My rott bit my daughter

[Sargeant_C]

Do you crate your dog? If so when it comes to bone time place your dog into the crate and then nobody will be able to get near him. I do this with my rott.
As for food aggression there are some here who say leave the dog alone and others say what you are doing is fine.
Will it lead to other aggression, yes it will. I would suggest the Nothing In life Is Free Program. It is listed in here and you can do a web search for that program. Many preach about it.
Also you may want to look into a one on one training instead of a group training with your dog. I have heard that with some issues group classes do not help with aggressions.
Always make sure you supervise your child and never ever allow a child near it when eating. Luckily it was just a one stitch, I have seen worse. Also this is a type of child abuse and doctors will report it. Just FYI!
So I would call around for a behaviorist and think about that.

[Tucksmom]

Yes, we crate him. I guess I'm one of those who doesn't believe in just leaving him alone when he eats, not if he has food aggression. That, in my opinion, isn't going to do anything to solve the food aggression. We've called a behaviorist already and I'll look into the Nothing in Life is Free Program. I just want to take care of it before it does get worse. I don't think that a dog should be allowed to growl at a child that simply walks past him when he's eating his food, but I will keep him in his crate during bone time. Thanks for your advice!

[damp]

We are talking about a 5 months old pup here.

I am not saying it’s OK to bite or even nip (the pup is way to old for that) but a collar, a leash and a “bit” training makes wonders with a brat who thinks, he is running the house.

If he is old enough to bite, he is old enough for a correction!!

In other words: I don't belive a "normal wired" pup at 5 months has food aggression... but I belive he lacks of training, rules and leadership!

...and a six years old child is old enough too, to learn some rules about how to interact with dogs!

[EmoCookies]

im curious, how did you respond when he bit your daughter?

[moondog]

Hmm......maybe I misunderstood your question. If you are asking if resource guarding will escalate into a more serious reaction from your dog if you do not recognize and work with the problem, then the answer is yes.

I interpreted your question to be asking if resource guarding will turn into other forms of aggression (territorial, defensive, fear, dominant, gender), to which I still say no. If other forms of aggression become a problem, it seems to me that would be a problem resulting from poor leadership on your part and not a direct result of a resource guarding problem.

[MontanaRott]

Originally Posted by Tucksmom

I guess I'm one of those who doesn't believe in just leaving him alone when he eats, not if he has food aggression.

This is an old school attitude and one which I just do not understand. This topic has been discussed here more times then I can shake a stick at, WHY oh Why is it so hard to leave a dog alone while it eats? To put the dog in a room or crate away from people and kids and let him eat in peace? How long does it take for a dog to eat its meal? Minutes. And if the dog has a high value item i.e. a bone or rawhide or whatever, crate the dog and leave it alone. Teach the dog to trade. So if you need to take something away it does not escalate into a battle. Our 2 boys are put in a room or in an expen to eat in peace, we could have babies toddling around and it would not matter, they are where they can eat in peace, unmolested. If the dog is taught to trade, left alone some place to eat, and children are taught to LEAVE the dog ALONE, food aggression is pretty much a moot point.

[debbiej]

although far from as experienced as many who have answered here, I can share a bit of my recent experiences. It always helps me to read other peoples problems and how they are dealing with them.

I have adopted two rotties. a female when she was about 7 months and a year later a male who's age and history is unknown. they are spayed/neutered. When we adopted my female she had a fair amount of behavior that was unacceptable, mostly aggressive behavior toward things or people she feared. she, however had no food guarding issues at all.

the male on the other hand, is very stable and friendly. but he has a real food guarding problem. we are working on this. Not by taking food away, but by training him, making him sit and wait for the ok, looking at us before treating him. in short, establishing us as the boss of him, and the giver of food.

the one thing I will not do is turn it into a battle over the food or object. for one thing, he is just too big and I'm not that dumb. Now I have never had a dog before who's dish I can't move or add to, or even pick up for a good reason. (and there aren't many good reasons) but I have a dog like that now. So I have had to really rethink my feelings about this kind of behavior. His food is clearly very very important to him. He is a very good dog in every other aspect. his food aggression doesn't seem to be a dominance thing, but more like a survival thing. I can see by watching him that taking his food away to try to teach him to not guard would make the problem worse. he needs re-assurance that his food is safely his. So very gradually we are getting him used to us being around him while he eats. we have made a whole lot of progress.

another thing about the good advice you have been given is this. He succeeded in making your daughter get away from his bowl this way. to keep him from thinking this is the way to protect his food, explain to your daughter that this is how dogs keep other dogs away from their food, and that she should never go near him while eating.

I've been glad to read the answers given to you. they contain a wealth of wisdom, and I just can't get enough of good advice and understanding about the best way to be a responsible owner of these wonderful dogs.

[Tucksmom]

If food aggression can lead to more serious resource guarding, such as toys, what good is not treating food aggression going to do? In other words, if you know your dog is food aggressive, and you leave him alone while eating, won't you be allowing it to escalate? Also, just because something is considered an "old school attitude" to some, does that necessarily mean it's an incorrect attitude? I've been doing a lot of research on this, and this is the only place that I've heard about this "new" attitude on food aggression.

