Here's One For You Experts: Treat Aggression?

[Ruin Maniac]

Our two puppies are getting on fine so far in our crowded house. Suleiman the samoyed, who only arrived recently, and Luca the rescue puppy who joined us in November have been outdoors and indoors playing, tumbling about, shredding toys, biting faces and getting up to the usual puppy mischief we expected :)

Their playtime is supervised and limited while Suleiman adjusts to the home and family, so we're always about to make sure there's no serious trouble and while we are gone they have separate rooms and crates. Luca is an incredibly well socialised pup. Very people and dog friendly, loves to play and until now hasn't shown a hint of aggression even in some pretty scary situations (aggressive blue heeler at the park, over-boisterous and large dogs he's gone to greet, etc.)

When there is any form of treat involved, even just the smell of treats on the satchel I carry them in, Luca becomes quite aggressive with Suleiman. He's not lunging, but he is baring all his teeth and snarling quite viciously at Sully when he's near. It was very surprising to all of us, but especially his owner who has done an exceptional job of getting him out to meet people and dogs, and of training him (he has a whole repertoire of tricks - he's a one-dog circus).

He's not resource guarding anything else that we've noticed. We don't feed them together, so it could be a food-only thing? But Luca has been fed with other dogs and has shown no hint of aggression. We realize that Sully is encroaching on what Luca considers "his" territory, thus the slow-and-steady approach with interaction between them, but it seems almost out of character.

Has anyone experienced problems with a dog who becomes aggressive only over treats? Is our safest bet to ensure they're all well out of the way when they play together, or can some training be done to help Luca get past this little hurdle?

Thanks everybody :)

Edited January 9, 2013 by Ruin Maniac

[The Spotted Devil]

RM - as treats are often perceived to be much higher in value, there might be an increased motivation for Luca to guard them. Also as puppies grow up there can be a shift in the balance about who's in charge. My dogs are food crazy but they understand that all good things come from me IF and only if they demonstrate self control. Even my entire male will demonstrate absolute self-control and zero food aggression in the presence of male puppies/gangly teens/adults (and even the cats!) if I want to hand out special treats - he doesn't care if they get in his face because his focus is on me.

Without having a full understanding of your dog's motivation I would suggest he learns self-control in the presence of treats. It's a lot to explain but there is some great reading to be had on Susan Garrett's blog about self-control and also Leslie McDevitt. All these exercises involve SELF control so no talking from you - it's all about puppy learning and making choices for themselves. You need to start with puppy in a very low distraction environment building up slowly until the other dog can be present but on leash and under control. A really easy one to start with is placing a number of tasty treats on your open palm (I sit down and rest my hand on my knee but it depends on the height of the dog). If pup approaches to eat the treats, say nothing but quickly close your hand over the treats. When puppy stops harassing your hand, slowly open your hand again. When puppy takes a step back or otherwise moves away from the treats, immediately reward with a treat but from your OTHER hand. You can progress to even higher value treats (make them lower value if he is struggling), place them on the floor etc but you must be quick and cover them up before he self-rewars. Don't say "no" or anything else as this is about your puppy doing the thinking rather than being told. I hope that makes sense! These things are much easier to demonstrate than they are to write about in a few minutes. Then there's the "steady feet game" which I use to teach stays and self control - I really like this game and I used it to teach my ESS to be steady to the shot.

[Ruin Maniac]

TSD - thank you so much! Excellent and detailed advice and resources. I'll direct my housemate (who owns Luca, should have clarified) to them, but I'll also practise it with Sully myself. :)

I wasn't sure why it was treats specifically, but I suppose if it's the highest value resource then it makes sense for him to become touchy when other dogs are around.

[The Spotted Devil]

I'm glad it made sense! Remember that it's about the dog's perception of the reward value...it could be the one on one nature of receiving the treat and also because he has probably succeeded in getting Sully to back off. Working hard for a reward seems to increase the value of the reward too. I remember the days when Ziggy would turn up his nose at cooked chicken. Now he goes crazy for dry food and tug toys :laugh: In fact if he is anxious (eg new house, camping, Em in season) he's much easier to feed through training.

Edited January 12, 2013 by The Spotted Devil