Raw food and aggression?

[onyx'girl]

Exactly...a training issue regardless of what the dog is eating. Some dogs are fed once a day and regard their meal as very, very high value.
I feed raw and my dogs do not guard their food, I can take the RMB right out of the mouth( I have had to when one steals another's) I've never had a fight between the dogs either...it is a training issue.
That said, I've never played the game of taking food away to show the dog I am superior. When they are given their meal it is theirs, no game play by me. But if needed, I can take it with no guarding behavior.

[codmaster]

Originally Posted by onyx'girl

Exactly...a training issue regardless of what the dog is eating. Some dogs are fed once a day and regard their meal as very, very high value.
I feed raw and my dogs do not guard their food, I can take the RMB right out of the mouth( I have had to when one steals another's) I've never had a fight between the dogs either...it is a training issue.
That said, I've never played the game of taking food away to show the dog I am superior. When they are given their meal it is theirs, no game play by me. But if needed, I can take it with no guarding behavior.

Interesting, I have always played with my dogs food over the years for the very reason of no food guarding. Make them wait while Ii put the bowl down an give a release, reach my hand into the bowl, take the bowl away briefly, etc. Not all the time of course but enough so they get used to it so anybody in the house can do the same including little toddlers. Much saferifther ar small cildrearoundespecially.

[Dainerra]

when people say "raw food causes aggression" they aren't thinking "growls if he thinks I'm going to steal his food"
They look at the growling as the first step towards "your dog is going to rip you open while you sleep" They think once a dog has tasted blood that he will go on a Zombie-type rampage seeking fresh meat

[RubyTuesday]

Isn't food guarding considered aggression? It is to me and would not put up with it in our dog if we were feeding raw, anymore than I would put up with it if I give our dog a real bone to chew.

I think there's a definite genetic component to it, although I might be wrong. IF so, dogs can certainly be conditioned/trained away from it. Cochise was the only dog I've had that exhibited this with people. I could take food from him but I had to 'remind' him prior to taking it. Children were simply, freely, allowed just about anything with him. He adored 'em absolutely, unequivocally & without restrictions. I told other family members & friends to simply never take 'good' food from him. He was 4yrs old when I got him. Right or wrong, I chose to work around the behavior rather than eliminate it through training. IF he'd exhibited food guarding around children I would have felt differently but he definitely distinguished b/w children & adults (canine & human) & was vastly, HUGELY tolerant of the little ones.

[Lauri & The Gang]

Originally Posted by RubyTuesday

I think there's a definite genetic component to it, ... He was 4yrs old when I got him.

I would say it's more nurture (how he was raised and trained) than nature (his genetics) in his case, but you'll never know.

[Jelpy]

I have found Raw food makes Lycan more aggressive. He now hurls himself towards complete strangers and demands to have his tummy scratched. Very frightening.

Jelpy and the Mesquite Mafia

[Lauri & The Gang]

Originally Posted by codmaster

Isn't food guarding considered aggression?

I would be willing to say it's a type of aggression IF the owner didn't train the dog properly.

If a stranger walks into my house and my Shepherd growls at them - is that aggression? Nope, it's what they are SUPPOSED to do.

Now, if the dog KEEPS growling after I have addressed the situation - THAT is aggression.

[tundra]

I feed my German Shepherd raw food, I switched from dried food. He does very well, and shows no aggregations. I can give him piece of the chicken, or bone, and take it from his mouth..it just about trust..and also, he didn't change his attitude toward other people.

[robk]

Well, when I switched my dog to Raw, he became VERY aggressive towards our cat during meal time! (extreme resource guarding that did not occur when we fed Kibble). When his food was out the cat could not even come in the room until he was done eating! Poor cat.

[Lauri & The Gang]

Robk - it's not aggression. It's Resource Guarding.

To me they are two different things.