food aggression
- Thread starter tjedt
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I would never take food away from a dog who is showing guarding behavior. Dogs guard because they're afraid you're going to take their stuff; you are threatening to them. So if you actually DO take their stuff, you have just assured them that their fears are real and next time they need to guard stronger. Even taking it away and giving it right back is probably not a safe idea.
This is difficult because it means that even if your puppy does bite you, you should not take the food away as a punishment. Dogs usually give several warning signs before they bite - they eat faster, they freeze up, they growl, they put themselves between you and the bowl, etc. - so when you see these signs, know that you're pushing your puppy to far and back away. You want him to learn that he does not have to bite you to get his message across, the warning signs are more than sufficient.
I agree with Corgi, teach him that hands always GIVE food, never take food. I'd even give him a bowl of plain kibble, and then add a little yogurt/cottage cheese at a time.
This is difficult because it means that even if your puppy does bite you, you should not take the food away as a punishment. Dogs usually give several warning signs before they bite - they eat faster, they freeze up, they growl, they put themselves between you and the bowl, etc. - so when you see these signs, know that you're pushing your puppy to far and back away. You want him to learn that he does not have to bite you to get his message across, the warning signs are more than sufficient.
I agree with Corgi, teach him that hands always GIVE food, never take food. I'd even give him a bowl of plain kibble, and then add a little yogurt/cottage cheese at a time.
Agreed. Pit is food aggressive, and I had the idea that taking his food away when he growled would help. Of course, he got worse and worse so I decided to actually research and started doing what Lizzybeth suggests. There have been vast improvements in some aspects; others still need work, but we're on our way.
Most certainly do not take food away! I'm not sure how severe your situation is, but try not to push him past his threshold. Treat him before he growls or displays signs of being uncomfortable. In my case, I could not stand within 8 feet of Pit as he ate without him displaying signs(eating really fast) and had to toss treats from that distance.
Most certainly do not take food away! I'm not sure how severe your situation is, but try not to push him past his threshold. Treat him before he growls or displays signs of being uncomfortable. In my case, I could not stand within 8 feet of Pit as he ate without him displaying signs(eating really fast) and had to toss treats from that distance.
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Where did your pup come from?
Were there a lot of other dogs on the premises?
I know Elle has some "guarding issues" with food and I am almost sure it came from her time at the "breeders" where food was dumped down at feeding time and if you got food great, otherwise too bad.
I always thought taking food away was the way to go in my non professional, uneducated opinion... WRONG!!!
We had to be so careful when we got Bella that she didnt try and sneak over to Elle's dish, it was that bad, she would get BIT.
However, by showing her that she didnt have to worry about getting food and that we would never take it away... doing the things lizzy suggested will help enforce this... she got much better.
By the time we got Armani, if he tried to stick is greedy little face in her dish she would just walk away or keep eating right along with him.
Good Luck
Were there a lot of other dogs on the premises?
I know Elle has some "guarding issues" with food and I am almost sure it came from her time at the "breeders" where food was dumped down at feeding time and if you got food great, otherwise too bad.
I always thought taking food away was the way to go in my non professional, uneducated opinion... WRONG!!!
We had to be so careful when we got Bella that she didnt try and sneak over to Elle's dish, it was that bad, she would get BIT.
However, by showing her that she didnt have to worry about getting food and that we would never take it away... doing the things lizzy suggested will help enforce this... she got much better.
By the time we got Armani, if he tried to stick is greedy little face in her dish she would just walk away or keep eating right along with him.
Good Luck
Buddy was extremely food aggressive when he first came home (I think it was from being on the streets, poor thing realized it didnt come easy!)
I would go out of my way to pet him whenever he ate. First time a pat on the head, 2nd time a pet, so on and so forth. Now hes to the point where i can scratch behind his ears and hug him, and he wont do anything.
Itll take time for sure. Ive had him for about a year, the last time he actually stopped growling at me was about 6 months ago. I will say tho, when i go to pet him he stops eating and kind of freezes until im done petting him..but he wont threaten. Ive NEVER taken food away from him.
I would go out of my way to pet him whenever he ate. First time a pat on the head, 2nd time a pet, so on and so forth. Now hes to the point where i can scratch behind his ears and hug him, and he wont do anything.
Itll take time for sure. Ive had him for about a year, the last time he actually stopped growling at me was about 6 months ago. I will say tho, when i go to pet him he stops eating and kind of freezes until im done petting him..but he wont threaten. Ive NEVER taken food away from him.
i will try to add food and not take it away.
he only did this when i put the cottage cheese in and yogurt otherwise we play with his food all the time.
mind you it is straight kibble and we have to make it fun for him in order for him to eat it otherwise he wont eat.
so maybe i will put it in a bigger bowl and then add and mix otherwise he won't eat the kibble.
if he does bite then what should i do?
on the dog whisper he said when a dog growls and pushes you like that touch them and show them you push back and it worked on tv so i tried and he bites me so i am confused???
he only did this when i put the cottage cheese in and yogurt otherwise we play with his food all the time.
mind you it is straight kibble and we have to make it fun for him in order for him to eat it otherwise he wont eat.
so maybe i will put it in a bigger bowl and then add and mix otherwise he won't eat the kibble.
if he does bite then what should i do?
on the dog whisper he said when a dog growls and pushes you like that touch them and show them you push back and it worked on tv so i tried and he bites me so i am confused???
steve is food aggressive. i tried to do everything right by him when he was a baby- hand feeding, dropping treats in his dish while he ate, never giving him reason to feel he needed to guard his dish, but he still ended up a food guarder (food bowl, peanut butter stuffed kong, fresh real bones). when it first surfaced i'm pretty sure he would have bitten me if i'd pushed him. i started at that point throwing cheese at him while he ate. some of his meals i completely hand fed to him, one small handful at a time, requiring calm sitting puppy to get food. once he was showing a soft, loose body with that, i fed him handful by handful but put the second handful in while he was still eating the first. sometimes i'd drop extra bonus yummies in, but mostly i worked just with his food. when he was comfortable with that i'd put his bowl down with food in it, release him to eat, and then come back numerous time through the meal to drop bonus cheese on top. now he looks up at me when i approach instead of hovering stiff over his bowl, but it certainly didn't happen overnight, and if i slack off too much, he reverts.
it's no fun and to be completely honest, it hurts my feelings. but it's something we can work with. just remember to go slowly and don't push your dog. don't give him reason to fear the hand approaching him- give him reason to look forward to it.
ironic that i've never had these problems even remotely with my adult pit bulls who came off the streets, eh grammy?
it's no fun and to be completely honest, it hurts my feelings. but it's something we can work with. just remember to go slowly and don't push your dog. don't give him reason to fear the hand approaching him- give him reason to look forward to it.
ironic that i've never had these problems even remotely with my adult pit bulls who came off the streets, eh grammy?
I just want to point out that food guarding is an INSTINCTIVE behavior. Honestly, it's a wonder that not ALL dogs guard food. Carnivores spend a lot of time and energy searching for and acquiring food; so to have that food threatened or stolen by another animal can be life threatening.... so they often have to guard their food to survive.
Food guarding is just another thing that is instinctual for dogs but that humans find personally offensive. Kind of like mouthing, barking, pottying in the house, jumping, humping, and on and on. If your dog DOESN't do these things, count yourself lucky.
Food guarding is just another thing that is instinctual for dogs but that humans find personally offensive. Kind of like mouthing, barking, pottying in the house, jumping, humping, and on and on. If your dog DOESN't do these things, count yourself lucky.