Food aggression help.......

I suppose this is the correct forum for this. My recently aquired german shorthair (Otto) shows food aggression to other dogs. From what I know about his up bringing he was fed with many other dogs out of 1 large bowl so he had to fight to eat. You can kind of tell even when he eats by himself he grabs a mouth full of kibble and walks a few feet away to consume them.

A person can reach in at anytime near his food or resource with no problem, so I assume he does see people as his alpha. He plays with other dogs fine, but if someone started eating around them he will turn on the other dog. I have seen dog vs dog food problems with their own bowls, but me not being able to eat my own food around him and another dog bothers me.

Now to the question; feeding dogs their own food separetly does not bother me, but is their any tips on how to curb his aggression when others are eating around him and say my parents dog?

Why not try feeding your dog first or something like that? Separating the dogs is fine too.

I'd try separating him and hand feeding him until he learns that he's not going to starve. Poor guy.

I recommend seperating dogs completely when they eat....no stress, no fights, no trying to figure out who's boss among them, when it should be you who is the leader. It lets them eat in peace and you know how much food intake each is getting.

I do separate them when they need to eat, that I can live with.

The problem I have issue with is if I am standing in a room eating a candy bar and he is with me he doesn't even really beg, but if another dog walks in that same room while I am eating the candy bar he will turn aggressive on them. I am not feeding him at the time it is just the presence of food and another dog.

I will try hand feeding for awhile though hoopefully that may take the edge off him a little. Thanks

Make him sit before you feed him anything. He'll learn that he doesn't get anythign without his bum on the floor and everything else will be much more managable

This is so hard to cure for dogs that have extreme food aggression. In my Atlanta show, we adopted a coon hound that was about 3, with no "real" history...she is still alive and well and with a great family. Anyway, she has had a home at our show for about 6 years, with trained people and she still never got over the food aggression. Yes, the circumstances can vary, she was in a show mode, in a really nice and large kennel, by herself (but around lots of dogs/animals). I was the only one who could feed her, clean her pen without her not being aggressive. Her name is Belle, and I just love her, but even with me, I could see signs.
I firmly believe that there are so many people in the world that we can help, and some that just "don't get over it." I believe the same with animals.... you can give the love, pos. reinforcement, enrichment, safety etc... but they are still "going to be who they are." The only thing you can do is read above, take all the advice you can, and see what works for you. Then, accept if all doesn't work, except the dog for who and what she/he is. Good luck. Amy

I don't agree there....sorry. If dogs aren't taught manners, then of course there is nothing to do about it. They have lots of natural instincts, but learn to put some of them aside. It's natural for a dog to chew up wood. But they learn not to chew your furniture. It's natural for a dog to go to the bathroom in your house, but they learn not to. Granted, it's very difficult to stop a dog from guarding his food from another dog. That's one very strong instinct, so I skip it and seperate them. But here, you're talking about your food. You're holding it. It is not your dogs'. It is not in their bowl and you haven't handed them anything. Having one dog lunging at the other so close to your hand is dangerous and you might get bitten. This dog needs to be controlled and put in a down/stay away from you until he gets the picture that he is not going to have any say in what is going on between you and the other dog.


If you develop a situation where your dogs all see you as a very clear leader, strong and confident, they will lose some of that steam rollin' urge to control their enviornment. They'll start leaving it up to you.

I have multiple dogs and I simply won't tolerate any one of them taking the law into their own hands....(paws) No way. They don't get to make decisions like that. I do. I'm very firm, but not harsh. I'm very into rewarding good behavior and not into harsh corrections. But I will insist on my rules being followed.

If you have to, put the pushy dog into a down/stay away from where you and the other dog are standing. Start letting these dogs know where they stand and where you stand. You are the rule maker and boundary setter. They are the followers of these things. When you tell this pushy dog to "leave it" or "down/stay" or "eh, eh, eh".....if he knows what those things are.....enforce it and reward for compliance.

How much obedience practice do your dogs get? That is essential in setting the role of you as their leader and the dogs as the working members of the family. You give a command, they react. It should not be that they are giving a command (ie: being aggressive to the other dog....and you're following along, not sure what to do.) They need very concise direction without harshness. That never does any good. Show them what you expect, follow through and reward for compliance.

Tough love is really needed here. But that does not mean harshness or frightening the animal with a loud voice or anything physical. It means setting boundaries, rules, following through consistantly and enforcing them and praising/rewarding for good behavior.

Thanks for the input. I don't think he had much obedience before I got him, and I have been working with him a little bit everyday mostly concentrating on his down/stay. I haven't had the chance much in the last week because I fell and broke my foot. Also I have been trying to make him sit before evrything, i.e before leash goes on, before he gets to go out of a door etc. Hopefully a little time and patience will pay off soon.

I'm so sorry ou broke your foot. What a bummer! I hope it heals up fast.

Yeah....with the down stay, if you start out with very short down/stay and only step back a little ways....that will tend to make him successful and you praise/reward for that little accomplishment....before he breaks it. Then very gradually increase the time and distance....little by little. Try to catch him and reward before he's apt to get up. If he breaks the stay, never ever say to yourself, "Oh well...we'll let it go this once." You have to be consistant and religous about replacing him if he breaks it, calmly but insistantly. good luck.

Sorry to veer of your OP but is that your baby in the avatar? What a cutie lol, just look at that "I didn't mean it mum" face

Actually that is his dad, as Otto has the identical dark head and is a little darker in the body. If I am not lazy I will post his pics later this weekend. He is something else and has that same look often.

Pick up the book "mine" by Jean Donaldson and there are some books out by Dr. Ian Dunbar and videos which will help you out.

I have gone through the very same problems with kennel dogs I adopted. It takes time, rules (NILIF), making good things happen when other dogs are around. And counter conditioning/desensitizing.

For me, I just do what comes naturally and have reformed many a food aggressive dog. When we first took Dilon in (he had lived in a kennel with other food aggressive Newfs)...he was not only guarding his own dish, he was guarding the fridge, cupboards, even the apple trees out in the yard

He is now 110% better and he is even trustworthy enough to have a raw bones with the others with no problems.

Wow guarding the trees? That is a little wound tight. I have being trying little things the last few days like sitting for everything and when I fed the other dog I took Otto into the other room and worked on his down/stay.

I'll check the book out. Thanks