opcorn:so no real controversy here. It seems most, if not all of us, say let the dogs eat in peace. If you have to pick up the food or take something away just do it. Offer a nice goody in exchange if you can. Teach kids to behave around dogs or separate them from each other during meal time.

Flip side of the coin, my dogs are discouraged from bothering humans when they eat, too. opcorn: :gsdbeggin:

 

The manufacturers are way ahead of you fools. I took this pic a few weeks ago when I was fitting a new crate into my car setup.

Apparently one too many consumers has been stuffing children into dog crates, they now come with warning labels. NOT FOR CHILDREN.

 

Huh....wonder who that consumer is that caused that warning......asking for a friend.

 

Crating children builds character

 

Nice having dogs and kids you can trust to make good choices in this regard.

 

Of all the dogs we have had, we pretty much kind of tailored to their personality a bit. Most of ours were the type where we could stick our hand in the food bowl, add, take away, and no issues, ever. Never had any problems with bones, either , every single dog we have owned loved it when we held their bones for them to chew on, lol.
Our current boy, I leave him alone when he’s eating. He tenses up, and stops eating but never growls or anything if he is approached during his eating. I usually just let him know if I am adding food, or whatever, and he relaxes, but I don’t push it. I could take the bowl away, no problem, but I am not gonna push his comfort zone, he does love me holding his chewing bones for him, and I can take away anything he has in his mouth with no protest.
We don’t have kids, so I never had that problem either.

 

All my dogs were adopted as adults. I knew Max's (Yellow Lab) background, he went to a family as a puppy and they gave him up when he was about 5 as the parents were divorcing, but with Newlie and now Rocky (GSD), I knew basically nothing at all. None of my dogs have ever resource guarded which I assume has mostly been dumb luck. I have never stuck my hands in their food, deliberately took their food away from them as a test or anything like that, but I also don't have kids to worry about or even other dogs. I always just have one dog at a time.

With Newlie, I started asking for a sit before putting his food down as he tended to be impulsive and this was a small way to teach impulse control. Rocky believes in being comfortable, he always just lays down to eat on his own initiative, lol. Once I put the food down, though, I believe in letting the dog eat his food in peace. I might talk to him a little while he's eating or pat his back as I walk by, but it's usually calm and quiet and they can just relax. Every once in a blue moon, I might have to pick the bowl up because I need to add something to it, but they get it right back again. There has never been an issue.

I have said this often enough before, but if someone made a habit of putting their hands in my food or taking my plate away when I was eating, they would soon be missing a finger or two.

 

I thought about this, and realize that I make (best way I can say it) 'loving, bonding' eye-contact with all my dogs prior to putting down their food bowl. I tell them they are a good dog, and often give them a pat, and leave them to it. Often, I'll add in a bit of extra if there are leftover scraps while they are eating. None resource guard and some come from very strong lines.

I see feeding time as a time to show my dogs that I am the provider, and I will always take care of them. I used to ask for some OB and other stuff, because it was suggested by working dog people but that's not the way I do it anymore. Each person has their own approach. When we train, I might feed less or none and feed everything in training. But for everyday, all I ask is 'soft' eye contact. Which comes naturally to all my dogs.

 

My previous GSD, I could take his food or treats any time I wanted and he was cool with it. Never had any problems with him. He was very gentle/careful with his mouth. The current 8 months old...not at all. I've been bit twice now. He has drawn blood. He growls at me if I don't put his food down fast enough. If I make him wait for it, he goes nuts. If I get too close while he eats, he growls. If I reach for his bowl, forget it, he'll snap at me. I give him bones (or any high value treats) and when I go to take it away from him, he growls and shows his growly face at me. When I went to reach for his frisbee outside while we were playing, he chomped down on my hand. That one hurt bad. However, there are some things that I can do that makes me think he's not completely gone. I can hold his antler while he's gnawing on it without any problem. In fact he wants me to hold it for him. I can hand feed him, but that doesn't help me/him. I can walk over him and straddle him while he's eating, no problem.

