Food aggression, Need Help Please !!!

[dogsbestfriend]

Neko is now around 14-15 weeks old.. He has started developing an agressive attitude when he is approached while he is eating his food. If you walk by or close to him, he will slow down eating as if to say "I'm watching you".. Also, he growls when you touch him while he is eating... If you look as if yo are going to take the food he'll growl and even try to sanp at you**I removed his food and put him in his kennel when this happened**

I don't want the correction for this behavior to be to take his food because then I'll be proving him right by believing that when I come around I am going take his food. What do I do ? How do I show him that I nor anyone else is not a threat to him while he is eating...

[Burnsway]

We have lots of threads on Food Aggression if you do a search.

The best thing IMO you can do is let him eat in peace and just drop extra good stuff in his bowl while he is eating to gain his trust. Try to establish a good relationship with him at other times through training. Do not use the feeding time as a time to train him or try to show him who is boss. It will make things a lot worse.

[JaniceH]

In my opinion the best way to show him you're not a threat is simply not to be one, and leave him alone to eat in peace.

When I first got Teazle as a small puppy, she growled, guarded and ate her food quickly. Following the advice from this forum I just left her to it. She started to relax and have confidence that I wasn't going to steal it. Once she relaxed I occasionally dropped something extra tasty in her bowl as Melissa has said but only after calling her name first so that she could see what I was doing.

She soon stopped rushing her food and today I could put my hand in her bowl if I wanted (never want to though) and she is perfectly content whether I am near or not.

[dogsbestfriend]

Originally Posted by Burnsway

We have lots of threads on Food Aggression if you do a search.

The best thing IMO you can do is let him eat in peace and just drop extra good stuff in his bowl while he is eating to gain his trust. Try to establish a good relationship with him at other times through training. Do not use the feeding time as a time to train him or try to show him who is boss. It will make things a lot worse.

I have considered just leaving him alone to eat with out my interruption. I have no problems removing items from him that he is not supposed to have or anything like that... It's just while he is eating.. I often wonder if it is because I am not feeding him enough..

[groupieindenial]

Just drop treats into his bowl while he is eating. It won't take long, and he'll see it as a good thing when someone is close to his bowl. He actually stops sometimes to see if I'm going to give him something yummy if I'm standing near by.

My puppy was instinctively really bad about it in the beginning, just don't take the bowl away or mess with it to see if its still a problem. Just continue dropping treats in the bowl as he eats. It will all be a positive experience in no time.

[dogsbestfriend]

Originally Posted by groupieindenial

Just drop treats into his bowl while he is eating. It won't take long, and he'll see it as a good thing when someone is close to his bowl. He actually stops sometimes to see if I'm going to give him something yummy if I'm standing near by.

My puppy was instinctively really bad about it in the beginning, just don't take the bowl away or mess with it to see if its still a problem. Just continue dropping treats in the bowl as he eats. It will all be a positive experience in no time.

I'll start that today.

[Canadianrotti]

More of the same advice here, just leave him be. Raelin was very vocal when she was about that age, we just left her alone to eat in peace. She is now 1 1/2 y/o, and through all of my other efforts, I can approach her while eating, put my hand in the bowl, her mouth etc. and she just stays relaxed and waits for a yummy treat.
It will happen, in time.

[BrandiJ]

I don't think completely ignoring her is a good idea. Everyone is right that taking her food for it will just prove her right in thinking she needs to defend it, but I don't think she should think it's okay to show you aggression either. My first rottie puppy did the same thing, but like a couple of people said I dropped extra treats in his bowl periodically while he ate, which helped. Soon after, as he became better about it, I was able to reach my hand into his bowl and he did nothing, and I would just scoop some into my hand and let him eat it from my hand. I would not recommend this if it's an older dog, set in his ways, but this is what I did with my puppy. I don't think it's true that things will change with time. Dogs need to learn where boundaries are while they're young. They should know that it is unacceptable to show aggression to you (or family and friends) in any situation.

