what should I do with my puppy?

Question

my puppy is so friendly but last night he was outside and got into the trash when my 10 year old son tried to get him out he tried to bite him when I tried he did the samething and he always listens to me but last night he would not let anyone get around him . he eats in the morning and again at night. i am scared he may hurt one of my children or someone else never seen him attact like this. you can take food from him any other time but not if he is in the trash or has a bone . Help I am about to get rid of him before he hurts someone. An dhe is one of the family we love him but do not know what to do.

my puppy is beagle , and lab , he got into the trash as he was outside going to the bathroom.

Answer 1

He's showing signs of food aggression. Have you tried taking his food away when he's eating? Probably not. If you do that, he'd probably do the same thing.

Fortunately he's a puppy so it should be easier to help him past this problem. It's a bit surprising though that with one snap at you and your son you're ready to get rid of him. Raising a puppy takes patience, consistency, and devotion to training. If you don't think you can do that, try to find a home for him that will give him that and not so easily consider him as disposable.

If you want to work on this issue with him, find out if he's generally food aggressive. If you're not comfortable doing this, check with your vet to see if they have any services to help or can suggest a trainer. One safe way to do this yourself is when he's eating, extend a broom stick towards his bowl and see his reaction. If he were my puppy, I'd be comfortable putting on a thick sweater and glove and putting my hand close to his bowl as if I were to grab it but if you're not comfortable doing that you shouldn't.

If he snaps at you or the broomstick, he's food aggressive and you need to work with that. Start off by training him to eat only when you say it's OK. Before you put his food down, make him sit and make sure he's calm. (As you're feeding him do you talk to him excitedly saying things like "are you hungry???" in an excited voice? If so, stop doing that. Make feeding time calm and quiet.) He should be looking at you, and not the food. This is to assert that you are the one in control of him getting food. Do this consistently.

Next, put the food down but block him from getting it. Ideally, you want him to stay in a sit position. If he starts to go for the food, correct him with a firm "no" and some sound like a snap. Basically, get his attention away from the food and onto you. Once you're sure he's submitting to you, than let him eat.

While you're doing this, project that you are in control of the situation. Don't think about him snapping at you before. If you do, you'll be nervous and he'll know that and feel like he can control the feeding.

You should be able to get to the point that he sits calmly while you put the bowl down and waits for you to tell him it's ok to eat.

After you establish that you're controlling his food situation, you can remove his food while he's eating. Even if he shows some aggression, do not pull back. If he growls and you pull back without getting that food, you have reinforced in his mind that he can keep his food by growling/snapping. If he starts to growl, use the same noise as before (snap or whatever) to signal to him to stop doing whatever he's doing and continue to take away the bowl.

You can try this with a bone or other long-lasting treat if you're more comfortable doing that but if he's a puppy, he should be manageable and you need to be comfortable taking away his food. Dog's need food obviously but they need to know not to be aggressive towards humans, regardless of what's in front of them.

You might want to check out some episodes of the Dog Whisperer on National Geographic or rent the DVD. His website is www.dogpsychologycenter.com. There have been episodes where one of the dog's problems was food aggression but it was addressed primarily by having the owner assert himself as the pack leader and there was no additional training needed for the food aggression.

Answer 2

ur puppy is agressive when it comes to take him out of the trash, its probably because this is the place where u never let him and that is where he enjoys the most. The first thing u can do is to remove the trash and stop giving him bones when ur children are around and they might take it away from him.
U should not give him away, it would upset the children. Just take the trash away from him or make sure he cant get in there. And make sure u r always with ur children when they r with the puppy.

But it is normal for ur puppy to start biting, it happens, just dont let it become a habbit. U should buy him chew toys, so he chews enough and doesnt feel the need to bite.

Good Luck :)

Answer 3

First of all .. never bother a dog when it is eating .. period. Secondly .. why are you letting the dog go outside to the trash can in the first place ? .. Place the trash can where the dog is unable to get near it . What the dog is doing is NATURAL and it is not its fault that you are bothering it while it is eating something. The obvious solution is to place the trash can out of the dogs way. Also, letting your dog eat ANY KIND OF BONE is very dangerous for the dog. Even a large bone will break down .. and the splinters or shards of the bone can get stuck in your dogs throat .. and could kill it .. or make need for an emergency visit to the Vet. This is not your dogs fault. Place all trash cans out of reach of the dog .. and again, never bother a dog while it is eating. Do YOU want to be bothered when you are hungry and eating ? .. You might feel like snapping too. Good Luck ! :)

Answer 4

Keep your trash locked at all times so he doesn't have access. If he has food aggression, for a few weeks you could try hand feeding him. Sit by his empty dish at mealtime and throw 1 kibble at a time into it. He should learn that the food comes from people. If that doesn't work, feed him away from everyone. One of our dogs has treat aggression with the other dog, so she only gets treats when she is in her crate. That just prevents any problems.

Also, it sounds like he is not the lowest in the pack at your house. You should start practicing NILIF (Nothing in life is free) http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm That will show him his place. Have your children practice it also so that he realizes they are higher up in the pack than him.

If he bites to hard when playing, Yelp really loud and walk away. Ignore him for a few minutes. He will learn that the fun stops when he nips.

If you can, try taking him to obedience classes, also a vet check is always good to rule out any problems.

Also, please don't ever hit your dog like some people have recommended. It will not fix anything and may provoke him to bite worse.

Good luck

Answer 5

Your dog is showing food aggression and if you check it now the problem will stop.
Let him have a bone and then you take the bone form him. If he tries to bite at you swat him a good one and take the bone. Raise your voice and let him know that the behavior will not be tolerated by you ever.
Do this a few times and he will learn that you are not going to take stuff off him and you are in charge not him.
If you are worried about children you may want to place the dog.
Many many dogs are like this and many children get bitten by dogs after the child drops food sna goes to pick it up. It happens all the time.

Answer 6

You NEVER mess with a dog when it is eating, no matter where or what. Keep the trash closed where he cannot get into it. You might try using a shock collar and shock him when he gets into the trash, that way the punishment does not come from you and he won't associate it with you. Dogs are territorial when it comes to food. You didn't say what breed he is, but, if he shows signs that he could bite for any other reason I would strongly advise getting rid of him. As much as I loved my pets, if they EVER did anything to my family, they were GONE. It isn't worth a family member being maimed.

Answer 7

I agree with posting 'blondee' dont mess with a dog when he as access to food. Any dog is territorial when it comes to food it is a natural action. Close the bin, or keep the dog away from it at all times.Failing that, keep the family away from the dog when he is scavenging.

Answer 8

i have 2 dogs and they've never been food aggressive.
only the scottish terrier i have is a lil on the stubborn side and won't give up the dog biscuit but she would never show signs of aggression when i take food away from her.

just make sure that you let the dog know who is in control. cuz they tend to pick on people who aren't in control of them.

Answer 9

if u can get obedience lessons for him and it is a good thing that he doesn't do anything when you put yur hand in his food, i would just make sure that he can't get in the garbage and he is probably protective over his bones. But you can always ask the vet.

Answer 10

Get a bin with a remote control locking mecanism so only u can get in.
PS dont give the doggy a bone!