While I agree with everyone that we shouldn't bother them while they're eating, there are times when you need to take the bowl/food/treat/toys away. If I can't do it without getting my hand all bloody with the possibility of the tendons in my hand being ripped by those sharp teeth, then there's a problem. He's 8 months old now and 80 lbs and I'd like to get this "fixed" before he gets to be full grown.

 

My previous GSD, I could take his food or treats any time I wanted and he was cool with it. Never had any problems with him. He was very gentle/careful with his mouth. The current 8 months old...not at all. I've been bit twice now. He has drawn blood. He growls at me if I don't put his food down fast enough. If I make him wait for it, he goes nuts. If I get too close while he eats, he growls. If I reach for his bowl, forget it, he'll snap at me. I give him bones (or any high value treats) and when I go to take it away from him, he growls and shows his growly face at me.

I counter-condition foster dogs with this behavior to expect good things from me where food is concerned.

I may even feed them out of my (closed) hand, if it's safe to do so -- part of the meal, and we practice being gentle (I open up a flat hand when they're gentle and even teach them the word "good soft" or "good gentle" as a marker for what's right -- so it is useful as it's a way to teach them to patiently wait for the hand to open and not chomp on it). I have sometimes had to wear garden gloves for this until they figure out the "gentle" part. Nobody's ever broken skin though....but I choose which dogs to do this with. Once they learn "gentle," you can use it with treats, toys, etc. and they should soften up and transfer the idea beyond the handfuls of kibble.

Otherwise, they eat in the crate, with the door closed -- safe and sound without any worries of pesky interference. They deserve a secure, calm place to eat. (That solves the kid problem too...as long as the kids aren't opening the crates and joining the dog in there...)

I also train all my dogs to sit-stay when I have their bowls at feeding time. They go to the bowl when they make eye contact and then get released. Growling would not get rewarded with putting the food down -- none of mine have done that, as we practice NiLIF at meal time. One of mine dances and bounces on the way to her feeding spot but then she dutifully drops into her sit and waits patiently -- she knows that bouncing now is over, and she has to do the right thing to get to go to her bowl quickly...and she wants to go to the bowl quickly. She started out as a jumper who would crash into us when we were carrying the bowls, sending kibble everywhere....so we needed a solution. This is WAY easier than kibble flying everywhere.

When a food-guarding foster is eating in the crate, they should have some peace and security there. No other dogs or people harass them -- period. At most, I randomly walk by and drop in a handful of super-high value meaty treats in -- better than kibble, so me showing up means "JACKPOT" even if it's during a meal -- no talking or fuss about it, I just drop it in and keep walking. They quickly associate me showing up mid-meal to mean "more good stuff."

For toys, we work on leave it -- there's a dozen ways (at least) to teach that, widely available online. "Trade up" can also be useful if they really don't want to let go (so they end up with something better). Proofing the down stay is also a really good way to solve the toy chomping -- they can't get the toy until they're released and your hand is out of the way. During fetch, I trained my most excited ball dog (who was a chomper) to drop the ball in front of me -- if he tries to grab it again after he placed it in front of me, my foot goes on it (possessing it) and he goes into a down-stay. I can then pick up the ball, hold for a bit, release him and throw as his reward.

The issues you're describing are common -- but also pretty fixable. Don't give up! Please don't straddle him while he's eating though, as that very well could make the situation worse.

 

His behavior will only get worse unless you change some things! Don't wait! Find a good balanced trainer to help you learn how to control your pup! But in the meantime, don't continue to allow him to tell you what to do! He growls at you if you don't put his food down quickly enough? Are you sure he's growling at you and not just being vocal?

Does he know any commands? Has he had any training at all?

Stop taking stuff from your dog! Once you give it to him, leave him alone to enjoy it without any interference. And again, find a good balanced trainer to help you!

 

Yes, tim, I know the difference between a growl with him showing his teeth and him just being vocal. And yes, he has had some training, not a lot though. I will be contacting a GSD (Shuzthund) trainer to further the training. Hopefully he can help me with some of the other problems I'm having.