[Judi W]

Brandi,
All you did was just testify that the method decreases food aggression and that after following it for a while you were able to approach and mess with his food. It wasn't messing with his food that changed how he was feeling, it was the adding things and letting him eat.

dogsbestfriend,
If you really were concerned that it might be because he wasn't getting enough to eat, you'd have simply increased his food a little to see if that made a difference. Let the pup learn that it will be able to eat in peace and it will quit worrying about it and the behavior should fade and/or disappear over time. Keep teasing him while he is eating and it will probably get worse.

[dogsbestfriend]

Originally Posted by Judi W

Brandi,
All you did was just testify that the method decreases food aggression and that after following it for a while you were able to approach and mess with his food. It wasn't messing with his food that changed how he was feeling, it was the adding things and letting him eat.

dogsbestfriend,
If you really were concerned that it might be because he wasn't getting enough to eat, you'd have simply increased his food a little to see if that made a difference. Let the pup learn that it will be able to eat in peace and it will quit worrying about it and the behavior should fade and/or disappear over time. Keep teasing him while he is eating and it will probably get worse.

Even though it has not been very long since this post. Me and my fiance have both been simply just feeding him and leaving him alone... However, I can place his bowl right in front of me while I sit on my couch and he will eat with no problem. When my fiance feeds him, he growls at her and barks until she leaves the room. Today, she fed him in his kennel. While she was closing the gate to the kennel, he turned around facing her growling and showing his teeth... He still growls at me if I speak to him while he is eating... It seems as if it is getting worse before its getting better. He even growled and jumped at me the other day when I was trying to take his greeny from him so we could go for our walk... Its like, when he is involved with certain foods or treats he REALLY enjoys he feels threatened by our presence. I haven't shown him that growling accomplishes anything and I haven't rewarded the behavior.

I am still going to continue to leave him alone when he eats as you suggested and drop treats in his bowl when I come around... Its just fustrating when your puppy is sitting there showing his teeth and growling and snarling at you... A firm "NO" usually stops the noise but I am at my wits end with this situation...

Sorry for the long message but I guess I just needed to vent in some manner other than on the dog..

[fischtail]

When we rescued Kira (she was approx. 3) she guarded her food like crazy. I didn't really think too much of it because I just left her alone and figured that was the end of it. Two things changed my mind: I was feeding her at my mother-in-laws house and I left her in the kitchen to eat. All of a sudden I hear my mother-in-law screaming and running through the house. She said Kira growled/snarled at her. Well, I found out (later) that she had walked into the kitchen and started petting Kira while she was eating. I couldn't exactly say to my husband's mother, "HOW STUPID ARE YOU????" but it did freak me out, to say the least. Then one day Kira had a bone and I walked by, didn't even look at her, and she growled at me. So that was it... I realized I had to do something or eventually something bad was going to happen.

Our trainer said to start feeding her by hand which I did. Bowl in my lap, food in hand. Did that for a while and all was well. With the bones, I would walk over, say her name and just drop treats next her and keep walking. Did this a few times and then did the same and stayed around. Eventually I could sit down where she was and feed her the treats from my hand while she had her bone. Now I can stick my hands in food bowl, take her bones away, etc. It all took a while but I really believe it's an issue of trust. Make them believe that when you're there they are getting more good stuff, not getting their stuff taken away.

[Judi W]

Are you in training classes yet and training twice a day? Behaviors are holistic - part of the entire dog's mental and emotional process and those are formed through training. I would not make the relationship focus be just on the food/chewie issues, but upon the entire position of the dog in his life. It sounds very much that he has little or no respect for fiance and some other people. Time to up the education but not food education particularly - but life education.

[dogsbestfriend]

Originally Posted by Judi W

Are you in training classes yet and training twice a day? Behaviors are holistic - part of the entire dog's mental and emotional process and those are formed through training. I would not make the relationship focus be just on the food/chewie issues, but upon the entire position of the dog in his life. It sounds very much that he has little or no respect for fiance and some other people. Time to up the education but not food education particularly - but life education.

We start our training classes in two weeks and I am going to have my fiance go through the training with him.. I will attend but I want to have her do most of the work with the dog..