food aggression 3,5 months

[demertis]

Hello to everybody
i have a small rottweiler called Apollo,for a about 2 months now hes training goes perfect(sit-stay,down-stay,fetch)allways before a do something that he will like a give him a commant and then feed him,unleash him,take him a walk,..etc.
last week when i was feeding him conserved food beef he was growling as i was pet him,after that a few days i give him a bone and started to growl when i was pet hes head and i tried to take his bone and he attacked me.
SO i made a small research in the present forum and i took some suggestions as feeding him by hand(i did so)and butting little amount of food in his bowl soo tha he can see that i am he feeder.after the attack insidense when i give a bone he was going away from me to enjoy it.
TOday i give a bone and i tried to pet him but started growling,so i was holding hes head slightly down and continued to growl,i tried to calm him but nothing so i give him after some commants to show that i am the boss but nothing, so then i tried to shake him from the scurf but then got really aggressive,i tried to take the bone from hes mouth as i did and he attacked me biting me on the hand and after 1-2 minutes(without the bone) he was still aggressive trying to bite me.

what can i do?
if he was 6 month old propaply he would injure me bad!!!
if the bone wasn't a treat from me and was a bone on the side of the road with poisson it seems that i will not be able to prevent him of eating it:(
PLEASE give me some serious advise what to do,i live in cyprus at a village and there isnt any trainer near.

I dont want to make thinks bad and not returnable for my dog.
thanks

[LunaBelle]

Hi There and welcome,

It's great that you discovered this forum, you will get a lot of good advice here.

Ok firstly, STOP taking away food or bones from your pup. He already thinks he needs to guard his possessions from you, and by taking them from him, you are strengthening this perception and making his problem worse! Also, please stop shaking him by the scruff or trying to show you're the Boss by physical means (scruff shaking, rolling over on his back, hitting him). This is a very oldfashioned method and can make a dog more aggressive. And he is only a baby pup, no need for physical corrections. Thirdly, stop messing with him or petting him while he eats, this is also making this problem worse. Instead of taking things out of his mouth, start teaching him the "Leave It" command. Do a search on here for that term, and you will get a lot of posts explaining how to do this.

The reason why dogs get food aggressive is because they believe that they must guard their food, because you will take it from them if they do not. Sometimes it is because something happened that made them think that way, but some dogs just seem to be more prone to food aggression.

Ok now we've established what not to do, here's what you should do: Keep walking by his bowl while he's eating and tossing in special treats. Good for you that you've already started with this! While doing this, don't get too close and don't touch or pet him. If he allows it, keep hand feeding him his meals every now and then. Don't hold the food away from him, or take it back, just offer it to him piece by piece.

It will take a lot longer to correct this problem than a few weeks (if ever), but you can improve it slowly by sticking to the above.

[bliss7373]

Welcome to the forums. I am sorry you're having this trouble with your puppy.

Unfortunately - and certainly unintentionally - your actions towards your dog have caused this problem. To understand why, you need to look at it from his perspective: He is eating his food/enjoying a high value bone. You come to pet him (i.e. bother him) while he's trying to eat in peace. This gives him the impression that he needs to guard his food from you. He says "please leave me alone"...by growling. Then you confirm his fear by taking his bone or shaking him by the scruff of his neck. In his mind, his fear has been justified. If he wants to keep his meals or bones, he must defend them. Food aggression is the result. If you keep doing what you're doing, it will get worse.

It's a really common mistake - people think that by taking the food, they're "showing leadership" - but that really is not how it works. They wind up creating the same problem they are trying to avoid. The good news is that you can likely fix this problem with some patience. Here are some (hopefully) helpful tips:

1. Give him all bones in his crate or another confined space. When he has a bone, LEAVE HIM ALONE. It is his to enjoy. How would you like it if someone snatched your favorite dessert away from you?

2. Make sure no one messes with him while he's eating his meals. No petting, no pestering, no commands to down in the middle of eating. What you should do is casually walk by his bowl - only once or twice per meal - and toss in a really high value treat (a bit of steak or cheese is good). Don't look at him, don't ask him for anything, just toss it to him from a good distance...whatever distance does not alarm him. I prefer to baby-gate the dog into separate room, feed him in the middle of the room and toss the treat over the gate.


After some time - it may take weeks - you should see him start to get happy when you walk by him during meal times. He knows a goody is coming! That's exactly what you want - a dog happy to see you, who does not feel the need to be aggressive. At that point, you can start getting a little closer. Walk directly by the bowl and drop the food in or offer him the treat from your hand, so that he steps away to come get it. No command, no punishment if he doesn't. This is his choice. You're showing him via positive reinforcement that there is no need to guard his food from you.

3. Don't get lured into the trap of thinking you need to "dominate him" by taking his food away. This is old-school thinking and it just doesn't work. Remember that respect is a two-way street. You must show him respect and consistent, fair, benevolent leadership.

Good luck!

[demertis]

thanks people for the advises
my puppy doesnt react that way when i am feeding him the bowl(dry dog food)he allows me to pet him
and also when i am hand feeding him he allows me to pet him.
he reacts like this after he gets something totally in hes mouth.

[demertis]

thanks for the advises
the issue that consierns me is that he gets aggressive only with bones and not anything to do with hes food bowl he allowes me to pet him or be near him when eats from bowl(dry food)
should i pet him when he eats??in normall situations?

can you give me some links for the drop/leave it command?

the people near my area are a bit affraid of the term ROTTWEILER so all this advise to leave a high value object is for a maybe poisson treat or bone near my house.
please reinforce what to do!!
thanks to the repliers in advanse

[LunaBelle]

Generally, it is better not to pet or touch a dog AT ALL while he's eating, even if he does allow it. Especially one like yours, who already thinks there is a reason to guard his food. You want to reinforce the idea that he will be protected, safe and left in peace while eating his meals. Bliss' suggestion of putting him in a seperate room behind a gate for mealtimes is a very good one, then no-one in the household can disturb him or unintentionally trip over him.

I do understand the fear of the dog picking up something that will be bad or harmful. This is exactly when you should use a "Leave it" or "Drop it" command. Below are a coulple of links to threads discussing this. But remember, dogs are opportunistic, if you're not there to give the "Drop it" command, he will still pick up things that may harm him. So if you're not with him, make sure he's safe in your house or property, with no access to harmfull stuff.

http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/tra...-training.html
http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/tra...-commands.html

Hope this helps!

[demertis]

people thank so much about the interest that you had to my issue

[Saginaw]

Demertis if you have a crate feed the dog in his crate and leave him a lone. I don`t no to many rottweilers that will let you take a fresh bone away with out some growling or his food bowl without growling if you put him away when he eats and don`t touch him while he is eating you will not have a problem. You might be growling if you were eating and someone took your plate away to. good luck with your puppy.

[Anne]

Please, please leave your pup alone when he is eating his meal or chewing on a bone.
Let him eat in peace. There is no reason to praise, pet or scruff him, just leave him be to eat in peace.

In this and in your other thread you are interfering while he is eating. If you continue with this you will end up with a food aggressive dog. He is only a puppy now but he won't be a puppy for long.

[shimmer]

I am training my 9 month old to leave anything on the ground outside alone. I do this with some of his favorite treats. I drop them on the way to wherever we are headed, and on the way back I tell him to leave it. I then praise him for leaving the food item. And then give him a treat from my hand. Praise and then more praise.

shimmer