So I guess you're in the camp of "don't take things from your dog." I'm not. While I appreciate your point of view, it does me no good. There are times when I need to take things from him for his safety and/or mine and if I can't without being bitten, then there's a real problem. I'm sure you know what 8 months old adolescents are like. They are defiant. While "leave it or drop it" is a work in progress and he probably listens every other time...when he has something of high value he won't listen. I've got two 85yo senior citizens living with me and they aren't that mobile anymore. I have to worry about their safety also. Their memories aren't so good anymore. I can tell them 50 times not to take things away from the dog, they'll still do it because they don't remember as well as they used to. And, have you ever played fetch with a dog and the dog won't give it back to you? I threw a frisbee and he took it to chew it and it was getting shredded. He wasn't spitting the pieces out. He was swallowing them. So at that point I have to take the frisbee away from him. When I got close to get it, he chomped down on my hand. Unacceptable. "Stop taking stuff from your dog"...is not an option. If you've read any of my other postings, I mentioned once that he ate 2 feet of a paracord leash and I had to rush to the emergency hospital to have him induced to vomit. All 2 feet of it came out in big chunks. If I let it go, it would have clogged his system because it would've expanded in his intestines. Then we would've been talking about life or death and thousands of dollars worth of surgery. So I think you should understand by now why I have to be able to take things away from him.

 

Yes, tim, I know the difference between a growl with him showing his teeth and him just being vocal. And yes, he has had some training, not a lot though. I will be contacting a GSD (Shuzthund) trainer to further the training. Hopefully he can help me with some of the other problems I'm having.

So I guess you're in the camp of "don't take things from your dog." I'm not. While I appreciate your point of view, it does me no good. There are times when I need to take things from him for his safety and/or mine and if I can't without being bitten, then there's a real problem. I'm sure you know what 8 months old adolescents are like. They are defiant. While "leave it or drop it" is a work in progress and he probably listens every other time...when he has something of high value he won't listen. I've got two 85yo senior citizens living with me and they aren't that mobile anymore. I have to worry about their safety also. Their memories aren't so good anymore. I can tell them 50 times not to take things away from the dog, they'll still do it because they don't remember as well as they used to. And, have you ever played fetch with a dog and the dog won't give it back to you? I threw a frisbee and he took it to chew it and it was getting shredded. He wasn't spitting the pieces out. He was swallowing them. So at that point I have to take the frisbee away from him. When I got close to get it, he chomped down on my hand. Unacceptable. "Stop taking stuff from your dog"...is not an option. If you've read any of my other postings, I mentioned once that he ate 2 feet of a paracord leash and I had to rush to the emergency hospital to have him induced to vomit. All 2 feet of it came out in big chunks. If I let it go, it would have clogged his system because it would've expanded in his intestines. Then we would've been talking about life or death and thousands of dollars worth of surgery. So I think you should understand by now why I have to be able to take things away from him.

I certainly meant no offense with my questions, my friend. I was just trying to get a better idea of what you're seeing! Given the additional information you provided in this post, I see more clearly that you definitely are in a tough situation!

What I got from your first post is that you have an adolescent dog who is literally bullying you. Yes, I know what an adolescent dog can be like. But I've never had a dog the snarled and showed his teeth at me for any reason! Adolescent dogs do like to test their boundaries, no question there. But your reaction to that testing is every bit as important as any other thing you might do with your dog! And that's why I recommended getting a good trainer to help you get this dog back under control! You are being bullied!

And yes, as a rule I don't mess with my dog ever after I've given her something to eat. I don't mess with her food unless I have something more to add...and I have never had any reason to take it from her once I've given it to her.

That being said, I also have very very rarely ever had to physically take something from her mouth that she shouldn't eat or have...And only then when she was a small puppy and didn't yet understand drop it or leave it. Physically taking something away like that can be both challenging and or intimidating to a dog. At 8 months of age I'd sort of expect him to defend himself from that!

