Just a survey...How many of you can put your hand right in your dog's dish while he's eating?

Question

Can you pet him while hes eating?
Does he let other dogs/cats eat out of his bowl without him reacting?
Can you take rawhide bones and chews away from him without him growling?

lol at the first answer...if you dont do it then the dog becomes needlessly antagonized by lets say a child, playing by thier food dish....thats how people get bit. Its called food aggression you should be able to do all of the above with your dog...however the sharing with other pets isnt as important.
I was simply doing a survey to see how many people realize the importance of this and to see how many ppl teach this lesson to thier dogs and how many dont.

Answer 1

I can.
Yes.
No.
Yes.

And so can everyone who raises their dog properly! If they can't, they should read some great books on training. (Try not to pick books randomly - there are a lot of bad books out there also!) These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com
What All Good Dogs Should Know – Volhard http://www.volhard.com/
Good Owners, Great Dogs - Brian Kilcommins
Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin
Don't Shoot the Dog - Pryor
Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method - Volhard
Dog Problems - Benjamin
Cesar's Way - Cesar Millan
Also, watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is the best trainer I've ever seen on TV.
http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/

Answer 2

I fostered for an animal shelter and any dog I had I took food from them and then gave it back and pet them when they were eating from their dish. You need to let the dog know that this isn't a bad thing, but you are the one to give the food and you don't bite. There is always a chance a little kid could come up to your dog while eating and you don't want a bite. I've never had a problem. My Chow mix, a breed which is known to be nippy, will let me take steak out of his mouth and then just sit down and wait for me to give it back. I won't tolerate a dog that even so much as growels at me. I'm the alpha and they need to understand that without me being aggressive about it.

Answer 3

When they are pups, I sit with them while they are eating and put my hand in the dish. To earn trust, I feed them a bite once in a while, touch their noses, pet them, etc. I *never* take away the dish until they have finished and are happy that it is all gone. Then, I take it away and put it up until the next feeding.

Also, with 4 dogs in the house, feedings would get bloody very fast if I let them eat together. They all eat in their own crates, out of site of everyone else. They are never allowed to feel threatened when they are eating. Even treats are given one dog at a time, so they do not feel like they are competing.

To this day, I have never had trouble with a dog being food-protective.

They get a bit grumpy with each other over toys once in a while, but I just have to remind them that there is a *whole box* of identical toys in the corner, and then they settle down. As long as they all get equal play time, they don't get snippy. They usually play together just fine, playing tug-of-war with each other, or happily wrestling over a bone. They never snap at people over their toys. In fact, they *want* us to pick them up so we can throw them! :)

Answer 4

My family has 4 dogs. 3 male (beagle, pomeranian, lab mix), all stray dogs we adopted; and 1 female (jack russell terrior), bought as a puppy and was first dog.

JRT: will let you pet her while eating and all, when other dogs come by she will not growl or react but sometimes just walks away, and definitely growls when taking rawhides and chew toys away but will give it up. when it comes to her and pinecones, there's no hope or no way of getting it away from her until she rips it to shreds.

Pomeranian: will let you pet him and everything while he's eating as long as he's comfortable with you, doesn't get bothered by other dogs, and you can take anything away from him.

Beagle: can only pet him while he's eating if he knows you're there and is comfortable with you, gets pretty vicious with other dogs around while eating, and sometimes is hard taking the chew stuff away. we think he was abused as a puppy :(

Lab mix: you can do practically anything with this dog while he's eating and he doesn't mind it at all including other animals or small kids around him. you can take anything away from him (cept sometimes he thinks you're playing then it's hard cuz he's running around). he's even put food in my hands when i've put my hand by him while he's eating!! no joking, he does it to other people in my family sometimes too.

Answer 5

I've raised my dogs to allow me to take touch them when eating. I can remove anything they have in their mouth without any hesitation from them. I taught them that I will take things away and give them back when I want to (which is almost always right away). I have had a boxer, an English springer spaniel, and presently only have a boxer awaiting a new 'sibling' (new puppy springer) in the fall. My parents on the other hand have a Lassa Apso (I'm not sure if this is how it's spelled?) and it is a terror letting anyone close to anything in his possession.

Answer 6

you should be able to but that depends on when he was a pup if you trained him. The reason is , if a child went near the dog while he is eatting , you wouldn't want him to bite a child. I can do anything with my dogs food , it's just because I trained her. Now a bone is a little differant, she won't let me get it , no growls just runs.

Answer 7

Yes i have Labrador and a Rottie and they both let me put my hand in their bowl while eating, yes i can pet them and sometimes if one finishes first they other will share...and i can take rawhides or chews they dont really care they just look at me like WHy did u do that?

Answer 8

I can now. He bit me over his food dish when he was ten weeks old. From that point on (for several weeks) whatever food he got came from my hand and he could only get it if he took it nicely. I can also pet him while he is eating.

I don't feed him with the other dogs, so I don't know.

I can take anything out of his mouth (very important as I was training him for narcotics detection.).

Answer 9

I can do all of the above with every dog I own and with every dog I will ever own...I let them know from the beginning (without hitting) That I am the Alpha ***** in this family! Some Foster dogs that have had it hard I have had to work with but we get there!

Answer 10

My dogs don't mind at all. They just think they are getting more. I can take there chew bones away as well because I have to do that when they go outside to potty. They always try to take it with them. I can pet them while they are eating to.