Why does my 11 month puppy growl at me before he eats?

Question

My puppy growls at me and has his back hair raise before he eats his dinner. His back legs shake and he snarls and his hair rises. This doen't happen when my husband feeds him. We have always lightly pet our puppy and say "good boy" when he eats to make sure this would never happen. Now it does.. What is the reason behind this only happening to me and how do I get it to stop?

He is a black lab!

I make him sit their and wait be fore he eats, he must eat on my comand... He gowls if I wait to long or say his name while he is eating. This just started out of the blue 2 wks ago. I will take him into traiing now after everyone has suggested it. He is a big lab 76lbs and growing...

Answer 1

The biggest rule in my house is; a dog is NEVER allowed to growl at me, let alone snap or bite - under ANY circumstances! I don't care if I am standing with all my weight on his foot - NEVER allowed to bite!

How do you achieve this with the food bowl?

Start with an empty bowl in your lap, or on the floor by you. (If your dog won't tolerate even that without a growl or a snap, then STOP reading this and get your dog to a behaviorist FAST!) Have the dog food in another container that only you can reach. If the dog is pushy or unruly, then have another person enforce a "SIT", so the dog isn't jumping on you. Dribble a few kibbles into the bowl, remove your hand, and let him eat. If he growls or stares hard during this stage, please stop and see a behaviorist. Dribble a few more kibbles into the bowl and let the dog eat. Then add more, until he has eaten his whole meal - provided by you. Do this for the next several days, or up to a week or more, before moving to the next step. With the next step, you let your hand linger in the bowl a little longer after putting in the food, then longer still after a few days, until your hand is in the bowl while the dog is eating. You can even modify your approach by feeding the kibble from you hand - near, in or over the bowl - until you are feeding kibble from the bowl. At any time during these excercises, if the dogs growls or snaps, take a step backward in the feeding process and work on it for several more days before moving forward again.

The above training is BEST done while the dog is still a puppy! Older dogs can be MUCH more protective and have a lot less inhibition about protecting what they feel is theirs. CAUTION ALWAYS is key when working an excercise like this with an older dog. You may even need help in starting. If so, a professional trainer can guide you through the process.

Answer 2

He needs training! If you can't afford obedience classes(best option as already suggested), there are good books on dog training at the library, pet stores, etc. By any chance, have you ever hit him with your hand, trying to discipline him? This is probably the most common mistake people make. Use a rolled up newspaper instead. It won't hurt him, but the sound will help him remember. It also sounds as though he has decided that your husband is the alpha dog. Maybe feeding the dog should be his job!

Answer 3

I don't claim to be an expert but you have the start of an aggression problem. He/she is testing you to see if you are going to back down and let him/her be in charge.
Second, i don't know if you have heard of him but there is a guy on National Geographic. Cesar Millan he is AWESOME!!!!! It is called Pet Whisperer. He teaches you how to be the alpha with your dog.

And to the lady that responded about all the terrible agressive dogs. Dogs don't become aggressive unless we allow it. As with many humans we have our dominant people and passive people. The dominant people/pet is always gonna try to get over the passive person/owner. Just like humans they test their water to see if they can get away with things. Hmmm sorta like children.

That is what you have going on right now. I suggest you talk to someone or watch Cesars shows. Otherwise, you could end up with a worse problem.
Hope this helps ya.
Good Luck to you and your lab

OMG, and please don't ever hit a dog either with your hand or a newspaper, especially if it is already showing some aggression. Hitting a dog is abuse.
Sorry just reading through your responses.

Answer 4

I don't know why he does this, but I had a black lab that did the same thing to me. My husband had to take some serious action! That dog thinks of your husband as the leader of the pack, he also thinks he's the second in command. You are not the owner in his eyes- he owns you. You have to nip this in the but before he gets older and your home alone with him. He'll not only respect you for showing him who's boss but he'll die for you if he has to. Remember that dog has to see you as the dominant one, don't let him put his two front legs on you lap at all! For some reason they see this as having power over you and I also recommend school. They'll show you how to use the firm tones and how to control him so he'll be more obedient!

Answer 5

dominance issues

do not tollerate it - you should be able to feed him without agression
firstly if he isnt neutered this could be a contributing factor - all dogs who are not show dogs should be neutered (no dog who hasnt been to shows should be bred)
he needs obedience lessons - not just to learn sit and stay but for basic socialization
you should NEVER play dominance games with him (eg. tug of war ) - but if you do you MUST ALWAYS WIN!!!!
have him "sit" and "stay" while you ready his food.. do not let him get it until you are ready - that means any agression and he isnt allowed his food (so it may help to have him on leash until he gets good at this)

never take food away while the dog is eating - this will create problems however you should be able to put your hand in his bowl while he is eating (obviously you dont want to try this but you should be able to do such) you can try feeding him out of your hand (use gloves) also

Answer 6

It only happens to you because you have allowed the dog to assume a position in your family hierarchy above yours..he doesnt do it to your husband simply because he recognizes your husbands authority and doesnt challenge it. I reccomend you no longer let your husband feed him, only allow him to get food from you and make him sit or laydown before you give it to him. I also suggest you practice the Nothing in Life is Free (NILF) training technique, and also learn more about being in the "alpha" position. GO here to learn how to practice NILF... http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dog_nilf.htm

and go here to learn how to become alpha... http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-alphadog.htm

It is also a good idea to supplement this with obedience training from a professional source but you should still practice the above training technique at all times to avoid any kind of future dominance or food aggression in your dog. The NILF technique truly works!!

PS neutering your dog will not solve the problem...after living with 14 different dogs over the years and associating with many more, I can honestly say that your dog can have dominance aggression whether he is fixed or not and neutering the dog does NOT change its personality, only training and instruction can do that!

Answer 7

Dogs will usually defer to a male as the alpha dog. You, however, with a softer female voice may be seen as a threat to his kibble. I am not sure how to stop it but maybe you should try making yourself or your hubby the only one that feeds him. Can you just put his food out and let him eat when he wants? Or maybe you could give him a dog biscuit or two and then put his food out. Good luck!

Answer 8

First of all he needs obedience class or a trainer.
Does he bite when you give him treats or offer food from your hand? If he does not, from now on only you feed him and only from your hand one handfull at a time. He also must sit before recieving any food. When he can do that he must look you in the eye, tell him,"watch me" and bring your hand with the food up to eye level, when he looks at you give him the food.
He must remember that he is at the bottom of the pecking order in your house.And where his chow comes from!

Answer 9

This is really unusual behavior for a black lab. That being said, your puppy needs some behavioral intervention pronto. Dogs see their relationships in terms of hierarchies, and when it comes to food, your puppy is telling you that he considers himself to be higher to or equal in the family hierarchy to you. He doesn't display this behavior to your husband because he recognizes him as higher in the hierarchy to both himself and you.

Besides being potentially dangerous, food aggression is considered one of the "all bets are off" behaviors when handlers, shelters, etc. are analyzing a dog for aggression. If you were ever to have to give him up, this behavior would probably sentence him to being euthanised rather than adopted out.

You owe it to your puppy to get him some behavioral training now to nip this behavior in the bud. Good luck!

Answer 10

it's food aggression. this is basic pack behavior among wild dogs and wolves: the alpha dog eats first and will growl and snap at the others to establish his right as the alpha to eat first.

you have to firmly discipline your puppy when he does that. basically, the goal is to make sure that your puppy knows that 1) you are the alpha member of the "pack", but 2) that he doesn't have to worry about fighting for a meal - there is plenty of food to go around.