Magwart offered some ideas, like trading toys instead of just trying to take them away,
that might help you. But honestly at this stage, I'd recommend waiting for the trainer to help before implementing any changes, because the dog is not showing you any respect. Trying to implement changes on your own could get you bitten again. So avoid confrontation with your dog and work with a trainer! I don't think any 8 month old dog is "completely gone" or beyond hope. I think he's just a normal adolescent male dog. But the dynamic between you and your dog definitely needs to change! Of course, you already know that, and it sounds like you have a good trainer lined up already, so things will get better! Good Luck! And let us know how it goes with training...

 

Curious if any of you who say make the kids leave the dog alone have kids.

Ever tried cooking dinner in an 8x10 kitchen with a husband, a toddler, a preschooler and a dog? You get off work at 4:30, pick up the kids from daycare, rush home, let the dog out, put the kids stuff away, husband walks in, dog follows, everyone wants attention and you are cooking dinner because it's now 5:45 and you still have baths and bed to deal with. Husband being the helpful sort is riling everyone up, dog is tripping you while you are cooking, food falls on the floor, dog is being helpful sort and toddler brushes past dog enroute to Daddy.

How about breakfast? You have 1.5 hours to get you, two kids and a dog out the door. In your lovely old house you have bedrooms big enough for a bed and maybe a dresser, a bathroom big enough to turn around in, a living room that holds enough seating for all if you cuddle and a kitchen that requires you to close the cupboards if you wish to open the fridge. Dog dish gets wedged in the corner beside the door. You feed the dog and your 6 year old remembers that she has a slip in her backpack for you. She reaches over the dog to grab it.


Most folks who own dogs are not rich, many are paycheque to paycheque, lots of folks live in small or poorly designed older homes, well over half of dogs belong to families, almost 70% of owners surveyed did not own a crate.

Lets be realistic. How are people supposed to prepare meals while keeping an eye on kids if the kids are in the other room? If the dog isn't fed during the few available hours then when? Sorry but I would rather rely on training and conditioning because accidents happen, toddlers trip and try as they might parents are never perfect.

 

Can feeding in the crate lead to the crate itself being resource guarded?

 

Yes. And quickly.

 

Kids should be taught boundaries just as much as dogs. Some of the kids that I see acting out in supermarkets or public are catalysts for provoking good people or good dogs. Children and puppies need boundaries in acceptable social morays established as soon as they can understand and comply( unless their is some disability involved( genetic) ) and I have found that children can be taught acceptable respects for both dogs and supermarkets....the total disregard by children in these instances are not the supermarket’s or the dog’s issues. They are usually the result of parenting or the lack thereof.

 

Great post sabies ! Really says it all.

 

All of you talking about kids bugging dogs and none of you addressing the real life incidents.
My son was snapped at for walking past a dog. Not touching just walking.

 

I apologize in advance as I did not go back and re-read your comment about this incident. But it was not your dog, correct? I have to think that had that dog been yours, the dog would have been better managed and the incident would not have happened.

I think you have to really understand your own dogs. If you know your dog has a tendency to guard food, or think they may not be ok woth someone walking past while they are eating, you need to not put your dog in that situation. If you want to try to stop the behavior in your own dog and build trust and work on slowly adding good things to a bowl so they don’t feel the need to guard, that’s fine. But you have to keep your dog and others safe in the mean time. It sounds as though the owners of the dog in your particular incident either did not know their dog very well, or perhaps were not good at reading cues while the dog was eating. Of course that incident was not your or your son’s fault. But it could have been prevented had the owners placed the dog in a crate or in a room with a closed door before feeding.

 

If I had a dog who was not tolerant of possible mishaps in the home regarding kids- my own or visiting toddlers the dog would have to be put away unless supervised. Young toddlers require much repetition mishaps are bound to happen. Feeding is in a very short period of time i Supervise as our chihuahua is not very smart and I want to make sure he minds his manors - with the other dogs during feeding time he eats in his crate. Not only toddlers but People do crazy things. I had a friend over first time meeting the dogs. All were settled and Luna was chewing her bone filled with cheese. My friend bent over grabbed her bone- the reasoning thinking she would want to play fetch. The dogs are tolerable I know this. The house was quiet it was not what I expected nor would not do with dogs that I do not know and really could not understand it but people do whacky things.

