypaws84]

When you give him food you hold one end while he chews on it. If he growls at you take the food away. When you feed him his dinner either hold the bowl and hand feed him (I don't know what you feed so this may be too messy for you) or just keep your hand on the bowl. Again if he growls at you take the food away for half an hour.

My kelpie started the same behaviour with me and this worked for him.

[huski]

When you give him food you hold one end while he chews on it. If he growls at you take the food away. When you feed him his dinner either hold the bowl and hand feed him (I don't know what you feed so this may be too messy for you) or just keep your hand on the bowl. Again if he growls at you take the food away for half an hour.

You need to be careful taking food away or crowding over a dog while they are eating, especially if they are already showing food aggression, as you could end up reinforcing to the dog that you are a threat to his food and that you are going to take it away from them.

To the OP I would give the Triangle of Temptation a go, it will teach your dog to look to you for permission to eat. I use this with all of my dogs and it's excellent

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101

[timatah]

To the OP I would give the Triangle of Temptation a go, it will teach your dog to look to you for permission to eat. I use this with all of my dogs and it's excellent

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101

Thumbs up to triangle of temptation. I was a skeptic at first, but i changed my dogs entire attitude.

[happypaws84]

You need to be careful taking food away or crowding over a dog while they are eating, especially if they are already showing food aggression, as you could end up reinforcing to the dog that you are a threat to his food and that you are going to take it away from them.

To the OP I would give the Triangle of Temptation a go, it will teach your dog to look to you for permission to eat. I use this with all of my dogs and it's excellent

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101

Perhaps I should be more specific?

I sit on the ground, (upright, not laying down) my hand extended out beside me. Chicken wing/bone/whatever held in that hand. I do not stare at the dog, I do not take the food away at all, I just hold the food while the dog chews on it. It teaches the dog that you are not in fact a threat and also teaches the dog that you holding onto it's food means nothing to whether or not he/she gets the food.

I'm not sure what your experience with canines is at all, and I'm sure your methods work brilliantly for your dogs. I was in an identical situation to the OP, called in a behaviourist and this was the suggestion. Now my kelpie doesn't run away when I approach him when he has bones or anything like that, nor does he growl or resource guard. Please take note of the fact that I did not ONCE suggest the OP give the dog food and take it away.

[huski]

Perhaps I should be more specific?

I sit on the ground, (upright, not laying down) my hand extended out beside me. Chicken wing/bone/whatever held in that hand. I do not stare at the dog, I do not take the food away at all, I just hold the food while the dog chews on it. It teaches the dog that you are not in fact a threat and also teaches the dog that you holding onto it's food means nothing to whether or not he/she gets the food.

I'm not sure what your experience with canines is at all, and I'm sure your methods work brilliantly for your dogs. I was in an identical situation to the OP, called in a behaviourist and this was the suggestion. Now my kelpie doesn't run away when I approach him when he has bones or anything like that, nor does he growl or resource guard. Please take note of the fact that I did not ONCE suggest the OP give the dog food and take it away.

Perhaps I misunderstood you?

When you give him food you hold one end while he chews on it. If he growls at you take the food away. When you feed him his dinner either hold the bowl and hand feed him (I don't know what you feed so this may be too messy for you) or just keep your hand on the bowl. Again if he growls at you take the food away for half an hour.

I'm glad you found something that worked for you, but I personally would not use a method that involves taking the food away from a resource guarder as a way of teaching them not to guard. Again, leaving your hand on his food or on his bowl can make a resource guarder feel more threatened by you. It might work for some but it's a method I would personally not use. Do it to the wrong dog and you could get bitten.

Edited March 14, 2010 by huski

[happypaws84]

When you give him food you hold one end while he chews on it. If he growls at you take the food away. When you feed him his dinner either hold the bowl and hand feed him (I don't know what you feed so this may be too messy for you) or just keep your hand on the bowl. Again if he growls at you take the food away for half an hour.

I'm glad you found something that worked for you, but I personally would not use a method that involves taking the food away from a resource guarder as a way of teaching them not to guard. Again, leaving your hand on his food or on his bowl can make a resource guarder feel more threatened by you. It might work for some but it's a method I would personally not use. Do it to the wrong dog and you could get bitten.