For those asking, when Tuck bit my daughter, we immediately took his bone away, scolded him, and put him in his crate. We had no choice on crating him, as we had to take my daughter to the hospital. Fortunately, she is fine and isn't scared of him in the least. She even takes turns hand feeding him with our close supervision.

[debbiej]

again, I can only share my experience. my dog is only food aggressive, and I'm counting bones as food, not toys. He obviously at some time in his life had to guard it to have it. He is very playful and sharing with toys or other valued items, very easygoing and calm in every other way.

I think the advice everyone is giving is the way to address food aggression is based in the foundation of training and being in charge in every other way. then the dog will learn he can't challange you or those under your care--ever for anything. this trust is undermined by making the dog insecure about his dinner. good advice was given to me: don't give bones.

[MontanaRott]

But you see what we are saying is this, to Tuck the bone is a HIGH VALUE item, put him in his crate with it. IF you need to move him from the crate for whatever reason, that is where the TRADE comes in. He has the high value item, you give him something even more tasty, move him and then remove the item. No fuss no muss. And as far as his food, why is it no possible for the VERY FEW minutes it takes a dog to eat, can it not be put in another room and left in peace. Our 8 year old rescue had SERIOUS guarding issues when he came here, he is fed in an ex-pen and gets high value items in the ex-pen. We have taught him to trade and moved around the kitchen as he ate, (he is in the dining room), and he gradually has come to realize we are not a threat to his meal and has greatly relaxed and does not stiffen up when eating, if we are moving around. And if he has a meaty bone and we need to move him for some reason, we call his name and offer him cheese( he would do hand stands for cheese) and he gladly gives up the bone.
We do not hand feed nor take the dish, or bother Stevie or Guerin as they finish their meal, but by leaving them in peace they have learned we are not a threat and so do not feel the need to guard their dishes.
Stevie's food aggression and resource guarding certainly has not escalated in the way we have dealt with him, but I can guarantee you this, if before we built the trust and taught him the value of trading, if someone tried to take his bowl or bother him while he ate, they would have gotten bitten.
And I failed to add in my earlier post, I am very happy your daughter was not hurt more seriously and that she is on the mend.
Good luck with Tuck.

[HerculesMomma]

Here's old school for you. My grandfather used to teach his dogs not to guard highly valuable items by giving his dog a steak, then taking it away from the dog. If the dog growled he'd smack the dog. He'd repeat this process until the dog stopped growling.

In my opinion, this is beating a dog into submission and you are building a relationship with the dog to be fearful of you - which if it actually worked (if you didn't get killed by the dog in the meantime) it would just lead to a different set of problems. I'm curious what other recommendations you are reading about though?

Personally I am a fan of MontanaRotts suggestion before I'd use my grandfathers old school method. That was an excellent explanation too Shirley. Hercules did not have some mild guarding issues when I adopted him for those high value items (bones, greenies - and yes, tennis balls ). I found what worked was exactly what you suggested in your post - that mixed with a little Nothing in Life Free program as debbie j mentioned in her post.

[Tucksmom]

Yeah, I guess that's more "old school" than I care to participate in. I really do appreciate all of the advice. This is my first Rottweiler, and I really don't want to make any mistakes too big that they cannot be corrected. All of these posts have given me a lot to think about, and made me think of things differently, which is good. At any rate, we heard back from the behaviorist and she told us to continue to hand feed Tuck. Our first session is Friday and hopefully all goes well.

[Tucksmom]

Oh, I forgot to add this: MontanaRott, I've never heard about trading before, but will definitely incorporate that. Thanks!

[Judi W]

Most dogs that are growly or protective over their food and such are that way because they believe they must defend it. By learning that their dinner is not a risk, that behavior usually will simply fade away the longer they learn that it is not going to stolen and that they can trust those around them. That can take time. I do not believe the dogs learn to trust if they are constantly being harrassed which simply convinces them that they are right to be concerned.

This does not mean that it is OK for dogs to threaten their family, it is simply a philosophical difference as to why they might feel the need to do so. It also involves a certain amount of respect for the animal. Dogs are not an entertainment center or toy and especially a Rottweiler is not the best choice if that is the concept. I raised children and Rottweilers together and never had problems. My children were always respectful of the dogs and that favor was returned. Teasing dogs is never recommended by children or adults and should not be considered educational for the dog.

[MontanaRott]

Originally Posted by Tucksmom

Oh, I forgot to add this: MontanaRott, I've never heard about trading before, but will definitely incorporate that. Thanks!

You are very welcome and by the way. Welcome to the forums, there are great people here who know TONS, this is where we have learned tricks to handle our boys! I just passed on to you what we have learned and I should say, we used to think the proper way to raise a dog was to take the food bowl to show the dog who was in charge. My how times have changed for us, with knowledgable people to help guide us. And believe me we are still learning!