 

I'm a little confused as to why some people seem to think that just because a person doesn't mess with their dog/s while they're eating or prefers to feed in a crate, that must mean that they don't do anything to teach their dogs how to behave appropriately towards children. What a bizarre and unfounded assumption.

Training and management are not mutually exclusive, and when you're talking about safety, especially when children are involved, it's only prudent to do both concurrently. You don't need to pick one and abandon the other, nor should you. And that includes managing both the dogs AND the kids.

 

I assume you're referring to me with this comment >.

Statements like the following might tend to steer one's thinking down that path, I admit they did for me:

I don’t have kids and have two very rigid rules about kids in my house around my dog (stay out of her stuff/crate, and don’t tease her). I straight up will not tolerate kids not following those rules. I don’t really enjoy having kids in my space anyway, and the parents who get repeat invitations are typically the ones who are happy to keep a tight rein on their children, and everyone is safe.

And:

Regarding an earlier poster punishing for snapping at a child: It seems eminently unwise to punish for giving a warning. It seems a whole lot smarter to go to the child and usher them away from the dog, acknowledge "that was scary, but we need to leave Rex alone when he's eating. Rex let you know he didn't like that, right? Let's go do something else and we can play with Rex when he's done." That way you leave the dog's warning signals intact.

No mention of teaching the dog anything...and in fact quite the opposite, the focus was all directed toward managing the children.

While that may work for someone who only has occasional child visitors, it is, IMHO, poor and even dangerous advice for dog owners with kids...which is why I chose to respond.

On the flip side of this, is how absurd it is to think that teaching a dog manners around kids somehow equates to bullying them into submission, or suppressing their warning signals.

It is all too easy to get wires crossed in these online conversations though, and that's why I tried to clarify my position and the training involved in my previous post...

Nowhere did I ever suggest that not bothering a dog while eating was mutually exclusive from, teaching manners. And at least for me, the two have always gone hand in hand. My sincere apologies if I failed to make that clear enough...

At the end of the day though, kids forget or just become too wrapped up in whatever theyre doing to even be aware of where the dog is...and kids can move quickly! In those instances, it pays great dividends to have trained your dog that kids get a pass!

 

I personally add treats to my puppies bowl on and off from 8 weeks old. I pet my puppy while they eat. I reach into their bowl while they eat. WHY?? Just for the safety of my grand kids or anyone who gets close while eating. I feel it is part of my job to let my dogs know that nobody is taking away their food and perhaps they may even get something better in the bowl. I have had 8 GSD's and I have never had a dog growl or protect it's food. A couple were very food driven. Just my opinion. :grin2:

 

My dogs all start off eating in their crates. No kids, no other dogs, etc are going to bother them. As they get older, I allow them to eat, one in the kitchen, the other in the living room.
A few weeks ago my daughter fed then for me. I noticed that she hadn't added water and mentioned that out loud. She went right towards the dog in the kitchen to get the bowl to add water. Poor child, I yelled at her to stop. Then I explained to her how we never touch dog bowls. Do I think either of my dogs would react? No. But I never want them to think their food can be taken away. And children, guests and residents, need to learn how to be around dogs.

 

I don’t get this “bothering” a dog while it’s eating. Especially when people say “I wouldn’t like it if someone did that to me!”. Really? Are these the same people that strap an e-collar and pinch collar on? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. UNLESS you start saying “I wouldn’t want someone to put an e-collar on me!”.. I’ve had a dozen dogs and as soon as I get the puppy I nicely pet them around the mouth while they’re eating. I don’t take food, I just give them attention. They get used to your hands and there’s no issue with food aggression. 100% success rate. I’m reading about people saying kids should stay away, I stopped my kid from getting too close, etc... Why have to stop your kids from being around the dog when it’s eating? Why worry about ANYONE being around the dog eating if you can easily solve the problem? You don’t “bother” the dog. It gets it immediately. They usually like the attention or, like mine, is completely indifferent. Again, it’s a positive experience and the dog never cares you’re there. My hand is mixing the food, petting her cheecks, adding food, holding the bowl for her, anything I want. And it’s a non-event. I don’t understand if you can easily, nicely and painlessly remove a bad attribute- you can’t tell me there’s anything good about food aggression- why not? Because it may “bother” the dog? Please.