I think you did misunderstand, and I also think that my first post was not as clear as it should have been. Neither was my second post. I will write it step by step here for you - if you don't like this method then that's fine, but allow the OP to make up their own mind as what works for you may not work for another person. Please also keep in mind that we are talking about a 5month old puppy, not an adult dog...

Step by step:

1. You have the chicken wing. Sit on the ground and allow the puppy to chew on the chicken. Do not let puppy take the food away from you, just keep hold of the chicken wing. Again DO NOT LET GO of the wing.

2. If the dog growls at you while this is happening, lift your hand, get up and walk away for 5 minutes.

3. Come back at the end of 5 minutes and allow the dog to chew on the food again. If the same thing happens repeat step two. Keep repeating this until the puppy learns that growling means he/she does not get what he/she wants.

4. When puppy has finished chewing without growling, praise puppy and have a little game (not too much running around though as he/she might throw up!).

I also tossed warmed chicken into my puppies bowl if I was approaching while he was eating - after doing the above with his dinner (I held the side of the bowl and he ate from it with my hand still on the bowl. If he growled at me the bowl was removed). He learnt that if I'm walking up to his bowl he'll get something awesome so he takes a step back and sits, looking at me for a treat. He also does this with bones, dead animals (next door neighbours cat brings me presents...) and anything else he has in his mouth at the time which works perfectly for me. He sees whatever I may have as better than anything he has.

I hope this clears things up.

[luvsdogs]

When I 1st got my pup at 12 w/o & gave her her 1st chicken wing she grabbed it off me & ran off to her crate to eat it. I was not having this so went on line for advice & on several sites was given the advice to keep a hold of the bone while the pup ate it. The idea behind it being that if you hold it, you own it, not the dog. I only had to do this once & she is happy to have anyone around while she eats bones. I have even been able to move the bone while she was eating it in the wrong place. Never had a problem with the food bowl, she's happy to have me touch her while she eats.

For food bowl manners, do the triangle of temptation. I have been doing this with my dogs long b4 I knew it had a name. Also stay with your dog while he eats at least a few times a week without taking the bowl or food away. When he's happy to have you stand with him you can start adding yummier stuff to the bowl.

[waffle]

Thanks for the great advice! i will definitely try the triangle of temptation, wish i had known about it before. Hopefully it will work but im scared it might not as he becomes a different dog when he gets something particularly tasty. He will behave until he gets it but once he has it he will run away then growl, then if he thinks i will take it he will try to swallow it..

Hopefully the triangle of temptation will work as I'm not too keen on holding the food while he chews as I feel like im encouraging him to gnaw on my hand.. and also not keen on pulling the food away as its always a shock for me to see him so angry and am unsure how he will react.

Now that i think about it my puppy school teacher did tell us we should touch the dogs food and take some out while they are eating to get them used to it. I will probably use both techniques like luvsdogs and hopefully it will work well for me too..

thanks and i will tell you how it goes !

[Dogsfevr]

i have never played with my dogs food nor recoomend it nor feel there is any need if the correct mutual respect is given.

The first & most obvious thing i would do with this dog is feed it where it cant run.

We run boarding kennels in over 19 years never had adog that for any reason has guarded its bowl or treats

So make sure your not adding to an issue instead of correcting an issue.

I would never suggest feeding from the hand if you arent a confidient person .

In all reality the simple things solve these issues without having to disturb there eating time each day

[cavNrott]

i have never played with my dogs food nor recoomend it nor feel there is any need if the correct mutual respect is given.

The first & most obvious thing i would do with this dog is feed it where it cant run.

So make sure your not adding to an issue instead of correcting an issue.

I would never suggest feeding from the hand if you arent a confidient person .

In all reality the simple things solve these issues without having to disturb there eating time each day

I agree. I've never had a food aggro dog and I've never messed with their food. I put the bowls down, they watch me until I give them the ok to eat and I leave them to eat in peace. My Cavaliers eat in their crates with doors open and the Rottweiler eats in 'her place' in the kitchen. The dogs do not interfere with eachothers food. Once they've finished their meal they wait in place for me to give them their bones.

IMO the reason a dog guards its food is because it fears it will be stolen from them. By taking food away you are confirming their fears.

