| Addtional suggestion to reduce food aggression
> nmbr1mom57 wrote: We only give the pig ear
> treats occasionally and then only in the crate.
> That has worked wonders.
By giving the special treat in the crate, you may not be permanently solving the underlying problem, but just avoiding it.
This is an age-old technique for teaching a dog to Drop an object. It might be more helpful in actually reducing the dog's food aggression in the long run than feeding the dog a tasty treat in the crate.
1. Get two treats, one the dog has a moderate appetite for (will take it every time, but not necessariy a favorite treat), and a second one the dog absolutely LOVES (the pig ear or whatever)! Pick sizeable or long-lasting treats so the dog cannot gulp the first one down immediately.
2. Give the dog the first treat. Let the dog have it for no more than 30. Then, without trying to take away the first treat, offer the second more desireable treat. If the dog drops the first treat, reward it with the second better treat. After the dog has a clear interest in the second treat, and has probably dropped the first, slowly and nonchallantly take the first treat away.
3. If the dog does not give up treat one for treat two, then put treat two away. All doggy gets is treat one.
4. Repeat the activity daily, or even several times a day if the treats are not too greasy and filling.
5. You can also play the same game with two toys, two chewy things like rawhide and a Nylabone, etc. to reinforce the idea that giving up an object can be to the dog's benefit.
6. Goal: The dog learns to trust you and sees that if you take something away, it often gets something better in return.
7. Advanced step: Trade same for same: one pig's ear for another. Final stage: Try taking a single treat away for just a few seconds and then giving it back.
One final whacky idea: I have never tried this myself for your exact situation, but have used it successfully for hoarding with some aggression.
If your dog likes pig's ears and still behaves aggressively when eating one, by a dozen of them and throw them all over the floor around the dog. Then try gently offering him one of the others for the one he has. Repeat several times, then clean up your floor! Sounds crazy enough to work maybe? The concept here is that if the coveted object is plentiful and surrounds the dog, it will not have as much anxiety over the ONE object it has in its posssession. I did something similar with a shepherd who started hoarding toys and growling at my other dogs (dog to dog aggression rather than your case which is dog to human). I got every toy we owned, plus bought a few more, and spread them all over the living room floor and left them there all day. It seemed to work pretty well. After a week or so, we started picking up a couple toys each day until we had only a reasonable number on the floor, and the shepherd was significantly improved in his hoarding and aggressive response to oncomers.
Remember: Food aggression may come from dominance-seeking behavior, but it sometimes may be more an indication of anxiety and insecurity. Try to form an opinion about which it is with your dog, and you may develop a better understanding of what needs to be done on your part to defuse the situation.
Barry  |