 

To each his own. The dogs I took home as adults don't react either if every once in a while I have to remove their bowl to add something to it nor do they react if I walk near them or pat their back while they are eating. I have no problem with hand-feeding itself, I've done it several times when my dogs had been sick and I was encouraging them to eat. However, I do not choose to routinely stick my hands in their bowls or take their bowls away and give them back just to show that I can. It's stupid and I am not going to risk creating problems where none exist. And to answer your question, yes, I have used a prong and a e-collar both before on one or the other of my dogs and I did hold the E-collar against the skin on my arm because I wanted to see what it felt like. The collars were for control and served an legitimate purpose as opposed to monkeying with their food which would have just been a power trip.

And that's the basis for my statement "Somebody might lose a finger or two if they tried that with me" originated. I don't react well to anyone who tries to mess with me just because they think they can.

 

Half the time Shadow won't eat unless I am petting her, or holding her dish, or feeding her by hand. She definitely isn't eating if I am not in the room.
Just sayin'.

I've definitely had lots of dogs and like @Scotibs no fails yet. I opted not to try with Bud out of compassion, not because I thought I couldn't.
I disagree with denying food, I disagree with taunting with food. If I touch you while you eat, it should not be a big deal. If I walk near you, or bump into you while you eat it should not be a big deal. I am also a huge fan of hand feeding as a bonding exercise. Sabi often slept on the kids while eating, she was bad for taking naps mid meal.

 

The first day I got the two shepherds I got as puppies, I gave them both a high value food item and took it away. They both growled. They both got yelled at in my loudest voice with a light slap. I repeated the process immediately and several times for the next week and after the first scolding they never growled at me. The second week I had other members of the family take the food away also. The first person to try it, other than myself, would get a growl. I would immediately yell and scold. After that I don't think either dog ever growled at anyone in regard to food and both were/are extremely gentle taking food from anyone's hand, especially children. I would test them once a month for the first year and once or twice a year after that. Never a problem. I frequently will give a couple of strokes on the back when eating and it causes 0 reaction. It's so common for dog bites to occur when you mix children, food and dogs, that you have to be proactive and train them to be tolerant as soon as you can. I generally don't use much negative reinforcement but this is an exception. It's so rare I raise my voice with the dogs, that when I do, it makes a major impact, so I save it for the worst infractions.


In regard to showing dominance by taking food away, I think wolf behavior is for the highest ranking wolves to eat their fill first and then it goes down the chain for the leftovers. The Alpha eat's till they're full so no reason to take food from those farther down the line. There's a trainer out of New Zealand that recommends having all the family members take the bowl and pretend to eat from it before putting it down for the dog, for the first couple of months. We did that but I can't say for sure wether it works, but it's easy to do and doesn't seem to hurt anything. If your dog won't tolerate it, you may have pack hierarchy problems that need to be addressed on multiple fronts and not just the isolated issue of feeding. The trainer I'm referring to, calls himself "doggy dan" and he has a couple hundred specific problem oriented videos on his website. Most of his stuff makes sense, some of it's dead wrong. It was worth binge watching for the 3 day $1 trial to get some good tips.

 

Wow! I've been around dogs most of the past 50 yrs, and believe me I've seen some of the weirdest things "seem" to work in training. But thankfully, knowledge and techniques have come a long way in that time too! What you described doing to your puppies isn't training, per se, it's dominance, it's bullying plain and simple. While in many cases it will work, there will be dogs that will hold a grudge and turn on you in the future when they gain enough maturity and confidence! IMHO, even more importantly, it is totally unnecessary! All anyone needs to do is to show the dog they have no reason to distrust you! That's how you end up with a dog that will literally lay down its own life to protect you or save you from a fire...a partner, not a slave!

Good Luck to you and your puppies! I hope it all works out well...

