Food aggression just won't go away!

[Jd414]

Bear is almost 7 months old now and I just can't seem to break him out of the food aggression. I've tried trading with him and giving him treats while he eats I've tried throwing pieces of hot dogs in his bowl while he's eating... We have small children and its getting to the point now where I have to get him out of it... I know I can feed him in his crate but I don't feel that solves the problem... Any suggestions?


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[msvette2u]

Have you hand fed him? No bowl involved?

Do you "NILIF"? MIND GAMES?
Mind Games (version 1.0) by M. Shirley Chong <-- mind games (should be done anyway)

When/how is he showing aggression?
I mean...during the feeding process? Once you give him his bowl, how are you eliciting the aggression?

[Jd414]

I've tried hand feeding him he's ok when I do that... He just starts growling and showing teeth if u touch him while he's eating mainly just high value foods he doesn't mind as much if its just dry kibble... I make him sit or lay down and stay before I give him anything


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[msvette2u]

Originally Posted by Jd414

I've tried hand feeding him he's ok when I do that... He just starts growling and showing teeth if u touch him while he's eating mainly just high value foods he doesn't mind as much if its just dry kibble... I make him sit or lay down and stay before I give him anything


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You should not be touching him while he's eating.
I understand you have kids but the dog needs to eat in peace.

Watch the vid. to see how you work with this - the dog should ENJOY you coming near - BUT don't push that! You are still making him feel threatened while he eats.

Food Aggression Rehabilitation - YouTube

Food Aggression Rehabilitation - YouTube

Do this until you can approach the bowl without him freaking out. BUT don't touch him. There is no need to. All you need to do is be able to walk by him safely.
Instruct your children to leave him alone while he eats, and keep an eye on them so they don't mess with him.

[Jd414]

Yea but I know plenty of dogs who have no issue with there owner touching them while they eat but my dogs no where near as bad as the one in the video I've seen that vid before


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[msvette2u]

Originally Posted by Jd414

Yea but I know plenty of dogs who have no issue with there owner touching them while they eat but my dogs no where near as bad as the one in the video I've seen that vid before


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Well he's not the other dogs. I'm glad he's not that bad, but he could be.
My dogs, none of them, are bothered by us walking by, because we don't fiddle with them while they eat; there's just no reason to.

[Jd414]

I hear ya there's no reason to touch him I get that it's still doesn't sit we'll with me that he's that way


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[msvette2u]

Work with him as shown in the video, and also hand feed him.
Don't give him a bowl again until you can walk by him when he's eating.

Growling is communication - he's just uncomfortable with being touched while eating, just as some people don't like being hugged.
Continuing to touch him will make things worse and may well lead to a nip. Instead, listen to him when he's communicating with you.

But meanwhile, work with the methods above and that'll help.

[frillint1]

I agree hand feed him for awhile not just a day or two. With my got chief who was aggressive with food when I got him I hand fed him everything for months and everytime he got a treat or before we sat down for dinner he would lay down. Everyhandful of food he got I waited for eye contact then gave it to him. Then I moved for my hand to my hand in his bowl with the food in my hand then I just sat next to his bowl put a handful in his bowl waited for him to look at me for more then I would give him another.

[Marc]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

You should not be touching him while he's eating.
I understand you have kids but the dog needs to eat in peace.

Watch the vid. to see how you work with this - the dog should ENJOY you coming near - BUT don't push that! You are still making him feel threatened while he eats.

Food Aggression Rehabilitation - YouTube

Do this until you can approach the bowl without him freaking out. BUT don't touch him. There is no need to. All you need to do is be able to walk by him safely.
Instruct your children to leave him alone while he eats, and keep an eye on them so they don't mess with him.

that dog was made crazy by the trainer, its like if someone pokes me in the chest, I will say "Stop that", then he does it again harder, I say "Seriously, stop that!" Pretty soon, he would be on the back end of my fist.

My point is that you dont need to push a dog to threshold to fix that behaviour.

This may or may not work because, when I did it, my dog was not bad, and was still very young.

When I first switched Maya to Raw food, she was very protective of it (higher value than kibble), The behaviour was mild at first, so I ignored it, then she started growling and barring her teeth, so I said "NO!" I reached in and took the chicken from her, she wasnt happy, she growled and bit my hand (she was only a small pup at the time, so nothing major), I then waited a few minutes for her to calm, and then gave the chicken back to her, she has never growled since, I could tickle her while she eats if i wanted to and she would be fine with it.

As I say, this may not work with all dogs, but it gets the message across that if they guard their food, it WILL be removed.