[Guest Willow]

IMO the reason a dog guards its food is because it fears it will be stolen from them. By taking food away you are confirming their fears.

I agree...sets the dog up to guard more forcefully in the future.

I work with my dogs to ensure that if in an emergency I have to drag something off them, they will give it willingly. Lots of object swapping etc. I could put my hands in their food bowl, but that's because they know I'm more likely to be dropping an extra yummy in than taking anything off them It's nice to see your dogs go wiggly when you approach the food bowl ("Yay!!!! here comes mum!!! come play with my food bowl mum!!! whatcha gonna put in there today???"). Much easier to deal with a dog that is delighted to see you approach while they are eating.

My dogs don't get worried about their food because they feel safe & comfortable eating with people around.

[poodlefan]

Happypaws84:

2. If the dog growls at you while this is happening, lift your hand, get up and walk away for 5 minutes.

3. Come back at the end of 5 minutes and allow the dog to chew on the food again. If the same thing happens repeat step two. Keep repeating this until the puppy learns that growling means he/she does not get what he/she wants.

Of course, there's always the possiblity that removing the food when puppy growls will extinguish growling and escalate the pup to biting. Its most unwise to ignore warnings from a dog.. and downright dangerous to provoke a potentially aggressive response.

Resource guarding (of any resource) is a form of aggression. Dealing with aggression is not something you do on advice from folk who've never seen the behaviour in your dog and have no qualifications in dealing with it.

If you're that concerned about the growling, engage the services of a decent behaviourist. In the meantime, feed your dog in a crate.

Those who've not had to deal with a resource guarder should count their blessings and put it down to luck. There's evidence that this is hardwired behaviour and it can be damn difficult to manage. Quite a few behaviorists believe that management is all you CAN do and that extinguishing it is extremely difficult.

Edited March 15, 2010 by poodlefan

[happypaws84]

Happypaws84:

2. If the dog growls at you while this is happening, lift your hand, get up and walk away for 5 minutes.

3. Come back at the end of 5 minutes and allow the dog to chew on the food again. If the same thing happens repeat step two. Keep repeating this until the puppy learns that growling means he/she does not get what he/she wants.

Of course, there's always the possiblity that removing the food when puppy growls will extinguish growling and escalate the pup to biting. Its most unwise to ignore warnings from a dog.. and downright dangerous to provoke a potentially aggressive response.

Resource guarding (of any resource) is a form of aggression. Dealing with aggression is not something you do on advice from folk who've never seen the behaviour in your dog and have no qualifications in dealing with it.

If you're that concerned about the growling, engage the services of a decent behaviourist. In the meantime, feed your dog in a crate.

Those who've not had to deal with a resource guarder should count their blessings and put it down to luck. There's evidence that this is hardwired behaviour and it can be damn difficult to manage. Quite a few behaviorists believe that management is all you CAN do and that extinguishing it is extremely difficult.

Well, at least I agree with one sentence. Perhaps the OP in question cannot afford the time or expense of going to a behaviourist, they may not have a crate either...

Guess it serves me right for answering the OP's question with my experience. It was only what a highly recommended behaviourist told me to do, so I guess that counts for nothing. Next time I'll remember to check with those who have a far higher post count before I post

For the OP: I do recommend that you speak to a behaviourist, and I wouldn't be surprised if you are told to do the same as I am. From your original post you are in an identical situation to the one that I was in not one month ago with my boy.

Good luck and I hope that using both methods works well for you, I also hope that you aren't scared off by people exaggerating the situation when they aren't in the same situation themselves.

[poodlefan]

Guess it serves me right for answering the OP's question with my experience. It was only what a highly recommended behaviourist told me to do, so I guess that counts for nothing. Next time I'll remember to check with those who have a far higher post count before I post

That would be a highly recommended behaviourist who had seen your dog, diagnosed the issue and advised you personally on the way ahead?

Sorry for disagreeing with you but the first thing ANY professional will tell you about aggression is that it is potentially dangerous to provide advice on the issue for a dog you've never seen. Don't believe me - check with the person you saw. Ask the professionals here. You've just done something they'd never do because they know that seemingly identical situations don't necessarily equate to identical dogs.