 

I have no problem with e-collars and the like - I was just trying to point out the irony of someone saying they don't want to "bother" a dog eating but don't see a little jolt to the neck as a bother. I feel the potential danger involved with a dog biting or snapping at a child is worth the "bother" (if you can call it that). I don't feel I bothered my GSD. I hardly do it now. Maybe once a week I'll walk by and pet her cheek to make sure we're still good. Also, I never took anything away or made it negative. I just pet her or add food. This topic always interests me because it seems like such a simple thing to prevent and I would've never thought of it as controversial. I read a bit online and it seems I've done some of things recommended without even realizing it. For example - she's always eaten in the middle of the room with us either while we're eating or while we're preparing dinner. So she's used to people around her. Anyway, good luck to all!

 

Resource guarding, growling, air snaps, warning signs... It all comes down to 2 different temperament types.

1) I'm scared; you will take my stuff away, touch me or hurt me.

2) this is mine and you can't have it. I will totally fight you for it.

The appropriate response to the same situation is completely opposite depending on which temperament type dog you are dealing with.

Type 1 scaredy cat, I need to make you comfortable with me being there and you need to trust me.

Type 2 knuckle head, don't growl, snap, challenge me because it doesn't work and I'm the boss.

Get it right and it's easy. Get it wrong and it gets much worse.

I feed 3 dogs plus board and trains or fosters without crates or doors or anything but me directing traffic. My 3 know the routine. Lucian gets food first. He follows me until I stop, drops to a down, gets a bowl and waits. Fama is next and does the same. Pud is next, but he doesn't down or wait because he takes longer to eat. Fosters are last and they start by getting a bowl and eating at their will. Later, after they know down, they will down and eat at their will. Eventually they get released to eat with Lucian and Fama.

When Lucian gets done eating (always first) he knows not to bug the other dogs. He waits impatiently until they leave their bowls and then checks them to be sure there's nothing left.

If a foster tries to go after another dog's bowl, I just block them. If they get crazy about it, I block them harder. They have a tendency to listen as I'm "The Guy With the Food."

The first few days I have a foster, all their food comes through training.

The thing you need to know is WHY the dog is resource guarding. Then you know HOW to fix it.

 

tc68, where in MD do you live?

I don't want to toot my own trainer's horn, but Tecla Walton has experience with aggressive dogs and resource guarding. She's a relatively balanced trainer with working dog experience located in Elkridge/Ellicott City, MD.

A lot of the stuff on her website is streamlined towards the average pet owner, but if you send an inquiry for a private lesson, she should be able to provide some advice or point you to a different trainer if it's not something she thinks she can help with.

I do see you mentioned you have a trainer lined up, though. I hope they can help with this issue.

P.S. If anyone has had bad experience with Tecla, I apologise. I haven't and from my time with her, she seems like a very knowledgeable person.

 

Thanks Katsu. I really appreciate it. I'm outside of DC. Ellicott City and Elkridge (just outside of Baltimore) are a little too far of a drive. But I'll keep her in mind. I just browsed through her website. She looks good. If I really have to...I'll make the drive. But as of now, I got someone closer. He trains dogs for Shutzhund. One of his trainees is my pup's father. And my breeder also recommended him.

 

I wouldn’t bother an animal eating. However I do expect to be able to work in and around the dog without getting growled at etc. I rarely need to, but for me it’s all about being able to do something if I need to, not doing something for the sake of it.
I am lucky I have enough space to feed my dogs away from each other and the main thoroughfare of the house, so I rarely need to be around them while they eat.
I have the same rules with all my animals incidently not just the dogs. My horse gets peace to eat too.

 

There's a lot of posts here so I didn't have time to read them all, but just my two cents if you ever go near your dogs food bowl, or his bone while he is still a puppy always GIVE not take. I've always done this and never had a food aggressive dog. When I approach he expects more goodies and eagerly waits for my hand. It's an important thing to train in case if he accidentally goes to ingest something he shouldn't be. I also give very large meat bones and if he ate the entire thing in one sitting it could give him diarrhea, so after 30 minutes I must take away his partially un eaten bone. As soon as I start walking towards it he jumps up and runs to his "place" awaiting a treat ?. So much of dog training is based on a mutual trust and respect.