Food Agression

[Bubitty]

Just wanting to start a discussion on food aggression.

I have noticed a few things about my dogs which make me think.

Now both dogs have been taught to “give” and will give up bones or food if asked directly but...............

Bubby is very relaxed with food and resources in general. He just doesn’t really care. If he is eating and I potter around him, he doesn’t bat an eyelid and has no reaction. Sometimes he will try to encourage me to hold a bone for him to chew on so he doesn’t have to use his paws. I would say his preferred way of eating a bone is if I am on the other end holding it for him (something I did when he was younger but have put an end to it once I realised it was sheer mollycoddling!). I would say there was practically zero chance of him getting antsy about food.

Bitty on the other hand, is a very very very hungry little monster. In the past (about a yr ago) if she has a big juicy bone and I happen to approach her she will stop eating and drop next to the bone with what I would interpret to be a “worried” look on her face. She seemed to only relax when I told her to “eat” and showed that I had no intention of taking the bone away from her or wanting to interfere with it. I have tried to ease this concern by giving her VERY high value treats if I ever pass her while she is eating and now she will ignore me. Not with the blatant disregard of Bubby but I sense the concern has decreased.

Ok, after that long ramble, I guess my question is if one were to judge the behaviour of both my dogs, would you conclude that Bitty has a greater propensity for food aggression? Or would you only conclude this if she DID do something aggressive?

Edited February 6, 2011 by Bub

[corvus]

To me all behaviour exists in probabilities. For example, I think Kivi behaving aggressively at all is highly improbable, compared to Erik behaving aggressively, which is much more likely in certain circumstances. Neither have ever shown food-related aggression, but I would definitely consider Erik more likely to display it. As far as I'm concerned, I judge the likelihood of the behaviour occurring and manage accordingly so that it doesn't. Much like you have. There are a lot of precautions I take with Erik that I don't take with Kivi. That's because he cares about resources a lot more than Kivi does, is more proactive in his behaviour, and seems to perceive competition where Kivi does not. I consider he has a greater propensity for aggression in general than Kivi does, but he rarely behaves aggressively. So I guess I would say both??

[chran]

It may not be food aggression - could be resource in general (toys, blankys), dominance or Bitty being a harder dog.

[wuffles]

My very, very, very food motivated girl is similar and I would say that in my family, she is definitely the one I would trust less around food with humans. She hasn't demonstrated any aggression, but noticeably tenses when she thinks someone may take her food... her reaction is to eat whatever's left as fast as possible. I can grab things out of her mouth with no problem, and I regularly give her higher value items while she is eating, but I wouldn't be 100% confident about other people doing the same.

She has a very soft and submissive personality and will share toys, beds, space with people and dogs very happily. She just loves her food.

[Golden Rules]

Bub, she is resource guarding.

Paddy as you know does it a lot. In fact both my dogs will resource guard their bones against the cats! They can not even walk past the dogs without get barked or growled at.

You have done the right thing by giving high value treats when you go near Bitty when she has a bone or whatever.

I also think it's genetic in most instances. Paddy has done it from a VERY early age. I never leave my dogs alone with bones now, not like I used to with other dogs.

[Bubitty]

Bub, she is resource guarding.

Paddy as you know does it a lot. In fact both my dogs will resource guard their bones against the cats! They can not even walk past the dogs without get barked or growled at.

You have done the right thing by giving high value treats when you go near Bitty when she has a bone or whatever.

I also think it's genetic in most instances. Paddy has done it from a VERY early age. I never leave my dogs alone with bones now, not like I used to with other dogs.

So you would say she is a resource guarder even if she has never barked or growled at anyone regarding a bone/food?

I am curious as to at what level would someone deem a dog to be a resource guarder. Getting growled at is pretty obvious. Can one tag resource guarding if all you are ascertaining is "concern" on the dog's part.

[chran]

It's more of a potential as resource guarder, and is just the personality of the dog. Just like some dogs are friendly and others more reserved toward strangers. There's nothing wrong with it, except when the world's coming to an end and food's hard to find, she'll outsurvive Bubby who prolly let Bitty steal his food.

[aussielover]

I would say moving the bone away could be considered resource guarding and also noticeably tensing up.

My dog just wags her tail (and body) if you approach and continues to munch. I'm not sure i would interpret this as concern as she always wags her tail and goes into happy mode if you approach her. You can easily take a bone away from her.

[Sheridan]

My two resource guard and are fed their dinner separately. With treats they're closely supervised.

[Golden Rules]

It's more of a potential as resource guarder, and is just the personality of the dog. Just like some dogs are friendly and others more reserved toward strangers. There's nothing wrong with it, except when the world's coming to an end and food's hard to find, she'll outsurvive Bubby who prolly let Bitty steal his food.

This is exactly what I would have written Bub (unless the tense up is seen as resource guarding), and you already know that Bubby will definitley let Bitty steal his food!

Edited February 7, 2011 by Golden Rules

[corvus]

I am curious as to at what level would someone deem a dog to be a resource guarder.

It's just a label. Whether the dog is growling or snapping or whether they are just tensing is likely to be simply a difference in arousal. I wouldn't say Erik was a resource guarder, but I would say he isn't always comfortable sharing. That may be evident with anything from displacement behaviour or tension to driving the other dog off. They are essentially the same to me, just influenced by different levels of arousal. I don't consider behaviours discrete as a rule. It's always one leads into another leads into another.