You could be bang on the money with your advice - but the fact is that you've no way of knowing that and what you've suggested could cause harm. I have a friend with a small dog who got 20 stitches from being bitten by hers from taking a treat off him.. and she'd also been advised to punish growling. Despite what you may think adverse consequences can flow from dispensing advice over the internet.

How long you've been a member here is of zero interest to me. I criticised your advice, not you because I thought it was potentially dangerous. Have a little think about my motives next time before adding eye rolls to your accusations of bullying. I like people here to be safe.

Edited March 15, 2010 by poodlefan

[huski]

Guess it serves me right for answering the OP's question with my experience. It was only what a highly recommended behaviourist told me to do, so I guess that counts for nothing. Next time I'll remember to check with those who have a far higher post count before I post

That would be a highly recommended behaviourist who had seen your dog, diagnosed the issue and advised you personally on the way ahead?

Sorry for disagreeing with you but the first thing ANY professional will tell you about aggression is that it is potentially dangerous to provide advice on the issue for a dog you've never seen. Don't believe me - check with the person you saw. Ask the professionals here. You've just done something they'd never do because they know that seemingly identical situations don't necessarily equate to identical dogs.

You could be bang on the money with your advice - but the fact is that you've no way of knowing that and what you've suggested could cause harm. I have a friend with a small dog who got 20 stitches from being bitten by hers from taking a treat off him.. and she'd also been advised to punish growling. Despite what you may think adverse consequences can flow from dispensing advice over the internet.

How long you've been a member here is of zero interest to me. I criticised your advice, not you because I thought it was potentially dangerous. Have a little think about my motives next time before adding eye rolls to your accusations of bullying. I like people here to be safe.

I agree PF.

Happypaws the advice you gave has nothing to do with your post count. I don't care who you are or how long you've been here, I'd disgaree with any body who posted the advice that you did for the reasons Poodlefan advised above.

There are many reputable behaviourists who would disagree with the method just as there are some who would agree with it. This is a discussion forum and naturally we will all share our opinions on what we think will and will not work well for the dog in question. There are also a number of trainers and behaviourists who post on this forum too (one of which wrote the article I linked to above) so you will get a range of opinions posting here.

[pixie_meg]

I think anyone who has not had a food aggressive dog should know that it is not something you necessarily create. There are so many methods and so many reasons why your dog may do it and it doesn't mean your dog is unstable but i truly believe it is something that you need to get advice about.

For us it was that our boy was a very dominant boy and he was making it clear that he believed he was top of the pack. so for us it was about very clearly stating to him that he was at the bottom of the pack. It was something we could not just ignore in the hopes his food aggression would go away, it was something we had to stop as we have very young children in our house. I'm not going to go into details of what we did(under behaviourists consultation). I can happily say that we have a very balanced dog now who knows where he stands in the house.

[Nekhbet]

happypaws that method you described is fine for some dogs, especially small pups in some instances.

Before everyone jumps down my throat it actually does teach the dog something. But it has its time and place.

I think for waffle have another treat or wing etc in your hand. Offer him the other wing and see the dogs reaction. If he's still resource guarding then definately call a behaviorist, if his demeanour softens then teach him swapsies ... Here you take this for the one you have, make a MASSIVE fuss of the dog for being good and coming too you for another treat. Gradually you can decrease the value of the barter item

Sorry for disagreeing with you but the first thing ANY professional will tell you about aggression is that it is potentially dangerous to provide advice on the issue for a dog you've never seen.

Thats funny enough people on here do it all the time. And TOT is pinned who says that is good for this cavie x either.

Edited March 15, 2010 by Nekhbet

[poodlefan]

Sorry for disagreeing with you but the first thing ANY professional will tell you about aggression is that it is potentially dangerous to provide advice on the issue for a dog you've never seen.

Thats funny enough people on here do it all the time. And TOT is pinned who says that is good for this cavie x either.

And every time they do they take risks with the safety of people they haven't met.

TOT doesn't require you to put your face within range of a potentially aggressive dog Nekkie. If you're hanging on to one side of a chicken wing, it is.

[huski]

TOT doesn't require you to put your face within range of a potentially aggressive dog Nekkie. If you're hanging on to one side of a chicken wing, it is.

Exactly. And the benefit of linking to the TOT thread is that you can easily ask questions about it and the person who wrote it is available to answer them.